During the last week, there have been many conversations circulating through different media and social networks about our Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern wearing a kākahu (cloak) at the recent Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. Kaitiaki Māori Collection Manager Mark Sykes explains the differences between kahu huruhuru, kahu kiwi, kahu kuri, and korowai.Read more
In a collaboration between National Services Te Paerangi and Whanganui Regional Museum, Te Papa’s bicultural researcher Hokimate Harwood brought her extensive feather identification skills to a community of 30 weavers and bird enthusiasts earlier this year. Hokimate’s feather identification research looks to decode materials and messages within kākahu | featherRead more
Veranoa Hetet and her group of weavers Te Rōpu Miro have been the weavers in residence for the Kahu Ora Living Cloaks exhibition for the last few weeks. Time goes so fast and it’s hard to believe this will be their last weekend at Te Papa, as they finish on Sunday 2 September. Veranoa and herRead more
by Becs Thomas, Assistant Head Teacher, Tai Tamariki Kindergarten The experience of having Tai Tamariki Kindergarten children’s kākahu displayed in Kahu Ora Living Cloaks has been a wonderful learning journey for our kindergarten community, both culturally and in the learning of exhibition protocol and process. This week the second of ourRead more
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. The inspiration for thisRead more
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, andRead more
Every exhibition I work on is different. Each time I learn more and my basket of knowledge (my kete) expands and grows. This time it’s a wonderful exhibition about Māori cloaks, which features many kākahu from Te Papa’s collection, plus a small number of unique taonga which we’re fortunate to borrow from elsewhere. Kahu Ora LivingRead more
He kanohi kitea, he hokinga mahara. To see a face is to stir the memory. On Sunday 6 May 2012, a beautiful kahu kiwi cloak from the Te Papa collection, was named by her descendants as part of a special church service held at Rongomaraeroa marae, Porangahau. Te Papa PressRead more
