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". According to Te Papa's museum records, it was acquired by an early Wellington settler from a Te Ātiawa chief in around 1842 and was brought by Buller in 1890; in 1911 his son gifted it to the Dominion Museum.

Kahu Kurī
Kahu kurī (dog skin cloaks) are made of strips of dog skin with hair attached taken from the kurī (Māori dog). These strips which vary in length, are arranged by colour and sewn ontothe kaupapa (foundation) of the cloak with fine bone needles. The foundation of kahu kurī are woven from muka (New Zealand flax fibre) using a technique called pauku or pukupuku. The pukupuku weaving technique uses the whatu aho pātahi (single-pair weft twining) in close succession to form a thick and heavy protective garment. The awe (dog-hair tassels) that fringe the outside length of some kahu kurī, are taken from the underside of the dog's tail and are similar to the circlet of dog-hair tassels that adorn the necks of taiaha. The ruffled kurupatu (dog-hair collars) are entirely separate to the kaupapa of the cloak and are made by threading separate strips together to make a length of collar that is sewn onto the neck of the finished garment.

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.

Construction
The kaupapa (body) of this kahu kurī is muka (New Zealand flax fibre) twined in compact whatu aho pātahi (single pair weft twining) There are six whenu (warp threads) per centimetre. The aho poka (shaping rows) are in three sets of elliptical inserts, 230 mm and 380 mm from the bottom, and 160 mm from the top of the shoulders. The narrow strips of dog skin are between 2 mm and 4 mm in width. The strips commence from the bottom and are overlaid end to end, with a slight overlap. They vary in length with the white body strips 180-330 mm long, and the shorted 80 mm pieces forming blocks of brown on the side edges. The strips are sewn onto the pauku (the single-pair compact weft-twining that forms the kaupapa) with two-ply muka thread, worked horizontally from the right.

Separate strips of white dog hair form the kurupatu, or neck fringe, and are attached in the middle with muka thread, just below a seven-aho (weft thread) row of tāniko (patterned border) in the aronui pattern of repeating triangles. The brown band of dog hair is neatly trimmed, complementing the ruffled effect of the kurupatu. The muka aho can be clearly seen against the dense, closely twined foundation.

Two rows of white dog-tailed hair, called awe, are fastened to both side edges of the kahu kurī. Each awe is bound with fine muka thread in a series of close half-hitches. The result is a fringe of luxuriant hair edging the sides of the garment. The two-element decorative finish, oversewn with dyed muka thread, is visible on the edge.

The tāniko kauko (side borders) consist of six aho rows and eight whenu per centimetre, of natural and traditionally dyed black and brown aho in the aronui pattern. Worked from the inside, the pattern is revealed when the cloak is turned back.

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