Korirangi (cloak)

"Waihoki ko te korirangi, he pīpīwharauroa, he mea pōkinikini ngā harakeke; tētahi, he mea kotikoti aua harakeke…likewise the korirangi, is a "shining cuckoo", the flax is pinched and darkened at frequent intervals; for another thing, the flax is striped (regularly divided or cut into pieces)."

(Mead, Hirini 1969: Appendix 1: 217-8)

This cloak was recorded in the late Sir Walter Buller's original catalogue of the Maori collection presented to the Dominion museum in 1911, as a 'korirangi, with hukahuka tags'.

Korirangi
Korirangi have been described by Ngāti Rangiwewehi leader and scholar Wiremu Maihi Te Rangikaheke in 1853, as the 'shining cuckoo' cloak. Another description refers to this type of garment as "thickly adorned with chequered black and yellow strings, which being also hard in spots or joints through the leaving on of the skin, etc. of the flax, rattled pleasingly with every movement of the wearer." (Colenso, William 1868, 'On the Māori Races of New Zealand', in Transactions and Proceeedings of the Royal Society of New Zealand 1868-1961, vol 1 1868:14)

The striking contrasts of this cloak are immediately and visually stunning. The black-dyed whenu (warp threads) are spectacularly emphasised against the natural muka aho (weft threads), which consists of an interplay between whatu aho rua (two-pair weft twining), in alternating rows of paired natural aho with paired black and natural aho. This composition contrasts with vertical pōkinikini, or cylindrical, harakeke strands, providing a visual balance and strong sense of design. The inside of the cloak is just as captivating, with the aho poka (shaping rows) clearly visible and incorperated into the design.


Construction
The kaupapa (foundation) of this cloak is muka (New Zealand flax fibre) twined in whatu aho rua technique of alternating two-paired black and natural aho. The whenu measure five per centimetre, with a 10 mm spacing between each aho row. The aho poka consist of twelve rows of simple elliptical inserts, 250 mm down from the top of the cloak . The pōkinikini are attached to every fourth row, approximately 50 - 60 mm apart. At each side, three hukahuka are attached on every row, two whenu in from the edge. Hukahuka are attached to the bottom three rows of aho, with the third row having an ornamental two-ply twist on top in black muka. The neck has a whatu aho rua row, with pōkinikini attached to every third whenu with an ornamental two-ply twist on top in black and blue wool. This is followed by three consecutive rows of whatu aho rua with decorative loops in red and green wool.

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