Para kiekie (rain cape)

This para kiekie (cape made from kiekie) provides a rare opportunity to examine a traditional garment that was once in common use. According to early writings, kiekie preparred by retting was chosen to create these ‘rough’, practical, serviceable rain capes. Sometimes the fibre was formed into shaggy, looped attachments on the outer surface. As travellers often had to sleep in the bush, this type of garment would have kept them warm and dry

Deceptive appearance
The example shown here, from the Te Papa collection, has fibrous hukahuka (tags) attached on alternate rows by whatu aho pātahi (single pair weft twining) technique. The whenu (warp wefts) terminate in a firm, strongly made whiri (plait) at the neck edge.

The surface of such cloaks may have been harsh to the touch, but the time and skill needed to create them contradicts the ‘rough’ description early ethnologists gave them.


Construction
The whenu (warp threads) of this pākē are kiekie fibre, weft-twined in muka (New Zealand flax fibre) using the whatu aho patahi (single-pair weft twining) technique. The whenu measure three per centimetre, with 25 mm spacing between each aho (weft row).

The bottom edge is a selvedge commencement, with the whenu folded over and twined into the following aho row. The lower proper left edge of the pākē is burnt.

The aho poka (shaping rows) are simple elliptical inserts, consisting of two rows starting 145 mm from the top of the cloak, and a single row 355 mm from the bottom. There are also two short wefts that appear to be false starters. One is 240 mm from the top of the cloak and 90 mm in length, and the other is 345 mm up from the bottom of the cloak and 45 mm in length.

The thick braid at the top of the cloak has three rows of plait directly below it.

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