Aotearoa New Zealand · Weaving / Textile
Tāniko
Tāniko is the Māori tradition of finger weaving — producing geometric patterned borders for cloaks (kākahu), belts, and decorative panels without any loom. The warp threads hang vertically from a fixed cord and the weft is worked horizontally by hand — each weft thread passed over and under specific warp threads according to the pattern held entirely in the weaver's memory. There is no written or drawn pattern reference — the geometric vocabulary (pātikitiki — the flounder pattern; niho taniwha — the dragon's tooth; poutama — the stairway to heaven) is transmitted as a counted memory system. The defining technical knowledge is the pattern count memory: 'I hold the entire pattern in my hands; my hands know before my eyes do.' The hands lead the eyes — the reverse of most visual crafts.
Risk level: Endangered · New Zealand national ICH list; Te Papa Tongarewa heritage designation
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