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Overview
This kahu kiwi, or kiwi feathered cloak, was one of two cloaks presented to Te Papa by the descendants of Richard John Seddon and his wife, Louisa Jane, on 9 June 2006, seddon, a Liberal Party MP, was New Zealand's Prime Minister form 1893, leading the country until his sudden death in June 1906. Hundreds of Māori attended this service from many iwi (tribes) and documented accounts of the funeral can be found in (Drummond, James, 1906: "The Life and Work of R.J Seddon Premier of New Zealand 1893-1906": Whitcombe and Tombs Ltd: p366-375). The kahu kiwi is said to have bein laid at or near the politician's funeral bier as he lay in state in the foyer of the Parliament Buildings. As part of the centenary of his death, the familly organised a reunion in Wellington. They also marked the occasion by presenting this cloak, and the korowai whakahekeheke to Te Papa.
Tim Jerram, who donated this cloak wrote a letter on the 25 April 2006 to Dr Seddon Bennington the CEO of Te Papa at the time:
"We understand that under Māori tikanga such taonga were given to but not owned by the receivers and in that sense the family have been kaitiaki of the Korowai for 100 years. However it is impractical to locate the exact descendants of those who placed them and we feel that Te Papa is where they now should be, properly conserved and treasured."
In 2009, Dr Seddon Bennington, the CEO of Te Papa, died tragically while tramping in the Tararua Ranges north of Wellington. Te Papa staff mourned Bennington, and he was recieved according to Māori protocol onto the museum's Marae, where he was laid in state overnight before his memorial service. Along with two other kahu kiwi, this cloak was drapped over Benningtons casket, in commemoration of him being named after Richard Seddon and in memory of his acceptance of the Seddon family cloaks on behalf of the museum.
Construction
The kaupapa (foundation) of the cloak is made of muka (New Zealand flax fibre) in whatu aho rua (two-pair weft twining) technique. There are five whenu (warp threads) per centimetre, with 12 mm spacing between each aho (weft) row. The feathers of the brown kiwi completely cover the cloak. The bottom two-thirds of the cloak use body feathers of a light brown kiwi, while the top third uses the black feathers of a darker brown kiwi.
The aho poka (shaping rows) consist of one row 45 mm from the bottom, and two sets of compound elliptical inserts of four rows each, starting 390 mm from the top. The top corners of muka edging are left unravelled and long. The whenu tāpiri (finished edge warps) at the side edges of the cloak are in red wool strands. The lower border has been cut rather than woven in, and there are loose muka threads at each top corner of the cloak.
This text is based on an excerpt from Whatu Kakahu|Maori Cloaks (second edition), edited by Awhina Tamarapa, © Te Papa Press 2019.