Wearing skirts

The Pohnpeian koahl is neither a skirt nor a costume. Men of Pohnpei wore the koahl in times of yore. In the past I have worn the koahl for only a single class period - wearing it only as a costume. Photos from the venerable Micronesian seminar site make this clear. Men with large guns wore the koahl.


Men with high titles going to formal functions wore the koahl. Photo again courtesy of Micronesian Seminar.



This term I decided not to wear the koahl as a single period costume. I donned my koahl early in the morning and wore it throughout the day. In the past the wind has been problematic for my thin koahl. I discovered the perhaps long lost secret of double-koahling (pardon the Pohnglish!). Two skirts provide more security in a breeze.



I am indebted to the division administration assistant who had a second koahl on hand. I now want one like the fellow in front of the governor's residence.


After a day in the koahl, I delivered an outdoor lecture on the loss of material culture to the ethnobotany class.


In the past, beside the wind, another problem was the cord tended to slip upwards, leaving a loose koahl that hung akilter. I worked out a solution to this as well. I tied the cords through the koahl just under the hemlines. This is the outer koahl and the tying configuration.


This is a detail view.



The inner koahl was tied in the same way.

 

The red mark is from the outer skirt. The tying system remained secure all day long, even on trips across campus outside. 

Now I just need to work on six pack and an upper body to complement the koahl on the lower half. And that farmers tan!