A lap-lap is a waistcloth or
loincloth worn in
Papua New Guinea and the
South Pacific
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
. This item of
clothing has three parts: a front flap, a back flap, and a
thread
Thread may refer to:
Objects
* Thread (yarn), a kind of thin yarn used for sewing
** Thread (unit of measurement), a cotton yarn measure
* Screw thread, a helical ridge on a cylindrical fastener
Arts and entertainment
* ''Thread'' (film), 2016 ...
to tie them around the
waist. The sides are generally open. How much is covered by the front and back flaps varies.
Related to the lap-lap is the
lava-lava, which is an all-round rectangular cloth worn like a
kilt or
skirt by
Polynesians.
This description refers to the traditional, pre-colonial period, costume. The current usage is broader than this:
'Laplap: a waistcloth, a loincloth, any cloth material or dry goods, a rag'.
[Mihalic, F 1971, ''The Jacaranda dictionary and grammar of Melanesian Pidgin'', Jacaranda Press, Milton, Qld] It is a Fijian word that is also used in Western Melanesia.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lap-Lap
Melanesian clothing
Skirts
History of Oceanian clothing