Aotearoa New Zealand · Textile / Costume Making / Ritual Craft
Kākahu
Kākahu (cloak) is the supreme Māori prestige textile — the garment that most completely encodes rank, genealogy, and spiritual power. The finest cloaks combine tāniko borders, raranga woven body, and applied decorative elements — feathers (from native birds — huia, kiwi, kākāpō), dog hair (kuri — now extinct), or rolled flax fiber decorations (hukahuka). The kahu huruhuru (feather cloak) is the most technically demanding: individual feathers are attached to a woven harakeke body at specific angles calculated to maximize the shimmer and direction of feather sheen — 'the feathers must all lean toward the wearer's right shoulder.' The lean angle is not aesthetic — it ensures that when the cloak moves in ceremony, all feathers catch light simultaneously.
Risk level: Critically Endangered · New Zealand national ICH list; individual kākahu are national taonga
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