Cloak of mystery removed
Museum keen to share secrets of Ma¯ori korowai
Amajor Auckland Museum project involving centuriesold Ma¯ori cloaks has unlocked new information about the way some of the country’s first human inhabitants lived.
Museum staff have been carefully rehousing its ka¯kahu (clothes) collection, some estimated to be 400 years old, and made from materials including kur¯ı (dog) skin and nowendangered ka¯ka¯po¯ feathers.
Auckland Museum’s Ma¯ ori curator Chanel Clarke said the project was about reorganising and improving the care of the taonga, but had also allowed them to more closely examine and learn about their precious collection, with the aim of making it more visible to the public.
The Te Awe project started in 2013 as part of a major museum revamp, and involved shifting more than 5000 ancient Ma¯ori wood artefacts.
The second and final stage, due to end next month, has involved moving and preserving about 5000 textile items, including about 300 items of ka¯kahu from across the country.
They engaged iwi and expert Ma¯ori weavers who studied the techniques and materials, and helped interpret the patterns and their origin.
“When they came from the Pacific they obviously found New Zealand much more temperate, snow even in places, so had to find appropriate materials they could use,” Clarke said.
“Items like tapa [bark cloth], used in the islands, was not prevalent here, so instead we have seen a lot of harakeke, cabbage leaf and pingao used.”
Harakeke was used for both inner and outer wear. Shoes were also fashioned out of the native plant.
Items from the deep south could be differentiated from those used in the more temperate Far North.
The more serious cloaks and some of the earliest items were made from kur¯ı and seal skin. One of the most popular materials was kiwi feathers, but tu¯¯ı and ka¯ka¯ were also common. The museum even had one korowai made from ka¯ka¯po¯ feathers.
Further changes could be seen between pre- and post-European contact, Clarke said.
“Ma¯ori quickly adapted to European clothing, and we started to see them incorporating materials like wool into cloaks. We also saw less of the long cloaks, as traditional items went from everyday wear to more ceremonial or fashion use, as they would wear European items underneath.”
The museum aimed to make the taonga Ma¯ori collection more visible and ultimately shift it online.
“The interest has always been there, the weavers’ collective been really strong, but lately there has been a greater push for traditional items, especially with an increased focus on sustainable, natural items such as kete.”