Kahu koati style of cloak

Kahu koati (goat-hair cloaks) exemplify how innovative Māori weavers adopted new European materials for their own purposes.

Goat hair to replace dog hair

When the prized kurī (Pacific dog) became extinct in the mid to late 1800s, Māori weavers could no longer make prestigious kahu kurī (dog-skin cloaks).

But they discovered that they could recreate the luxurious look of these cloaks with mohair from angora goats, which were introduced to New Zealand in 1867. They sometimes also used hair from wild goats, brought here by British explorer James Cook in 1773.

Making kahu koati

Weavers made kahu koati in much the same way that they had made dog-skin cloaks. They wove a muka (flax fibre) foundation and decorated it with strips of goat hide and hair.

Sometimes, they worked the strips into the foundation as they wove. Other times, they sewed the strips on with cotton thread afterwards.