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Overview
The eye catching mottled green kākāpō (Strigops habroptilus) feathers nestled among the plush expanse of brown kiwi (Apteryx sp) feathers make this kahu kiwi rare. It is the only cloak in Te Papa's collection that includes kākāpō feathers.
Museum records note that the kahu kiwi was offered for sale and purchase in 1985 from Mrs Muriel Holden. However, Mrs Holden's uncle apparently brokered the arrangement without total agreement from the family. Helen Kedgely, senior Curator for Contemporary Art at the Pataka Museum, Porirua, Wellington, is a great-granddaughter of Thomas Ho;den and recalls the family history of the cloak:
"According to my mother, the chief of the iwi who lived near Te Aroha, beside the Waihau River was forced to pay taxes on his land. Instead, my great-grandfather Thomas Holden, a fluent Māori speaker, paid the taxes and did the necessary paperwork and accountancy for the chief for a period of around 10 years. In gratitude, the chief eventually presented him with the kiwi-feather cloak, which was treasured by my family."
Holden's family kept the cloak for three generations before it was acquired by the national museum.
Construction
The kaupapa (foundation) is muka (New Zealand flax fibre), weft-twined in whatu aho rua (two-pair wft twining) technique. The muka whenu (warp threads) and aho (weft threads) are golden in colour. There are six whenu per centimetre, with 12 mm spacing between the aho rows. The brown kiwi feathers are attached in the whakaaraara (upturned) position every seven to eight whenu on alternate rows. Bunches of one to three brown and green mottled kākāpō feathers are dispersed over the cloak. The lower border includes iridescent green and white feathers from the pīpīwharauroa (Chrysococcyx lucidas), or shining cuckoo, and alternating orange kākā (Nestor meridionalis) feathers, bluish-black tūī (Prosthemadera novaeseelandiae) feathers, and green and brown mottled kākāpō feathers. The side borders have the same feathers, but with those of the pīpīwharauroa replaced by the delicate whire poi throat feathers of the tūī.
The poka (shaping rows) are in five complex sets. Measured from the bottom, they include: a single row at 200 mm; a set of two rows at 330 mm; a single row at 470 mm; and six rows of simple elliptical inserts at 500 mm. In addition, there are two rows of compound elliptical inserts 60 mm from the top, and a single row 110 mm from the top. At the neck border there are two rows of natural and black muka in an ornamental two-ply twist, followed by an ornamental twist finish, The same finish is used at the lower border.
This text is based on an excerpt from Whatu Kakahu|Maori Cloaks (second edition), edited by Awhina Tamarapa, © Te Papa Press 2019.