Kahu tōī (rain cape)

The apparently plain, utilitarian appearance of the heavy, shaggy black kahu tōī is at odds with its prestigious status. These thick, rough, protective garments are examples of a highly valued class of warrior cape – they are the only rain cape given the title of ‘kahu’ and are distinguished from others by careful workmanship. Kahu tōī are made from the fibre of the leaves of the tōī, or mountain cabbage tree. Much harsher to the touch than muka (New Zealand flax fibre), tōī fibre has a texture resembling that of coconut fibre used in coir matting.


Specialised Technique
The usual methods of attaching bundles of fibre or scraped fibrous tags to rain capes were not suitable for the coarse tōī fibre. The kaupapa of a kahu tōī was woven with single-pair twining, but the stiffer tōī hukahuka (tags) could not simply be doubled over and attached to consecutive whenu (warp threads) with successive aho (weft thread) twists. Instead, the fibrous strips were attached in groups, then bent across three or more adjacent whenu before being re-anchored parallel to the original insert.

The neck finish of the kahu tōī supports its purpose as a warrior cape: its heavy kurupatu (collar) would protect the wearer by dulling a blow to this area, and the neck-edge whenu are braided into a firm plait. When completed, kahu tōī were sometimes soaked in mordant solutions and trodden into paru (iron rich mud), this is what gives them their black dyed appearance. Kahu tōī remained waterproof for many years, providing better protection than other types of rain cape.