Hieke (rain cape)

One of the more recent acquisitions in the Te Papa collection is a contemporary rain cape inspired by a traditional hieke. Hieke are generally adorned with lengths of double strips of harakeke (New Zeland flax) leaf and provided protection from the elements during bad weather. Woven by the late senior kairaranga (weaver) Te Aue Davis from Ngāti Maniapoto in 1996, this cape features a variety of materials not typically used to costruct shoulder garments. Davis has decorated a customary muka (New Zeland flax fibre) foundation with four diagonal bands of glossy bronze-coloured neinei leaves, white kiekie, and yellow strands of pīngao (golden sand sedge).

Neinei is one of New Zealand's unique grass trees, its distinctive leaf having a broad sheath at the base that tapers to a fine point. Although it is recorded in 1868 in Colenso's 'notes [...] on the Ancient Dog' that northern tribes made superior articles of apparel' fron neinei leaves, no early garments exist because the dried leaf fractures easily. However, knowledge of the practice has been shared by people of Ōtaua, northwest of Kaikohe, thereby making it possible for this example to be created.

Kiekie was commonly used as a fibre, rather than in the form of the white strands which decorate this cloak, which show another variation of the leaf's usage. Pīngao was often used traditionally to make belts and kete, and is not usually seen in capes. These touches add to the uniqueness of this garment.


Construction
The kaupapa (foundation) of this hieke is muka, weft-twined in one row of whatu aho rua (two-pair weft twining) and then two rows of whatu aho pātahi (single pair weft twining) technique. The whenu (warp threads) measure four per centimeter, with 1.8-2 cm spacing between each aho (weft) row. The aho poka (shaping rows) are in two sets: one row 30cm from the top, and a set of three rows 44 cm from the top. The strips of kiekie, pīngao and neinei are twined onto the whatu aho rua rows. Commencement is at the lower edge The whenu are doubled back up into the body of the cloat forming loops. The top of the hieke is formed with a three-ply whiri (braid) using sets of four whenu and is completed with a row of whatu aho rua, leaving the discarded whenu as a fringe.


Te Aue Davis
Te Aue Davis was a renowned kuia (female elder) and weaver involved with Māori arts, and culture and heritage. Using traditional techniques, she wove this cloak entirely from the fibres of New Zealand native plants. The thatching technique on the outside of the cape funnels off the rain, while the neinei fibre woven into its body gives extra water resistance. Davis first saw neinei capes at Otaua marae near Kaikohe. A kaumatua (elder) described how to collect and use neinei for waterproofing, and she wove this garment following his directions as closely as possible. This hieke was worn by the Crown Princess of Japan when she visited Te Papa with the Crown Prince in 2002.

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