Pākē

Matthew McIntyre-Wilson (Taranaki, Ngā Māhanga, Titahi) created this extraordinary, contemporary example of a pākē (rain cape), from recycled electrical cabling and fine silver wire. Renowned as an artist/jewller for his intricate woven work in copper and silver, McIntyre-Wilson's work is prominent in the Te Papa collection.The pākē was made in 2009, and was the first kākahu (cloak) that Matthew had attempted of any kind.

Inspiration came from an early pākē passed down to Matthew, that once belonged to his great grandfather. It was said to have been given to him by Te Rangi Hīroa, Sir Peter Buck (1877-1951), Māori academic, scholar, leader, doctor of medicine, and once Director of the Bishop Museum in Honolulu, Hawaii.

The base of the cloak consists of vertical warps of multi-coloured electrical cabling, attractively arranged in alternating bands of red, yellow, blue and green. For the hukahuka (tassels) strips on the outer surface of the cloak, the plastic insulation was stripped off the cabling to remove the copper wire. The copper wire was then rolled into strips and cut into 200mm lengths. The process of rolling and cutting was repeated for the fine silver wire hukahuka. The wires were then folded in half and twined onto the warp base by enclosing aho (weft) rows of single paired copper wire.

The overall effect is very beautiful, a homage to the weavers of old who created functional cloaks using shredded or retted leaves from harakeke (New Zealand flax), mountain tōī (mountain cabbage tree), and cabbage tī kouka kouka (cabbage tree) arranged in overlaid rows resembling thatching. The spout-like effect enabled rain to pour off the cloaks and keep the wearer warm and dry.

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