Lifting the cloak of silence: redramatising clothing as material culture, through an object analysis of Te Aia's cloak: Tuhinga 21

Tuhinga 21: 125-134

ABSTRACT:Many museum collections contain historical items that have little remaining to link them to their original context. The nineteenth-century blue wool cloak of Te Aia Matai‘apo from the Cook Islands is one such item. This article investigates methods of analysis to produce other means of articulation for such cases when a purely historical one is limiting. Close study of the cut and construction of the garment opens entry to the minds of the makers. Examination of manufacturing techniques of the cloak opens possibilities for new narratives of display, where previously only the provenance details had been utilised. This article also explores the performance quality of garments, which from within a Polynesian context lends them a specific significance. Both a direct study of the cloak’s construction and its position within a wider context of performance of Polynesian material culture are offered as strategies that can be applied to similar items that lack historical context.

KEYWORDS: Rarotonga, Cook Islands, Te Aia’s cloak, intangible heritage, garment manufacture, wrapping ceremonies, ceremonial garments, exhibition display.