Kahu kurī (dog skin cloak)

Although some of the skins on worn or damaged kahu kurī like this one have lost their hair, the cloaks still provide valuable opportunities to identify the variety of techniques that were used in their construction. The work is invariably skilled and neat, and difficult to analyse without risk of further damage. Occasionally, regular rows of reverse twining on the kaupapa (foundation) created a guideline which simplified the task of stitching. Some cloaks which have intact stitching, but are missing strips of dogskin, suggest that perhaps two needles were used in opposing directions.


Attaching the strips of dogskin
Records indicate that strips of dogskin were often attached using whatu aho pātahi (single-pair weft twining), although in some areas detached threads suggest that perhaps a needle was slipped vertically under the aho (weft threads) between the strips of dog skin. Attachment while weft-twining is possible, although the kākahu (cloak) would have become increasingly heavy to handle during its construction.


Prestigious garments
Kahu kurī are prestigious garments possessing great mana (prestige) and were highly-prized heirlooms. Each garment possessed its own personal name and its history was carefully preserved right up to the time it passed out of Māori ownership. Sadly, most now remain anonymous in museum collections around the world. The possession of a kahu kurī immediately identified the owner as a rangatira - someone of prestige and position within the hapu (sub-tribe) or iwi (tribe). These garments were often exchanged between people of rank in recognition of important ceremonial occasions and affirmed the mana of both the giver and the recipient.


Construction
The kaupapa of this kahu kurī is muka (New Zealand flax fibre), weft-twined in compact pauku or pukupuku technique (single-pair compact weft twining). Strips of dog skin with remnants of hair are attached, measuring on average 5-10 mm wide. The whenu (warp threads) measure four per centimetre. Because of the close weave, the aho poka (shaping rows) are very hard to find. They are in single rows: one row 16 cm from the top of the cloak, another row 30 cm from the top and the lowest row 35 cm from the bottom. The sides have a rolled finish with remnants of awe, or dog-hair tassels. The top of the cloak is folded down and sewn in place with the collar. The collar consists of strips of skin threaded onto a cord of muka. The bottom edge has a rolled finish in muka.

This text is based on an excerpt from Whatu Kakahu|Maori Cloaks (second edition), edited by Awhina Tamarapa, © Te Papa Press 2019.