Category Archives: Māori

Xray Vision, part I

11 July 2012 – 4.36pm

As an art conservation student, I was frequently encouraged by my tutors to think of my profession as a three-legged stool—a platform supported by the three disciplines of connoisseurship, fine arts, and science.   Understanding the science of how materials age is critical for being able to slow down deterioration.  In addition, scientific methods of analysis can inform our understanding of how an object was made, when it was made, or where it came from.  For me, this kind of investigation is one of the most fun and interesting parts of my job.  This past week I used Xray energy, produced by two different pieces of equipment in different ways, to find out more about objects in Te Papa’s collection.  This post describes the use of a non-invasive scanner to study a taiaha (long club fighting staff).   In a subsequent post I will talk about a new piece of equipment in our lab called XRF.

Taiaha (long club fighting staff), 1800, Taranaki. Maker unknown. Purchased 1905. Te Papa

Taiaha (long club fighting staff), 1800, Taranaki. Maker unknown. Purchased 1905. Te Papa

The taiaha was purchased by the museum in 1905, and is thought to be about 200 years old.  It has a decorative band (tauri) of red wool textile stitched at the top, but it’s evident from the shape and bulk of the tauri that the wool is covering other soft material.  When I first examined the taiaha, I was intrigued.  Other textile wrappings that I’ve seen on taiaha aren’t stitched, they’re wrapped, and examples with dog hair tassels often have feather adornment as well.  Was the wool covering feathers, or many layers of other wrappings?  Proceeding with the assumption that the red wool was an historically important part of the object and not a restoration treatment, I did not strip it off to satisfy my curiosity!  Instead, I investigated the possibility of having the object Xrayed.  Te Papa does not (yet!) have digital Xray capability, and tikanga (cultural protocol) considerations ruled out Wellington Hospital.  So, it was off to the National Isotope Laboratory at GNS, in Lower Hutt.

Te Papa's Kaitiaki Taonga Māori Shane James and Objects Conservator Nirmala Balram working with Karyne Rogers and John West at the GNS Isotope Centre. Image by Anne Peranteau, copyright Te Papa.

Te Papa’s Kaitiaki Taonga Māori Shane James and Objects Conservator Nirmala Balram working with Karyne Rogers and John West at the GNS Isotope Centre. Image by Anne Peranteau, copyright Te Papa.

At GNS, we worked with Karyne Rogers and John West to obtain an Xray image of the taiaha using a non-invasive Xray scanner, of the type that is commonly used in airports.  The scanner provides an image that indicates the relative density of the materials being scanned—orange for low density organic material, green for medium density material, and blue for high density material.  Have you ever wondered what the airport security personnel see on their screen when your bag goes on the belt?  This gives you some idea.

Image of taiaha ME001310 produced by non-invasive Xray scanner. The arrows indicate the wrappings beneath the red wool. Image by Anne Peranteau. Copyright Te Papa.

Image of taiaha ME001310 produced by non-invasive Xray scanner. The arrows indicate the wrappings beneath the red wool. Image by Anne Peranteau. Copyright Te Papa.

From the image we were able to conclude that the material below the red wool is a higher density material, applied in two wide bands.  Raupo or muka were two possibilities put forward by Objects Conservator Nirmala Balram and Kaitiaki Taonga Māori Shane James.   The wrappings below the red wool are not woven cloth, nor are feathers present.

The taiaha will be included in an upcoming Te Papa exhibition called Uniformity: Cracking the Dress Code,  scheduled to open in September.  Shane will be working with GNS to do more scanning of putorino (flutes) and other musical instruments, to learn more about the construction of these objects, and particularly their interior dimensions in relationship to the sounds they make.

By peranne | Also posted in Conservation | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments (0)

Kōrero Kākahu: Weaving Worldviews

10 July 2012 – 11.59am
by Matariki Williams

A highlight for me in Kahu Ora is a kākahu that is in the process of being cleaned by Textile Conservator Anne Peranteau. This kahu kurī is from between 1750 and 1840, of unknown provenance, and is made from strips of the pelt of a kurī (Polynesian dog) sewn onto a finely twined foundation of muka (flax fibre).

Kahu kurī of highest prestige were made from whole pelts of kurī sewn together. One of the only known examples, on loan from Puke Ariki, is currently on display in Kahu Ora. Given the value placed on the kurī, other kākahu were made using the pelts in a more economic way, like this cloak sewn from strips of dogskin.

Kahu kurï (dog skin cloak), 1750-1840, New Zealand. Maker unknown. Bequest of Kenneth Athol Webster, 1971. Te Papa

This kākahu is currently on display in a partially cleaned state effectively displaying the difference in what lies beneath the build-up of years. This is notable as it is unusual practice for Te Papa to showcase this process and this photo does not really do it justice. By viewing the kākahu in person you get to see the real difference in the immense amount of work that has been carried out and the unquantifiable value of this work is evident.

The work of Te Papa conservator Rangi Te Kanawa and her whānau background is a very interesting merging of tikanga Māori with the conservation ideals of the Western world. Rangituatahi Te Kanawa comes from a line of esteemed weavers including mother, the late Diggeress Te Kanawa, and grandmother, the late Rangimarie Hetet.

Her inherent knowledge adds to her expertise and understanding of the intricacies of kākahu. Given her upbringing and connection to two expert weavers, it comes as no surprise that Rangi Te Kanawa is also a weaver, a fact that only adds to her connection with the taonga: “I have a huge appreciation of the craftsmanship in this work. Because of my background, I know exactly what a whatu (twining) stitch is. I know how many whatu stitches are in each weft (horizontal) row.” The following video shows Rangi talking more about her background and gives some information about the conservation work she does with her particular interest in the degradation of natural fibres due to being dyed in iron-rich mud.

What these two stories display for me is the merging of two worldviews and the kinds of breakthroughs in understandings that this partnership affords descendants and practitioners alike. This is especially significant when there has been such a huge loss of customary knowledge. Through the hands-on work of weavers and the investigations into the chemical elements of the dyes and fibres of kākahu, we are able to regain some of what has been lost and continue this documentation of knowledge for future generations; something that Whatu Kākahu builds on.

Donna Head, Kohai Grace and Clare Butler. Photograph by Pamela Lovis. Te Papa

Donna Head, Kohai Grace and Clare Butler. Photograph by Pamela Lovis. Te Papa

Last weekend saw the final Weavers’ Studio to feature Ngā Tapuwae o Hine-te-iwaiwa after their month-long residence. It’s been a pleasure walking through Kahu Ora and seeing visitors interact with them and watching weaving in action. Ngā mihi mahana ki a koutou.

Kohai Grace. Photograph by Pamela Lovis. Te Papa

Kohai Grace. Photograph by Pamela Lovis. Te Papa

This week another group will be in the Weavers’ Studio, Raranga Kākahu, Raranga Tāngata, Raranga Whakapapa. This group includes Mark Sykes, who is also a Te Papa Collection Manager Māori, Matthew McIntyre-Wilson who made the pākē featured in an earlier post, also Sorrel Kemp and Hiri Crawford. Come in and meet them from Wednesday.

By Te Papa | Also posted in Conservation, Exhibitions | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments (1)

Umi tufala shea: sharing stories from the Festival of Pacific Arts

4 July 2012 – 9.11pm

This is the third day of the Festival and there are way too many things and sights to properly explain. I can only give samples and highlights, and even these are too numerous to do it justice. The NZ delegation has jumped into action, performing and creating. The Festival village is buzzing with all the whare heaving with artists, customary and contemporary practitioners, curious visitors, booming music from the Pasifika stage, percussive sounds of toki carving into wood everywhere – and the occasional buzz of a chainsaw – its modern day stand-in.

To recount my best moment so far though….the festival opening started extra early on Monday morning. We had a 4am alarm and blearily jumped on to buses and headed into darkness to a beach (which I don’t know the name of, I apologise). A drizzly, warm morning, the beach was jam packed with people, all dressed in traditional fibre kakahu, lavalava, or bright polo shirt uniforms; a vast array of different bodies and appearances, there must have been at least 1000 people on that beach. Maybe more. We were treated to a fireworks display, the first since 1972 in Honiara, and a gift giving ceremony. There was an expectant feel in the air, and everyone seemed to be focused on the water rather than the official stage on shore.

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Impatient because I couldn’t see anything, I wormed my way through the crowd to the shoreline, and I am so glad I did. Before me, in the dawn light, were seven magnificent double hulled waka called waka hourua, anchored several hundred meters out to sea. Added to this, were about 8 small Solomon Island waka, with at least 15 men in each. The scene behind me was a cacophony of sound but out in the ocean, it seemed silent.

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I was speechless and embarrassingly emotional (sookie lala is how my family would describe it). The sight of the waka was overwhelming and for a long moment, I wondered if this was the sight that the ancient Tūpuna of the Pacific saw, when voyagers from afar visited their islands. Unable to compute what I was seeing, I just stood and gawped and had a bit of a tangi.

An amusing break in the emotion of the moment were the smaller waka from the Solomons, which raced up and down the shore performing what I can only describe as boy racer waka burnouts. They whizzed into shore, stealing a person and taking them out to sea. Only to speed back to the shore again at speed, water braking on the beach. Very funny and fabulous to watch.

The silent waka hourua stayed further out and maintained their impressive appearance. They are part of a monumental undertaking called the Pacific Voyagers project where seven replica waka are sailing through the Pacific Ocean, retracing ancestral links and drawing the world’s attention to the health of our oceans. Populated with crews from around the world, these seven waka have travelled as a fleet since early last year. There are two Māori waka in this whanau: Haunui captained by Hoturoa Kerr of Tainui; and Te Matau a Maui captained by Frank Kawe of Ngāti Ranginui and Ngāti Kahungunu (and he’s from my kainga tūturu – Tauranga!). Their voyage has been immense and breathtaking. You can read more about it here.

The waka slowly made their way closer to shore, and as they did so and the morning light grew brighter, the people on the beach began to sing, chant, wave and call out. The NZ delegation raced to greet the Māori waka Haunui and Te Matau with karakia, mihi and haka pohiri, to which the waka crews responded in kind.

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It was an awesome morning which only got better when members of the delegation were invited on to the waka to sail to their mooring, about two hours sail along the coast. I clambered aboard Te Matau, and again was shamelessly emotional (I blame the early start).

The generosity and then the stories shared by the crew and by other manuhiri aboard the waka was wonderful. As well as some of the crew, I met two lovely women from Hawaii, and one beautiful lady from Tahiti who had sailed on one of the waka. They shared their own voyaging and cultural stories with me, as I did with them. It was a peaceful few hours and my definite highlight of the festival so far. I didn’t want to get off!

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By Puawai Cairns | Also posted in Events, Pacific | Tagged , , , , | Comments (0)

Holding hands across the water: 11th Festival of Pacific Arts, Honiara Solomon Islands

30 June 2012 – 7.58pm

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Every four years, an enormous event called the Festival of Pacific Arts is held in a different part of the Pacific. It is one of the most significant pan-Pacific gatherings where island nations from across Polynesia, Melanesia, and Micronesia meet to share their arts – customary and contemporary – and renew the ancestral links that bind the people who share the Pacific.

Over 100 New Zealand artists – of Maori, Pacific, and Pakeha descent – have been selected by Te Waka Toi to attend this year’s Festival and join over 20 different island nations, from Hawaii to Guam, Australia to Rapanui. The original purpose of the festival was to prevent the erosion of traditional arts throughout the Pacific; erosion from the encroachment of modern living and the reprioritisation of values that this sometimes brings. From the first festival in 1972 (held in Fiji) however, the festival has grown into more than an urgent response to the perceived threat of cultural erosion. It has become a place to present exemplary practitioners of various customary artforms, to allow a space for sharing and reconnection, and to showcase the ongoing development, adaptation and maintenance of cultural practices, in avenues adopted by Pacific artists, in disciplines such as contemporary dance and music, sculpture, and puppetry – to name a few.

I find myself lucky to be at my second Pacific festival (in 2008 I travelled to Pagopago in American Samoa). And this year, I’ve come to the Solomon Islands at the invitation of Creative New Zealand and Te Waka Toi, and with the support of Te Papa which has allowed me time to come away to Honiara and join the large New Zealand delegation. I’ve come wearing two hats, one as part of the assisting operations crew to help look after the delegation; and one as a curator to present at a symposium next week and to observe the artists and festival goings on.

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After arriving here on an RNZAF boeing on Monday and with a wonderful welcome reception by the people of Honiara, the delegation has been acclimatizing to the 70% humidity and 30 degree heat. The logistical practicalities of bringing so many artists to a developing country with a particularly voracious form of malaria and infrastructure limitations has been well thought out and planned by the Creative New Zealand and especially by the Project Manager, Jon Tamihere. It is a well-supported project!

On Sunday the festival formalities begin. It starts with a church service and then an opening ceremony on Monday. And for the next two weeks, we will inhabit a specially built whare alongside the other Pacific islands, as part of the beautiful festival village. Customary and contemporary musicians, actors, puppeteers, kapa haka, haka theatre, sculptors, carvers, weavers, and clay workers, all sharing with each other and with our Pacific whanaunga.

A very special event. I’ll be writing more as the festival unfolds. But in the meantime, follow NZ at the Festival of Pacific Arts on Facebook for more images and reflections.

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By Puawai Cairns | Also posted in Museums, News, Pacific | Tagged , , | Comments (1)

Kōrero Kākahu: Goldie, Lindauer and Korowai

29 June 2012 – 12.05pm
by Matariki Williams

Aside from the kākahu on display, Kahu Ora presents visitors with the opportunity to see three exemplars of New Zealand art close up. Two oil paintings by Charles Goldie and another from Gottfried Lindauer show kākahu in another medium and are juxtaposed by an impressive example of a korowai. Many photographs are used throughout Kahu Ora to illustrate the history and kōrero (story) surrounding kākahu but the inclusion of these three paintings, almost in a section of their own, is a welcome inclusion.

The first painting is titled ‘Pipi Puzzled’ and depicts the bust of a Ngāti Whakaue woman named Pipi Haerehuka.

Pipi puzzled [Pipi Haerehuka (Te Ärani), Ngäti Whakaue], 1919, Auckland. Goldie, Charles F. Purchased 1949. Te Papa

Pipi puzzled [Pipi Haerehuka (Te Ärani), Ngäti Whakaue], 1919, Auckland. Goldie, Charles F. Purchased 1949. Te Papa

The texture of the painting is incredible; you can almost feel the softness of her hair and the leather of her skin. My father’s mother was from Ngāti Whakaue but we grew up not knowing her side of the family so having the opportunity to stand in front of a tipuna is one of the most important intangible experiences Kahu Ora offers.

The second Goldie featured in Kahu Ora is Thoughts of a Tohunga depicting the Ngāti Manawa tohunga, Te Wharekauri Tahuna. Due to his profile sitting, you can see the detail in the portrait down to the vein on his forehead. The depth of his wrinkles and tā moko are also evident. Unfortunately we don’t have the clearance to publish this image online, but come in and see the painting in person to fully comprehend how beautiful it is.

Darby and Joan [Ina Te Papatahi, Ngä Puhi], 1903, Auckland. Goldie, Charles F. Purchased 1991 with New Zealand Lottery Grants Board and the Minister's discretionary funds. Te Papa

Darby and Joan [Ina Te Papatahi, Ngä Puhi], 1903, Auckland. Goldie, Charles F. Purchased 1991 with New Zealand Lottery Grants Board and the Minister’s discretionary funds. Te Papa

In other paintings of his, including those of Ina Te Papatahi from Ngā Puhi he depicts his sitter in a despondent manner with the decay of Māori culture materialised around her. This was representative of the contemporary view, and one that Goldie appeared to perpetuate, that Māori were a dying people and culture. Though we can look back on his practices with the benefit of hindsight, we also reap the benefits of seeing tipuna portrayed in such a realistic manner.

The third painting on display is by Gottfried Lindauer of Mrs Mihiterina Takamoana.

Mrs Mihiterina Takamoana, Napier NZ, 1877, New Zealand. Lindauer, Gottfried. Te Papa

Mrs Mihiterina Takamoana, Napier NZ, 1877, New Zealand. Lindauer, Gottfried. Te Papa

Lindauer and Goldie together were the most prolific portrait painters of their times and in the book Pictures of Old New Zealand by Gottfried Lindauer the value of the portraits lay in what they have captured for their descendants, “…the dignified rangatiras and warrior chiefs, who have now all passed away to the Reinga, the spiritland.” Unlike some of Lindauer’s more well-known portraits like Ana Rupene and Child that are also depicted wearing korowai, there is little known about Mihiterina and I think her inclusion in the exhibition heightens the chance that through this exposure she may be reconnected with her descendants.

Remember the Weavers Studio will be in until Sunday.

Korowai (cloak with decorative tassels), 1800 s, New Zealand. Maker unknown. Gift of Alexander Turnbull, 1913. Te Papa

Korowai (cloak with decorative tassels), 1800 s, New Zealand. Maker unknown. Gift of Alexander Turnbull, 1913. Te Papa

Korowai developed from the more practical pākē however the tags on a korowai are primarily for decorative purposes instead of protection from rain. Korowai evolved further with the introduction of wool to New Zealand and in the aforementioned painting Ana Rupene and Child, you can view an example of the colourful pompoms that were in vogue. The korowai on display with the paintings uses no wool and the hukahuka (decorative tags) are dyed with paru or ferruginous mud which has an active ingredient of iron oxide.

This korowai has provided us with another step in the evolutionary journey of the kākahu and how Māori have continued to adapt the techniques and materials. However, the inclusion of this korowai without wool and the paintings of people wearing similar kinds of korowai remind us that this evolution does not happen without the innovations of the past.

By Te Papa | Also posted in Art, Exhibitions | Tagged , , , , , | Comments (0)

Kōrero kākahu: Rain Capes

21 June 2012 – 12.50pm
by Matariki Williams

This week we are featuring two kākahu shown in Kahu Ora that employ the same weaving techniques but use distinctly different materials. These kākahu are both versions of pākē or rain capes, one from 1850-1900 and the other made in 2009 by Matthew McIntyre-Wilson.

Päkë, 2009, Wellington. McIntyre-Wilson, Matthew. Purchased 2011. Te Papa

Päkë, 2009, Wellington. McIntyre-Wilson, Matthew. Purchased 2011. Te Papa

The inspiration for this pākē hukahuka came when Matthew inherited a pākē that had originally been given to his great-grandfather and was possibly from Te Rangihiroa, Sir Peter Buck. Trained as a jeweller, Matthew was taught how to weave through his friend and master weaver, the late Rangi Kiu. After initially working with flax, Matthew moved into using more contemporary materials thus combining his passions.

Päkë, 2009, Wellington. McIntyre-Wilson, Matthew. Purchased 2011. Te Papa

Päkë, 2009, Wellington. McIntyre-Wilson, Matthew. Purchased 2011. Te Papa

The underside of the cloak is very colourful and shows the base of the cloak to be made of electrical cables. The overlapping tags on the outer of the cloak have been made from the copper stripped from the cables. Despite the deep layers of silver and copper, the colours from the electrical cables also show through.

The pākē developed from a need for Māori to adapt to their newer, cooler clime. They were strong and durable and oft valued for their practicality over their aesthetic qualities. This pākē from Matthew manages to bridge both these qualities, being both modelled on a pākē with its layers of thatching (I’m not sure if it has been tested on its waterproof qualities!) and being exquisitely beautiful.

Whakatipu (type of rain cape), 1850-1900, Taranaki. Maker unknown. Purchased 1904. Te Papa

Whakatipu (type of rain cape), 1850-1900, Taranaki. Maker unknown. Purchased 1904. Te Papa

This whakatipu is from between 1850 and 1900 and is made from natural materials with a foundation of muka (processed New Zealand flax) and covered in rain tags also made from short strips of flax. The tags are attached to the foundation starting from the bottom of the kākahu and heading upward creating a thatch affect that causes rain to drain off the cloak and keep the wearer dry. The whakatipu is laid flat in Kahu Ora and the height of the tags off the foundation is impressive, this kākahu would be both warm but also impenetrable to rain. Botanist Joseph Banks who accompanied Captain James Cook on his first voyage to New Zealand observed of pākē that “every strip of leaf becomes…a kind of gutter which serves to conduct the rain down.”

Whakatipu (type of rain cape), 1850-1900, Taranaki. Maker unknown. Purchased 1904. Te Papa

The detail on this whakatipu is quite astonishing, each harakeke tag will have been scraped with a mussel shell to soften it, been folded in half and then twined into the foundation of the cloak. From afar, this cloak looks very feathery in texture due to the hundreds of tags. Most pākē were for everyday wear with mangaeka and tihetihe as exceptions, these kinds of pākē were coloured and worn by chiefs. Kahu tōī were different again and were valued for their protection and camouflage, they had thick necks that could dull the blow of a weapon.

Changes in the material used to make kākahu highlight the need for people to adapt to the areas they live in. Having discovered that the aute (paper mulberry tree) from the Pacific did not take to the cooler New Zealand climate, Māori found harakeke to be a suitable replacement to make garments with. Matthew carries this adaptive sentiment forward with his application of a material that he is already renowned for working with. In Whatu Kākahu it is stated that senior weaver Eddie Maxwell felt that it was the mana of the weaver that determined the value of any weaving rather than the materials, and considered garments woven from plastic and other non-natural resources as having their own beauty. This applies to Matthew’s cloak which is made from a mixture of natural and non-natural resources. His pākē is a rainbow of colours covered with the fine threads of copper and silver. The whakatipu is also impressive with deep colours on the rain tags and the sheer thickness of the kākahu. Both are taonga of their times but also manage to transcend time in that the techniques utilised are sustained.

A new competition has just been added to the Te Papa facebook page where you can design your own cloak and be in the draw to win an indulgent weekend in Wellington.

By Te Papa | Also posted in Exhibitions | Tagged , , | Comments (3)

Behind the Scenes of Kahu Ora

20 June 2012 – 3.16pm

Many of the kākahu on display in Te Papa’s Kahu Ora exhibition are contemporary works that serve as fantastic examples of the vitality of raranga as an art form.  During preparation of the items for display, as we dressed them on mannequins and cloak forms, we had the special opportunity to work with one of the artists represented in the exhibition, Kohai Grace (she has also been in the Weaver’s Studio, see post below).  The ensemble that Kohai has lent us is woven in beautiful pale undyed muka and consists of a short strapless tunic style dress and cape, decorated with albatross feathers. 

Kohai Grace and Object Support Mountmaker Penny Angrick fitting the dress to the mannequin. Copyright Te Papa

Kohai Grace and Object Support Mountmaker Penny Angrick fitting the dress to the mannequin. Copyright Te Papa

 When the tunic and cape arrived in the conservation lab for assessment, I found a pointed shell pin inside the box as well.  We didn’t have any photographs that showed how the pin would have been used with the garments, so I wasn’t sure if it was meant to fasten the cloak, or for some other purpose.  I also noticed that one of the loops along the back opening of the dress had come unstitched, so a very minor repair would have to be done to enable the dress to be laced up the back properly.  Knowing that Kohai was within an hour’s drive of Wellington, I asked Curator Awhina Tamarapa to get in touch with Kohai to ask whether she would like to come in to help prepare her garment for exhibition.   Object Support Mountmaker Penny Angrick and I had previously worked out  the way we thought the cape might be displayed with the dress, but we learned from Kohai that she preferred more of the front of the dress to be visible to the viewer.  Kohai stitched down the wayward loop at the back of the dress and showed us the intended position of the shell pin.  It was nice to share the decision-making about display and presentation with Kohai, and to carry out our work in the true spirit of  “Living Cloaks”. 

Kohai stands behind her "Living Cloak". Copyright Te Papa

Kohai stands behind her “Living Cloak”. Copyright Te Papa

By peranne | Also posted in Conservation, Exhibitions, Fashion, Textiles | Tagged , , , , , | Comments (0)

Kahu Ora: Weaving stories and people

15 June 2012 – 4.05pm

When taonga are brought out of the stores and into the light, they have a transformative power on their descendants. This tangible feeling is elicited immediately when you enter Kahu Ora: Living Cloaks.

At the opening of the exhibition, I entered the gallery to the sound of karakia reverberating around the walls of the gallery followed by a waiata sung by a visiting school. Returning to the exhibition yesterday was another sensory experience; the sounds of a waiata set to a performance of harakeke and the voices of the people experiencing the exhibition.

A woman uses a patu muka (flax-fibre beater) to prepare fibre for weaving, 1921 by James McDonald. Te Papa

A woman uses a patu muka (flax-fibre beater) to prepare fibre for weaving, 1921 by James McDonald. Te Papa

There are weavers in residence from Wednesday to Sunday each week from 12-4pm. Yesterday I had the chance to sit and talk with one of them, Kohai Grace, about a kākahu she is working on. The kākahu is being made for her whanau and has been touched by and worked on by many of her family members including one of the Collection Manager-Māori, Moana Parata. Moana explained to me how the feathers for the kākahu had been gifted to her by a Te Papa member in the natural history department who no longer had a use for them. They had been cleaned and prepared beautifully and the decision was made to use them in the kākahu. This story is symbolic of the connections between people that taonga Māori represent and how powerful this connection is.

As I walked through the exhibition yesterday I came across a kākahu that was given to ethnographer Elsdon Best by the Tūhoe rangatira Tūtakangāhau after the death of his granddaughter Marewa-i-te-Rangi. This connection brought me to tears, standing in front of a taonga of such intricate beauty from my own iwi, I felt humbled in her presence. My koroua is a direct descendant of Tūtakangāhau and my older brother is named after him, I also have a niece named after Marewa-i-te-Rangi so I felt the connection very profoundly. Last night I told my brother about the exhibition and he has decided to bring in his class when he next visits Wellington from Rotorua.

Kahu huruhuru (feather cloak), c. 1890, New Zealand. Maker unknown. Te Papa

Kahu huruhuru (feather cloak), c. 1890, New Zealand. Maker unknown. Te Papa

This is the transformative power of taonga Māori and the connection they have to their people. Taonga continue to connect people to one another and to themselves, accumulating kōrero and transcending time. Kahu Ora connects people and weaves together their kōrero, it has brought the taonga out of the stores to be warmed by their descendants and I implore you all to come along and experience it.

This weekend there are many events on at Te Papa as part of the Matariki celebrations. You can also find out more about kākahu on the Te Papa website.

Matariki Williams

Matariki Events at Te Papa
Kākahu Māori Cloaks website

By Te Papa | Also posted in Collections Online, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Comments (1)

Kahu Ora: Living Cloaks is open

7 June 2012 – 4.42pm

Kahu Ora: Living Cloaks

The scholarship, creativity, professionalism, enthusiasm, commitment and sheer hard work of the Kahu Ora: Living Cloaks team came to fruition today in the VISA gallery, and tomorrow will be on view to the public.

It’s a very beautiful exhibition, and visitors will love to be transported into Te Whare Pora – the House of Weaving. People I spoke to never fully understood that a tradition of cloak making, of the creation of stunning textile objects from local materials, was among the gifts of Māori culture.

Kukupa Tirikātene introduces visitors to Māori cloaks (kākahu) in Te Papa’s Kahu Ora | Living Cloaks exhibition.

From my perspective, as the project manager for the development of the exhibition, it was a point of pride to realise how Te Papa’s curatorial expertise, its broad range of research knowledge, and its understanding of how to care for these objects is such that Te Papa is recognised internationally as a repository of cloak matauranga. This solid foundation allows our skilled museum professionals to design an experience that will allow our visitors to fully engage with this scholarship.

Maureen Lander’s stunning art commission will attract lots of admiration, and the soundscape composed by Richard Nunns and Steve Garden is sublime. And of course the cloaks themselves, largely from Te Papa’s own collection, but also from other museums (including a rare example from the National Art Gallery of Australia) and private individuals, take centre stage. And all of this installed to the highest standards by our team of installers.

Now that the exhibition is open – congratulations, everybody – other expertise takes over. There will be weavers demonstrating their craft in the Weavers’ Studio. The Te Papa hosts will be on hand to guide visitors through the experience. There is a carefully thought out Education programme, and rich and exciting Events have been designed to further support the exhibition.

Kakahu online Maori cloaks

The specially created website, Kākahu Online, brings all of this information, and more, together in one place, and allows access to Kahu Ora: Living Cloaks to people in Aotearoa and around the world who, despite their best efforts, may not be able to make it to the gallery.

Simon Garrett
Project Manager,  Kahu Ora: Living Cloaks

About the exhibition
Events programme
Kākahu online

By Te Papa | Also posted in Exhibitions, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Comments (0)

Māori cloaks in the Kahu Ora exhibition – two days to go

5 June 2012 – 4.55pm

It’s two days to go before we open our Kahu Ora Living Cloaks exhibition - and time to give you a little preview of what you will be able to see from Friday 8 June.

When an exhibition opens and all the taonga are in place, the graphics are up, and the lighting is done it’s hard to imagine all the work that’s been going on to get the exhibition installed.

Last week, at a quiet moment, they let me into the gallery to see how things were going.  Here is Sam, one of our exhibition team installers, preparing the case and mount to display the unique huru kuri, dog-skin pelt, cloak which we featured in an earlier blog post.

Sam Wallis preparing the case and complex mount for the huru kuri, dog skin pelt cloak, on loan from Puke Ariki, photograph by Pamela Lovis, copyright Te Papa 2012.

Sam Wallis preparing the case and complex mount for the huru kuri, dog skin pelt cloak, on loan from Puke Ariki, photograph by Pamela Lovis, copyright Te Papa 2012.

The exhibition graphics are the work of graphic designer, Wol Jobson – here he watches over the install of some of the larger wall graphics.

Wol Jobson, graphic designer, supervises install of some of the exhibition graphics. Photograph by Pamela Lovis, copryight Te Papa 2012.

Wol Jobson, graphic designer, supervises install of some of the exhibition graphics. Photograph by Pamela Lovis, copyright Te Papa 2012.

And finally, before I give away too much – here are several kākahu installed in their cases but carefully covered up until later this week when the conservators will come in and remove the covers.

The whakataukī, or saying, that you can see on the wall speaks to one of the ideas key to  this exhibition:

Ko te taura whiri, he whiri i te tangata
The muka (flax fibre) cord is like the cord that connects people.

Muka is the silky fibre extracted from the leaves of harakeke, or flax. After hours of skilled preparation Māori weavers use this muka to weave the kaupapa, or foundation, of a kākahu.

Kākahu in their cases, soon to be revealed in the Kahu Ora Living Cloaks exhibition. Photography by Pamela Lovis, copyright Te Papa 2012.

Kākahu in their cases, soon to be revealed in the Kahu Ora Living Cloaks exhibition. Photograph by Pamela Lovis, copyright Te Papa 2012.

So cloaks, or kākahu, are all about connections – the threads that weave us together as people, and the stories that connect people and kākahu. Come and see for yourself, in Kahu Ora Living Cloaks  from this Friday 8 June.

By pamelalovis | Also posted in Exhibitions | Tagged , , , , , | Comments (3)
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