The scarcity of loom weaving in the Pacific Island cultures has long perplexed scholars. In the central Pacific, loom weaving is confined to the Caroline Islands archipelago of Micronesia and to a few areas in northern Melanesia. It is widely believed that loom weaving came to the Caroline Islands from Indonesia (Riesenberg and Gayton 1952, 67), and some believe that weaving in the Pacific region became most highly developed in these islands. This fine sash (dohr) from the island of Pohnpei is woven with banana leafstalk fiber, commonly known as manila hemp, on a back-strap loom with a cylindrical beam and continuous warp. Dating to the mid- to late nineteenth century, this prime example of artistry and technical virtuosity is woven in a warppredominant plain weave with supplementary-weft patterning. However, one of the most interesting aspects of the belt is its display of the unique knotted-in-warp technique—used solely on the islands of Kosrae and Pohnpei. This knotted-in-warp technique is carried out during the process of winding the warp threads around the warping bench. Guided by a measuring grid carved into the warping bench, the female weaver will repeatedly break the warp threads in order to create a warp pattern. Like tied-in-warp patterning, the measuring grid on the bench occurs only on the islands of Kosrae and Pohnpei. Sashes were worn by both men and women—by men as loincloths, and by women as hip wrappers (D’Alessandro 2008). jkd