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About Traditional Weaving

When Māori arrived in Aotearoa, the clothing they wore in the Pacific would have been totally inadequate, especially for the winter. This provided the spur for the development here of garments that must be considered to be amongst the highest artistic achievements of Māori.

Strict conditions

In times past, initial instruction into the arts of weaving was given to novices only under strict conditions and with a great deal of ceremony. The laws of tapu (sacredness) prevailed and only by a strict adherence to the rules and formula could a pupil ever hope to master the craft.

After much discussion and advice the learner would commence a first ‘pattern piece’ under the guidance of two experts. The skills of one of these was applied to render the pupil receptive and able to clearly grasp the lessons given. The other’s task was to ensure those lessons would be fixed in the pupil’s mind.

Weaving kakahu Kupe Kupe

Beautiful and comfortable

Plaited flax textiles were generally rather stiff, rough and uncomfortable when placed next to the skin so a weaving technique was developed which allowed Māori to make garments that were both beautiful and comfortable.

Prized cloak

The New Zealand flax plant provided the raw material for these garments, of which the cloak became the most highly prized. Few items, if any, carry the prestige that is associated with the possession of one of these prized cloaks.

The korowai cloak is decorated with short lengths of twisted fibre, usually dyed black. Sometimes, pompoms of fibre are substituted for the twisted cords known as ngore. Perhaps the most important decoration of all on the korowai was a coloured taniko border which added a bright geometric pattern.

Dog-skin cloaks

Though rarely seen today outside museums, dog-skin cloaks (kahu kuri) were highly prized. Vertical strips of the dog hide were sewn to the body of the cloak with the hairy surface showing. Sometimes tiny strips of the skin were attached to the body, as were feathers. As dogs were never plentiful and generally the possession of chiefs, these garments were of special significance as an indicator of rank and prestige.

Kahu kiwi

Of all cloaks, however, it is those adorned with feathers (kahu huruhuru) that were the most prestigious. Feathers from a variety of birds were used but when those of one particular species was employed exclusively, such as the kiwi, the cloak was termed a ‘kahu kiwi’.

Kahu kiwi are prized and indicative of high rank. Some cloaks were decorated with a variety of feathers, often the green and white of the native pigeon (kereru) arranged in rectangular patches. Because of the total protection of our native bird species today, feathers of exotic species are used in most modern cloaks.

Prized mud

Colours utilized by Māori were derived mainly from vegetables. Black was obtained by first soaking the fibre in water containing crushed hinau bark them immersing it in a bath of special black mud generally referred to as ‘paru’. Deposits of this mud were jealously guarded by iwi (tribes).

The bright red seen in taniko weaving today (as with most bright colours) is a post-European product, the original colour obtained with native dyes being reddish-brown. The original dye for this was obtained from the bark of the tanekaha tree which had been crushed and soaked in heated water. A yellow dye was procured from the raureka tree.

European influence

European settlement dramatically altered the range and use of traditional Māori garments and western style clothing was soon adopted. Despite the decline of traditionally produced clothing, tāniko weaving persisted.

Colours too were now much brighter and more extensive as traders introduced manufactured chemical dyes. Though traditional patterns persisted, the availability of ready-made thread of almost every weight and colour gave rise to much more extensive use of taniko weaving. The once narrow and delicate decorative bands on cloak edges became sometimes massive borders.

Resurgent garments

A remarkable resurgence of Māori cultural groups began particularly during the latter half of the twentieth century. With this came a requirement for an attractive and uniform dress which has again increased the production of tāniko, though, thanks to the use of more modern textiles, some of the ancient skills in the preparation of tāniko are being lost.

The Institute is, however, one place where these ancient skills are preserved and where tāniko and others woven arts can be seen at each stage of their manufacture. For those pursuing these ancient skills there is a great deal of personal satisfaction, not only in completing a piece but in the knowledge that the aims of the Institute, to preserve and perpetuate such skills are being upheld.

Piupiu

The garment most commonly associated with the Māori is the ‘piupiu’. However, despite its popularity and almost universal use today it did not exist as we know in pre-European society. Early explorers described how both men and women wore apron-like garments which, when shifted from waist to shoulders served also as cloaks. They were variously known as pake karure, rāpaki, hihi or hihihihi.

Early piupiu consisted of a finely woven flax foundation or kaupapa. Long, decorated strands of flax were fastened in layers on the outside. A heavy plaited waistband supported the garment. When worn at the waist the shorter apron-like skirts were often referred to as maro.

Unique sound

With the development of commercial cultural events for the tourist industry a style of piupiu has evolved which is now almost entirely decorative. The once fine strips of flax that served to conceal or decorate have given way to a single layer of long cylindrical flax tubes which imparts a unique sound as they rattle against one another with the swaying motion of the Māori dance.

Floor mats

Despite the introduction of European fabrics, pride of place in matters of Māori etiquette is still given to traditional woven products. Whāriki (floor mats) might be provided to place beneath the mattress of an overnight visitor of distinction on a marae. They are also frequently placed beneath a coffin during a tangihanga (funeral period) as a mark of respect to the deceased.

In a blending of tradition with Christianity, fine mats may be placed under the altar for church services, or spread beneath the feet of participants at a wedding ceremony. It was once not uncommon for a particularly fine mat to be woven on which the birth of an important child would take place.

Ground cover

Floor mats were of greater consequence in earlier times when even the superior carved houses had only dirt floors. This provided a need for several different types of mat, each of which was specialized.

Floors of houses were generally covered first with various fern fronds to provide a relatively soft base and over this coarse mats, called both whāriki and tūwhara were laid. The finer sleeping mats, takapau, were then spread over these.

Main course mat

The mat most generally used was the coarse tāpaki, used in the preparation of food in the hangi (earth oven). Tāpaki were placed above the food in the earth pits and then heaped over with earth to retain the steam and heat around the food.

Kete

There are many different kinds of woven baskets known generically as kete (kit bags). The leaves of the tī kouka or whanake (cabbage tree) or of the nīkau palm are often used by basket weavers but flax is undoubtedly the chief material employed.

A small flax platter or shallow kete, used for serving food was probably the first production of an aspiring novice weaver. They were discarded after being used only once. A useful type of basket, the patua or papahuahua, although not woven, was made from the bark of the tōtara tree. Folded back upon itself and tied it would readily hold water.

Baby basket

In ancient times the best and most beautiful work was said to have been expended on a baby basket by a skilled weaver expecting her first child. A special chant of those times, used to invoke the help of the weaving atua (god) began: ‘Weave, weave the basket, a couch for my unborn son.’

Universally popular

Kits and baskets are today the most commonly used of all indigenous products. As a functional item they are found throughout the country, and used extensively by both Māori and Pākēhā. The finer quality examples have not only the advantages of utility but are produced with artistry and fashion.