Korowai (cloak)

This korowai (cloak with tassels) is finely woven and heavily covered in hukahuka (tassels). The hukahuka are made of dyed and natural-colured muka (flax fibre) and are arranged in an irregular pattern down the length of the cloak. They have naturally formed twists that are more commonly associated with a korowai kārure (cloak with tassels).

Hukahuka
Hukahuka are made by the miro (twist thread) process of dying the muka (flax fibre) and rolling two bundles into a single chord. Korowai seem to have been rare at the time of Captain Cook's first visit to New Zealand because they do not appear in drawings made by his artists. But by 1844, when George French Angas painted historical accounts of early New Zealand, korowai with their black hukahuka had become the most popular style. Hukahuka on fine examples of korowai were often up to thirty centimetres long and when made correctly would move freely with every movement of the wearer. Today, many old korowai have lost their black hukahuka due to the dying process speeding up the deterioration of the muka.

Types of korowai
The standard korowai has black tassels that hang delicately and sway like long fur or hairs with the wearer's movement. The korowai kārure is similar to the standard korowai, except that the tassels are rolled in a different manner so that they appear to be unravelling. Hukahuka rolled in this manner are known as kārure and korowai kārure take their name from this distinctive decoration. Korowai ngore (cloak with pompom adornment) have the hukahuka replaced with black pompoms.