Korowai (cloak)

This korowai (cloak with tassel adornment) is made from muka (flax fibre). It has a concentration of hukahuka (tassels) at the top and bottom, and looped vertical bands giving the effect of a kahu kurī (dog skin cloak). The hukahuka are also grouped geometrically in squares to add to the decorative presentation. It originates from the Whanganui region of the North Island.

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.

Kahu kurī
Dog skin cloaks were the most prestigious cloaks and were reserved for rangatira (chiefs or high ranking people). They were closely woven and the outer surface was completely covered with narrow strips of skin from the kurī (native Polynesian dog: Canis familiaris linnaeus). Kurī came to New Zealand with the first Māori. Accounts from early European visitors tell how when canoes approached their ships, an individual would stand and cover himself in a kahu kurī indicating his paramount status.