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Hiwa-i-te-rangi: Returning, Reconnecting, Reawakening

Hiwa-i-te-rangi: Returning, Reconnecting, Reawakening 

A rare 18th-century pauku (war cloak) has arrived at Auckland Museum

The pauku is on loan from the Oriental Museum, Durham University, with support from the British Council's Connections Through Culture grant and Creative New Zealand

Hiwa-i-te-rangi: Returning, Reconnecting, Reawakening is a five-year research and exhibition project for this pauku, on long-term loan from the Oriental Museum, Durham University.  

Under the care of Te Aho Mutunga Kore, the Museum’s textile and fibre knowledge exchange centre, the pauku will be made accessible to knowledge holders, creative practitioners and communities.  

Guided by Auckland Museum’s Māori curatorial team and the Museum’s tohunga expert weavers advisory group, Taumata Māreikura, the project will support meaningful engagement with the mātauranga, artistry and innovation embodied in this remarkable taonga. 

The pauku is distinguished by its border, which comprises a complex two-directional tāniko technique and a black-on-black background design, achieved through a sophisticated dyeing process using paru (ferruginous mud). The blackness of the tāniko represents the void from which the world emerged. This design and tāniko technique have not been seen on a kākahu (cloak) in Aotearoa New Zealand in 200 years.  

The pauku is one of only seven in existence. All seven kākahu are held overseas and date to the earliest European voyages to Aotearoa New Zealand. 

Since 2017, specialist in Māori textiles, Dr Rangi Te Kanawa, along with other expert Māori weavers have carried out research and careful conservation of the cloak. 

From April 2026, Te Aho Mutunga Kore will host a programme of activities connected to the pauku, including wānanga, access opportunities, creative responses and public events. These initiatives will provide space for weavers, researchers and communities to reconnect with traditional practices and explore the techniques held within the cloak.  

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Image: Te iriba n bobai, ornamental fan. Kiribati. AWMM. 2002.95.1; 55961. More information

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Te iriba n bobai, ornamental fan. Kiribati. AWMM. 2002.95.1; 55961. More information