Whatu Kākahu | Māori Cloaks (Second Edition)

Book Author Awhina Tamarapa
Rights Available World excl. NZ

A celebration of the science and art of Māori weaving, focused on the largest collection of Māori cloaks in the world.

Weaving is more than just a product of manual skills. From the simple rourou (food basket) to the prestigious kahukiwi (kiwi feather cloak), weaving is endowed with the very essence of the spiritual values of Māori people.

This award-winning book opens the storeroom doors of the Te Papa Tongarewa Māori collections, illuminating the magnificent kākahu in those collections and the art and tradition of weaving itself. More than fifty rare and precious kākahu are featured within this book, with glossy colour detail illustrations of each, plus historical and contextual images and graphic diagrams of weaving techniques. These are accompanied by engaging descriptions bringing together information on every cloak – its age, materials, and weaving technique with quotes from master weavers and other experts, stories of the cloaks, details of their often remarkable provenance, discussion of how the craft is being revived and issues to do with cloaks held in international museums.

A full glossary, illustrated guide to cloak types, and index are included. Contemporary cloaks made with novel materials also feature.

Awards
Commended for AAANZ Book Prizes – Best Art Writing by a NZ Māori or Pasifika 2019

About the Author
Awhina Tamarapa (Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāti Ruanui) is a Māori curator, researcher and writer. She is a specialist in taonga Māori exhibitions, collections research, and a broad range of cultural practices. She has degrees in Anthropology, Māori Laws and Philosophy, Museum and Heritage Studies.

Awhina is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow based at the Stout Research Centre, Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington. She is also working with communities on indigenous research projects led by Professor Bryony Onciul, University of Exeter, UK, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, UK.

She is a former Te Papa Curator Māori, and Teaching Fellow for the Museum and Heritage Studies programme, Victoria University of Wellington Te Herenga Waka. She was editor for Whatu Kākahu/Māori Cloaks (2011), finalist in the New Zealand Post Book Awards 2012 and winner of the arts category, Kupu Ora Māori Book Awards, 2012.