Tapa cloths are native to the indigenous peoples of the South Pacific and have a wide variety of uses, both symbolic and functional. Tapa is made from the bark of the paper mulberry tree, Broussonetia papyrifera, and is traditionally produced by women involving a labour-intensive process. The first step is to strip the bark from the tree and immerse it in water, where it will soak from between several hours to a month, enabling the bark to be divested of its outer and much darker layer. The inner bark is then stretched out and beaten with clubs until the fibres soften and loosen, creating a uniform, flattened surface. Pieces are then joined together either with adhesive, or more traditionally, by melding the plant fibres together and beating them. The enlarged sheet of tapa will then be laid out in the sun, where it will be bleached as it dries. The final decoration will vary according to where the tapa is made: Fiji, Tonga and Samoa all have their own distinctive patterns. One of the great virtues of tapa is its versatility and any number of effects can be achieved though stamping, painting, stencilling, printing, staining and smoking.