Masi is Fiji's barkcloth, beaten from the inner bark of the paper mulberry and decorated with stencils in a technique museums describe as unique to Fiji. It belongs in a Fijian wedding — it has been presented at marriages for generations. The line that matters is this: commission it and buy it from the women who make it, and do not reproduce the motifs yourself. That distinction is the whole etiquette.
What is masi, and how is it made?
Masi is made from the inner bark of the paper mulberry, Broussonetia papyrifera, known in Fijian as tutu. Women grow it on plantations, protected from weather and animals. On Vatulele the sound of the beating has its own name — domo ni tutu.
The bark is stripped from the stem, soaked and beaten with a wooden mallet, the ike, against a long wooden anvil, the yatau. The fibres bond when wet, so two pieces can be dampened and pounded until they become one — which is how large cloths are built. On Vatulele, sheets are also glued into big pieces called gatu or taunamu ni Viti, historically with a paste of boiled yabia, or arrowroot.
Decoration is where Fiji does something no one else does. The dye, kesa, is made from plant and mineral materials: on Vatulele a brown from mangrove bark, boiled for a day or two and reduced until it thickens, and a black made by mixing that brown with soot. Grated clay is mixed in so the colour holds. A maker from Moce in Lau puts it simply — black from soot, red from red clay, "everything is from nature".
The patterns are then applied through a stencil, the draudrau, originally cut from leaf and now commonly from x-ray film. The Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology at Cambridge and the Metropolitan Museum of Art both record that this stencilling technique appears unique to Fiji in the Pacific. On Vatulele the printing stage is kehakeha and the motifs placed on plain cloth are vamata. In the Lau Islands a Tongan-style rubbing board, the kupeti, is used instead.
Which masi is which?
The names carry meaning, and using them correctly is part of the courtesy.
| Name | What it is | Note for a wedding |
|---|---|---|
| *masi kesa* | Stencil-decorated barkcloth | The form most often presented as a ceremonial gift |
| *gatu vakatoga* | Made by the Tongan-style rubbing method on a kupeti, in Lau | Favoured in chiefly ritual |
| *gatu vakaviti* | Tongan rubbed decoration with Fijian stencilled borders | Likely developed from Tongan influence in Fiji in the 1700s |
| *masi kuvui* | The smoked, brown variety | Denotes chiefly status. When a high chief is present, no one else needs to wear it |
| *seyavu* | Very fine white masi | Worn by chiefs |
White and black masi has traditionally been worn by commoners; brown masi kuvui signals rank. If you are not Fijian and not of chiefly family, that is a line to stay the right side of, and a good coordinator will tell you so.
Masi is still made in several places: Moce, Namuka-i-Lau and Nayau in the Lau group, Somosomo on Taveuni, Nukubalavu near Savusavu, and Vatulele. Lau masi has a smoother texture than the rougher Vatulele cloth. Vatulele masi was plain white and brown until motifs appeared around 1948. Motifs vary by region, can show where a piece comes from, and often tell a story.
Who owns the designs — and what can a couple actually use?
This is the part most wedding guides skip, and it is the part that matters.
Masi is made by women. Cambridge's record is unambiguous — "only women make masi" — and on Vatulele, while both men and women plant and beat the bark, "women are the only experts at printing". The Fiji Arts Council has 20 registered women masi makers, and one of them estimated hundreds more nationwide depend on masi for a living.
The knowledge is held, not published. On Vatulele it passed only through female bloodlines and was taught by female clan members, and teaching it outside Vatulele was taboo. Cresantia Frances Koya Vaka'uta of the University of the South Pacific classes tapa-making knowledge as closed or sacred, with its spiritual meaning and design stories closed to outsiders, and states that no commercial enterprise can or should claim a right to it.
There is a concrete case to point to. In 2012 Air Pacific commissioned Fijian artist Makereta Matemosi to create masi-based designs for its rebrand to Fiji Airways, then applied to trademark 15 masi motifs, publishing notice in the Fiji Times on 25 January 2013. A group called "Fiji Masi for Everyone" formed in opposition. Members of a Fijian community said the designs — masi bola ni Cakaudrove — were sacred to them and that they had not been consulted. Cultural figure Manoa Rasigatale argued the company should consult the vanua. The objection was not to the motifs being used; it was to a company owning commercial rights to designs developed over generations.
So the defensible position for a couple is straightforward. Commission and buy masi from the makers, display it, be presented with it, wear what is appropriate to your standing, and credit and pay the maker by name. Do not have the motifs copied onto your stationery, your signage, your cake or a bridesmaid's dress by someone who is not entitled to them.
What else belongs in a Fijian wedding, and what does it mean?
Magimagi is coconut-husk sennit, braided into a strong thin cord and used to lash and decorate bure — an 1845 account describes cane walls and roofs wound with it. The husks are pit-baked or boiled, soaked for days, pounded to separate the fibres and sun-dried. Who braids differs by place: on Cicia in Lau the men braid; at Bulileka near Labasa, reviving the craft after nearly fifty years, the women separated and plaited the strands, with about 100 green coconuts and 18 hours of boiling going into one rope. We could not confirm that magimagi is produced commercially or find a published price — treat it as a commission, not a purchase.
Salusalu, the flower garland, is woven onto strands of vau, dried wild hibiscus bark, or onto kuta in Bua and Macuata. Making it, cori salusalu, is women's work, and garlands are made the same day from fresh flowers. The presentation protocol, veivakasalusalutaki, is worth briefing guests on: the garland is placed by someone chosen for rank and closeness, who approaches in a respectful half-bent position, announces her intention, and never passes her hands over the recipient's head, which is considered sacred, balancing the garland shoulder to shoulder before giving three cupped claps, obo. At a wedding, relatives may present fresh garlands at different points — more garlands is a sign of being loved — and the maternal aunts, nei, agree beforehand who wears what when.
Mats matter more than most couples realise. Woven from voivoi pandanus or kuta sedge, exclusively by women, they are a valued possession — iyau — and at weddings many are laid out for viewing, the tevutevu, with some serving as the seats for the couple during rituals. Chiefly mats carry reserved designs and are not given freely outside a chiefly family.
Tabua, a whale's tooth, is the highest Fijian valuable, and the one thing not to plan on taking home. Export needs an approval letter from the Ministry of iTaukei Affairs and then an export permit from the Ministry of Environment, with a national quota of 16 tabua per month and exports to the United States prohibited outright.
What does it cost, and where do you buy it?
Published figures are scarce, and these are the ones on the record. A maker from Moce quotes FJ$150 for a 6 × 4 ft piece and FJ$300 for a masi wedding dress; the Fiji Times reports masi bridal wear costing up to FJ$3,000. We could not confirm a current exchange rate today, so treat those as Fijian dollars and convert at the day's bank rate.
For buying, go to people rather than shops where you can.
- Fiji Arts Council keeps the register of masi makers and runs the National Crafts Exhibition, held annually since 1983; the 2025 edition drew more than 40 makers showing masi, mats, kuta weaving, jewellery and textiles, with traditional entries required to use 100 per cent local materials.
- Rise Beyond the Reef works with more than 500 women across Ba, Ra, Kioa and Cakaudrove, with a Port Denarau store opened in October 2024 in partnership with Jack's of Fiji, and the Sabeto Shed Shop.
- Suva Handicraft Market, Stinson Parade Road, Monday to Saturday 8am–5pm, is undercover and carries masi, wood carving and woven goods. Nadi Handicraft Market on Koroivolu Avenue runs Monday to Saturday from 8am, and Savusavu Market has handicraft wings.
- Look for the Fijian Crafted licence mark, which signifies a licensed Fijian crafter.
- The Fiji Museum in Thurston Gardens has a masi gallery and displays Adi Litia Mara's 1991 masi wedding gown by designer Annie Bonza. It does not advertise a shop, so visit it for the education rather than the purchase.
Tourism Fiji's own guidance is sound: bargaining is expected at markets and prices are fixed in resort and gallery shops, and masi motifs vary by region in a way that helps you judge where a piece is from.
How do you get it home?
Build this into the trip, because it cannot be done at the airport on the day.
For New Zealand or Australia, woven handicrafts — mats, masi, magimagi, fans — must be inspected by a Biosecurity Authority of Fiji officer and fumigated by a reputable fumigation company under BAF supervision, after which BAF issues a phytosanitary certificate and attaches a biosecurity seal. Fumigation takes at least 24 hours, you arrange it, and BAF supervision fees must be paid before the certificate issues.
For other destinations, items must be wiped clean, sun-dried, bagged with a small opening and sprayed with an insecticidal aerosol, then inspected at the nearest Biosecurity Station the day before departure or at the Biosecurity Service Desk in Nadi airport's departure hall. Wooden handicrafts additionally need a Forestry Inspector's certificate from the Ministry of Fisheries and Forests for NZ and Australia. Coconut oil, soap and lotion need nothing.
On arrival, New Zealand's Ministry for Primary Industries asks that Pacific-style woven and tapa mats be clean, dry and declared on your Traveller Declaration. Australia requires plant material and wooden items to be declared; failing to declare can bring an infringement notice of up to A$6,260, while declaring costs nothing even if the goods are not allowed in.
One care tip worth the whole section: roll masi for storage rather than folding it. Folds weaken the fibres and lead to tears. Conservators repair them with Japanese wheat starch.
Biosecurity and export rules are a guideline only — confirm current requirements with the Biosecurity Authority of Fiji on (679) 3312512 and with your arrival country's biosecurity agency before you travel.
The short version
Masi, magimagi, mats and salusalu are not decoration — they are the valuables Fijian families exchange at the moments that matter, which is exactly why they suit a wedding. Commission them from named makers, pay properly, let a Fijian coordinator advise on what your standing allows you to wear, don't copy the motifs, and give yourself two clear days at the end of the trip for fumigation.
Next: read Fijian wedding traditions for the ceremony itself, the kava ceremony at a wedding for sevusevu protocol, and booking performers respectfully before you add a meke. Cultural etiquette for you and your guests covers the rest. For suppliers who work with Fijian materials, see Firefly Flowers Fiji, Genesis Flowers, The Wedding & Events Atelier Fiji and VOU Fiji, and browse venues by region in the capacity directory.