Korowai (cloak)

This korowai (cloak with tassel adornment) is made from muka (flax fibre) and has a decorative red wool boarder. Māori often incorporated modern materials like wool into traditional woven garments for extra colour, decoration, or warmth. This korowai has been well worn: many of the hukahuka (tassels) are missing.

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
This korowai is originally from the Te Arawa region (Rotorua/Bay of Plenty) of the North Island.