Korowai (cloak)

This comparatively small korowai (cloak with tassel adornment) could have been made for a child or small person. Made with single-pair twine, twisted and dyed, it can be seen from the shading and half bald feathers that it once had a white pigeon feather border and brown internal feathers.

Muka
Muka is derived from the sword shaped leaves of the flax plant (Phormium tenax), an evergreen found mainly in swampy or low lying areas around New Zealand. It was made by stripping the outer layer of flax with a shell (often a mussel shell). The fibre was then washed and pounded with a muka patu (blunt stone or wood club) to leave a fibrous thread that was silky and soft to touch. The thread was then bound together into a sturdy chord and sometimes dyed before weaving.

Weaving
Cloak weaving was always done from left to right with the work suspended between two upright turuturu (weaving sticks) stuck into the ground. For large cloaks, two pairs were necessary to keep the operative edge at the correct height.

Origin
The korowai was collected sometime between 1894 and 1925. It was donated to the Museum around 1991.