A cloak made of feathers | caring for a traditional Maori taonga

A unique example of a Māori cloak or kahu kākāpō (‘cloak of kākāpō feathers’) has been preserved for future generations to enjoy after vital conservation work was conducted in a partnership between Culture Perth and Kinross, the British Museum and the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa.

[@adamroodog1718]

"look at him, his got a kakapo cloak and he still complains about the cold" an old maori saying

[@matthew-jy5jp]

I realize this is was your one chance of 15 minutes of fame but the importance of this channel is what's on it, not what you have to say about it. I see photos of people in front of some of the most beautiful monuments in the world but these ignorant people like yourself place them at the center of everything. It's not witty, it's not smart mate. Just shut up and watch the video and try to learn something

[@MLATX512]

@@matthew-jy5jp Overall the comments on this, and who am I kidding, every post are highly disappointing. There is a reason that only a very few people from each generation will ever be remembered. The rest are pure chaff in the wind.

[@adamroodog1718]

@@matthew-jy5jp just straight into the fighting words then hey princess? must be all that pakeha blood. for a start who are you to tell me what to do? 2nd im ignorant because i know a old maori saying although im not from new zealand? you should try a bit harder on your words and there meanings. you can just type them into google and find out what they mean, you should try it. 3rd whats this other waffle your going on about monuments? how is making a relevant comment in any way trying to get my 15 minutes of fame? and how exactly do you get fame from commenting on you tube videos? things must work different where you are than they do here your comment isnt witty or smart. Just shut up watch the video and try and learn something. you may even get something from a comment or two.

[@sean659]

Do you Britians have no shame displaying stolen artifacts. These should be returned to its rightful owners.

[@adamroodog1718]

@@sean659 why is there only one left in the world?

[@CrowSkeleton]

Oh! It gets a hello song! I am so glad the people of Aotearoa are happy for such a tapu object to be cared for on the other side of the world, and hope we Scots can gift them something as good for Te Papa someday, though our textiles don't tend to survive the centuries as well.

[@styx85]

Let me guess, no tumble drying

[@Mireaze]

Dry clean only unfortunately

[@elderlypoodle9181]

HAHAHAHAHA!! 😂👍

[@cujomojo2007]

Nobody knows, care label is written in Māori. Horoi ringa anake, kaua e maroke. Hand wash only, do not tumble dry.

[@bluenoser1567]

Fascinating! Amazing how hard it was to create and then to even survive time. Loved it ... Cheers

[@IntrepidFraidyCat]

The Maori culture is so beautiful and fascinating! Thank you for sharing this.

[@IntrepidFraidyCat]

@@kiwiprouddavids724 Did I say they were indigenous?

[@genghis_connie]

I'm impressed by the patience these individuals must have who are working on preserving and mending it

[@fernlibra9737]

Wow wasn't expecting to see this on this channel. So cool my Maoris x

[@professorlilith5933]

I am curious about the process of preserving the feathers and the weaving. Are there special considerations for flax as opposed to cotton or wool, and what are they? What does feather conservation require? Does the taonga have multiple kinds of feathers (wing, tail, down, semi-plume), and do these need different methods? I know, I know--that would be a half-hour video.

[@paulmanson253]

There is also a problem with this,in Papua New Guinea,that is reducing the hunting load on birds with brightly coloured feathers. That is the climate is hard on stored feathers. I recall seeing an entry here on YT on bright ideas on how to accomplish that. You may wish to look for that.

[@professorlilith5933]

@@paulmanson253 Thanks for the tip

[@complimentary_voucher]

The 'flax' used in maori weaving isn't like northern hemisphere flax, it is a phormium which is grown overseas as a decorative plant. The fibres are long and coarse and more palm-like, and need to be treated quite a bit to be used in such a fine cloak. The processes are very interesting, there's stuff about it on YT as the person below states.

[@MichaelKingsfordGray]

Is that your real name?

[@eh1702]

One potentially confusing issue is that what is called “flax” in English in the southern hemisphere is fibre from the leaves of the Phormium family of plants; while the flax of the northern hemisphere is from the stems of Linaceae, a completely different family of plants. So although they are both bast fibres, they might have a different microscopic structure, PH balance etc.

[@grantwhitbourne]

He taonga! 😍🙌

[@danielgreen2788]

Impressive.

[@londonhodnet4079]

This was so fascinating, thank you

[@TheNightshadePrince]

Tell me a tale so beautiful that the stars will strain to hear The song you fear to end is just beginning so sing me a city of wishes and fire sing me a traveling song I will give you worlds of wonder and a feather cloak to keep you warm! 🎶

[@cujomojo2007]

Kia ora, great to see that items like this are being preserved for future generations to see. Whatawhetai koe.

[@Strangefungusgnome]

Hello from new zealand 😁

[@justjane2070]

I may have missed it. How old is the cloak ?

[@FranzKafkaRockOpera]

The video surprisingly didn't mention it, but the British Museum's website mentions that it was bought by a collector in 1842 and is thought to have been made in the early 1800s; the exact date is presumably hard to pin down.

[@zeropointconsciousness]

Thank you I wondered that too.

[@littleowl22778]

@@FranzKafkaRockOpera you mean stolen then sold. But sure at least its been looked after now.

[@Icanbacktrailers]

@@littleowl22778 how do you know it was stolen?

[@littleowl22778]

@@Icanbacktrailers come on, like some old rich white dude back in the 1800s just politely asked for and the natives at the time and they were like sure, probably racist colonist here take one of our cultures most prized treasured sacred pieces of ceremonial cloaks, you know for keepies and so you can show all your other white dudes back at home before selling it off to. Wait get this another old rich, say it with me white dude!

[@minorchord]

I read made of fathers. That would've been interesting

[@heenanyou]

Fathers are male parents. Do you mean feathers?

[@ed6658]

Awhina, if you don’t snatch all that back and take it home

[@mamaandharry4573]

I’ve seen kakapo in NZ. Very cute but sadly quite defenceless

[@amandamilner7652]

Give our tāonga back. Only kakapo kākahu in the world should be back on it's own whenua

[@zeropointconsciousness]

Beautiful sacred regalia.

[@Amfortas]

Reminded me of Freya's cloak from Norse mythology

[@leeming1317]

Maybe one day my lost scarf will get as much reverence

[@themarquis336]

Give it back

[@ClockworkChainsaw]

Fun fact, the party parrot emoji is a kakapo.

[@MichaelKingsfordGray]

Fun fact: you are an anonymous coward.

[@Strangefungusgnome]

​@MichaelKingsfordGray why so pressed bro?

[@soccermom1245]

At first I read "a CLOCK made of feathers" ! HA!

[@monsternside1509]

Combine your misread with the guy above and we get a Clock made of Fathers.

[@mbb--]

Because time flies haha

[@mbb--]

@@monsternside1509 Father Time

[@heenanyou]

@@monsternside1509 Too funny...

[@forestreader]

"Cloak of Feathers" is a cool song by the Sword

[@wloww]

Give it back thieves!!

[@Strangefungusgnome]

It's called museum loan be quiet. It's in good hands we have many foreign artifacts here too. Hypocrisy is a sin.

[@nzs316]

Are they extinct or near extinct from having been killed for their feathers?

[@vanderbam2741]

They are critically endangered but nothing to do with their feathers. Predators introduced by the Europeans, including rats and stoats, eat their eggs and they reproduce very slowly/unsuccessfully.

[@rahowherox1177]

No. They endangered coz the don't fly and breed slow combined with introduced pests.

[@henrylivingstone2971]

They’re extinct because of rats and pigs introduced by western explorers. The pigs would eat all the food. And the rats would eat their eggs. And considering they’re slow breeding parrots. Their numbers never recovered.

[@kaelimtuhewa-gq9oi]

You should be giving that back, you all took so much from us because you couldn’t live without being the god damn king 🤬

[@kaelimtuhewa-gq9oi]

If you want Māori culture items then make your own. It’s so immoral

[@kaelimtuhewa-gq9oi]

Lol you brought museum employees in to do that work instead of a professional from Te papa? Can we have it back yet

[@Strangefungusgnome]

It's a loan item 🤡

[@98Zai]

I feel so sorry for the Kakapo, what have we done 😢

[@complimentary_voucher]

We're working on saving them, their future is looking ok at the moment as we just had a good breeding season. But yes, humans are f*cked.

[@MichaelKingsfordGray]

New Zealand's Elgin marbles!

[@hetrodoxly1203]

I wonder if Moriori slaves made it for the Maori.

[@teaomaramangarimu1163]

wrong island

[@dengamleidiot]

Now give it all back

[@Strangefungusgnome]

Will te papa be returning stolen items from islands and Australia too?

[@illustriouschin]

RIP thousands of Kakapos.

[@henrylivingstone2971]

More like 20 or so.

[@doublejumpvideogames....]

Thought it was a ps5 cover

[@sam7732]

Easy way to make sure it's looked after - GIVE IT BACK TO AOTEAROA

[@joshuarosen6242]

Like so many historical artifacts in the British Museum that other countries demand we return, this only exists in the condition it's in because we took it in the first place. If you want it, come and get it.

[@Andrensath1]

@@joshuarosen6242 cool story, bro

[@TheWulgus]

@@joshuarosen6242 wrong!

[@orsettomorbido]

@@joshuarosen6242 If us europeans didn't COLONIZE other places in the world, and just exchanged goods with them and cooperated with them, we would see even more stuff in even better conditions.

[@eluna34]

I might be wrong, but to my understanding, this was donated/put in the care of both museums to preserve it.

[@shaydeez]

You should give it back to the Iwi

[@Strangefungusgnome]

Iwi would sell it for KFC 😂

[@annekabrimhall1059]

That should be with the Māori not the British!

[@Strangefungusgnome]

There's maori in england too 😂

[@bngr_bngr]

Why the tattoo on the chin?

[@JohnWayneCheeseburger]

Facial tattoos and tattoos are a part of there culture

[@bngr_bngr]

@@JohnWayneCheeseburger not very smart for a PhD candidate.

[@urmwhynot]

@@bngr_bngr In my culture it is a coat of arms. No two are the same. You can't just walk into a tattoo shop and get one. There is a whole process to go through to review one. If you are offended by our culture, it's because you are seeing it through your own lense which isn't a show of intelligence on your part

[@charlesleroq932]

@@bngr_bngr It's a very good look for a PhD candidate, actually. It shows that she has gone through the requisite journey to reach her tattoo, and has that connection with her culture and ancestry. It signifies that she is an authority - that and the PhD complement each other.

[@bngr_bngr]

@@urmwhynot it’s just stupid to deface your body. Sounds like an evil culture.

[@congoballs9725]

Fundraiser?????? just steal more stuff why stop you been doing it how long now?

[@iopohable]

you dont have to, you can just return it to the people you stole it from.

[@Icanbacktrailers]

How do you know it was stolen?

[@balke7935]

Yes I'm very keen to hear your follow up to this - if you're going to make such an accusation here on the British Museum's page, I would like to see something to back it up. Maybe you're just a silly uninformed troll who doesn't understand conservation?

[@heenanyou]

@@balke7935 Silly - check. Uninformed - check. Troll - check. Doesn't understand conservation - check. Go troll somewhere else, troll.

[@curiousuranus810]

So that's what happened to all the Moas, eh? You know, those flightless birds that the Maoris hunted to extinction.

[@professorlilith5933]

Not sure what the meaning of this comment is. Are we supposed to condemn contemporary Maori people for a 500-year old extinction event?

[@urmwhynot]

Did you know that the acclimatization of NZ happened less than 200 years ago by Europeans in NZ. That's when the English decided it was a good idea to bring the wild boar, deer, possums, foxes, rabbits, stoats, black rats and English plant life to NZ. All of which have devastated the ecosystem in NZ. We even have a feral population of wallabies. The Victoria era British did this everywhere they went.

[@caloricphlogistonandthelum4008]

@@urmwhynot Awr, so that makes it all alright then, doesn't it?

[@Elowuz]

As if Europeans can talk about hunting things to extinction as if their own hands a clean. One bird species vs actual genocide of humans on top of hunting various types animals to extinction

[@vanderbam2741]

No. The kakapo is critically endangered because introduced pets eat their eggs and they reproduce very inefficiently.

[@ToriJaneIsAmazing]

the only way to care for it is to give it back??????

[@Agamemnon2]

...Not even slightly, mate. Regardless of who possesses it, an artifact this fragile needs massive amounts of specialist care.

[@Andrensath1]

@@Agamemnon2 bro we have people here who can provide that, it doesn't need to be sitting in a repository of stolen goods on the other side of the world to be preserved

[@vanderbam2741]

@@Andrensath1 agree that we should have it here, but we don't know that it was stolen. It may have been gifted, I understand many korowai were gifted to colonial officials.

[@Andrensath1]

@@vanderbam2741 true, but I was speaking of the British museum in general, rather than meaning this specific item was stolen

[@KellysCanoeing]

Another addition to the stolen cultural artifacts show

[@Strangefungusgnome]

Loud mouth but quiet thoughts 😂

[@britpackdog4545]

Give it back to them you robdogs

[@kahn04]

With the partnership between the museum and the community, don’t you think that conversation would have been had? Given the age and state of the piece some serious conservation work would be needed to make it safe for travel anyway

[@Duncan23]

@@kahn04 people that make these kind of comments have absolutely no idea the amount of work it takes to preserve these artifacts. They would happily see them destroyed just to say the british museum no longer have it.

[@kahn04]

@@Duncan23 I work in a museum, you’d be amazed how many people pay to come in then winge that we have the things we do

[@annie6261]

@@Duncan23 lmao yes backwards Aotearoa completely incapable of caring for their own history 😒

[@charlesleroq932]

@@annie6261 Right. These arguments are self-serving empire brainwashing. They are saying "we have to keep these items because we appreciate them and take better care of them than their rightful owners". Apply that same line to any resource, and hey, that is the definition of colonization.

[@AT-kx6fj]

So the Maori killed parrots until they became extinct!!

[@Liamyownzu]

no..

[@lochlanhanham8308]

Kākāpō are not extinct! There is actually a living population of around 200. The primary cause of loss of population was as a result of european introduced predator species like stoats and weasels.

[@vanderbam2741]

Lol, no.

[@bobcranberries5853]

If I had to hear them wailing like that while I was trying to do maintenance I would quit

[@HotFish]

Have some respect and decorum Bob. Jesus Christ.

[@bobcranberries5853]

@@HotFish If you want respectful pandering comments there’s hundreds of them below.

[@batrachian149]

>subbed to PragerU

[@dragonlordskater5028]

Lmao

[@orsettomorbido]

@@bobcranberries5853 What a piss poor excuse for an awful comment. "There's good in the world, therefore who cares about the bad" Really? That's not a good suggestion.

[@indiosveritas]

Silly woke nonsense.

[@theobolt250]

Did someone offer her a warm beverage? She's obviously in pain. All that wailing. (hurts my ears).

[@Jeffur2]

calling someone in pain while also admitting to be in pain..Where's your hot choccy milk, wittle babby?

[@urmwhynot]

It's a ritual that is part of our culture. She's calling to our ancestors in order to protect and conserve the integrity of the work at hand (conserving a Kahu/cloak in this instance) and to make sure everything is done inline with custom.

[@SantaBarbaraBiking]

Have your ears been triggered Theo?

[@Elowuz]

Take a paracetamol then, you big baby

[@heenanyou]

@@urmwhynot How do you know the ancestors are listening? Do they answer?

[@pastor1689]

Paganism has a new interesting look. Amazing how popular it is.

[@Aurora81689]

Māori isn’t pagan, it’s Māori

[@phoenixgods1]

when something predates the current primary faith, that makes it historical- although if this is a religious jab, then you could go back to some of the oldest christian/jewish 'pagan' works and worship the entire canaanite faithline- starting with the Lord Yahweh's father, El.

[@intolerablescamp1436]

Paganism? What are you even saying man? Let’s not forget how the entire Abrahamic flood myth is more than likely Sumerian (or older!) in origin. The Sumerians, Mark; 2000 years before Christ. Half the bloody stories from the Torah/Bible/Quran are lifted from older, “pagan” faiths. This isn’t paganism. It’s history, and it’s fascinating history at that. To deride an important part of Maori culture by giving it the misnomer of pagan is some of the most arrogant bullshit I’ve ever seen.

[@viciousidiott]

genuinely evil thing to say