Kahu kurī (dog skin cloak)

This kahu kurī was one of four dogskin cloaks collected by Sir Walter Bulller, who described them as "A specially valuable collection of Māori garments - two of the dogskin cloaks in a perfect state of preservation". One of these kahu kurī is associated with the prominent Northland chief Te Tirarau Kūkupa (Ngā Puhi, Ngāti Rāhiri, Ngāti Tāhuhu, Ngāti Whātua) of Whangārei. Unfortunately, because of confusion at the time of accession of Buller's collection into the Colonial Museum, it is now uncertain which cloak formerly belonged to Tirarau.


Construction
The kaupapa of this kahu kurī is muka (New Zealand flax fibre), weft twined in close rows of whatu aho pātahi (single-pair weft twining) to form what is known as the pauku or pukupuku technique. The whenu measure six per centimetre. There seems to be no aho poka (shaping rows) although it is somewhat hard to tell as the weave is so compact. The bottom edge is a selvedge commencement. A brown-dyed and natural muka tāniko in a pattern of diagonal lines adorns the borders. The tāniko measures 1 cm wide at the bottom and 1.5 cm wide at the sides. White strips of dogskin and dog hair are also attached to the foundation, with irregular strips of brown dogskin, and dog hair dispersed accross the cloak. Brown dogskin and hair are also attached down the sides and accross the top as a border. Bundles of dogskin are bound together and attached to the neck as a kurupatu (collar) following this are three rows of whatu aho rua (two-pair weft twining) using black- dyed and natural muka to create a decorative pattern. The kahu kurī is finnished in a three-ply whiri (plait) with the whenu (warp threads) discarded to the front, as an aho (warp row), before trimming.


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.


Types and variations
There are several different varieties of kahu kurī and some tribal variation in the application of the descriptive terms of these types. Some of the types recorded include tōpuni, ihupuni, awarua, kahuwaero, mahiti, and puahi. However, the construction technique remains essentially the same.

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