side and secured by a belt." Among these Western Caroline Islanders, traditional loom weaving has been described as “highly developed” and weavers have long demonstrated “singular ingenuity and resourcefulness” in their work. The skirts’ cultural significance “far exceeds their function simply as items of daily wear.” The lava-lava is nothing less than a “highly condensed visual expression of social and economic relations, ritual affairs, and the aesthetic ideals of Micronesian society.” In addition to being worn daily by all females who have reached womanhood in the atolls of the Western Caroline Island, the skirts are also used for investiture, initiation and the burial of local leaders. While back-strap tension weaving of skirts remains a common practice in the Outer Islands of Yap in Micronesia, among migrants the practice is diminishing. Current forms Specially tailored linen lavalava which extend mid-calf, often with pockets and ties / buckles, are worn by men at special occasions or to church; these are always solid colors (in contrast to the bright patterns of everyday lava-lava) and are known as sulu (Fijian), ie faitaga (Samoan), or tupenu (Tongan). Similar ankle-length skirts form the lower half of the two-piece formal dress worn by Samoan and Tongan women (called puletasi and puletaha, respectively). On special occasions the Tongan tupenu and puletaha are usually associated with a tapa cloth or waist-mat called ta'ovala and some Samoans still wear a tapa cloth vala sash in similar fashion (though the vala is generally restricted to ceremonial / festive regalia of orators or people acting / dressing as taupou maidens and manaia beaus). The formal, tailored linen lavalava styles of Tonga, Samoa, and Fiji originated with the Fijian noble Ratu Sir Lala Sukuna who introduced the buckled sulu to Fiji in 1920 following his military service and university education in Europe. Loudly colored lavalava made from materials such as satin, velvet, polyester, and sequins have recently been popularized among performance dance groups and village, church, or school-based choirs. Related names and garments In English, such garments are generically called sarong, but that word is actually Malay, whereas lavalava is Samoan, being short for ʻie lavalava (cloth that wraps around). Another common name for the Polynesian variety is pāreu (usually spelled pareo), which is the Tahitian name. In Tonga, the garment is called tupenu. In New Caledonia and Wallis and Futuna, lavalava are called manou. A similar simple kind of clothing is the