‘Ahu’ula, literally ‘red cloak’, were worn only by ali’i, chiefs, of sufficient status during ceremonial occasions and in battle. During important occasions one’s relative political position within the ali’i class was visually articulated through the size and colour of ‘ahu’ula. Worn to battle, ‘ahu’ula could also be captured as war booty by the victor. Throughout Polynesia red is associated with the gods, divinity and by association the ali’i. Red, ‘ula, is of such cultural significance that in Hawaii the word continued in reference to cloaks without red feathers, and cloaks of yellow feathers. The scarcity of yellow feathers meant they were more socially significant, and to obtain sufficient numbers for a cloak required mana and power enough to assemble and mobilise a large workforce. The yellow feathers came from the o’o (Moho nobilis) and mamo (Depranis pacifica) birds, the red feathers from the ‘i’iwi (Vestiana coccinea) and apapane (Himatione sanguinea). Professional bird catchers, po’e hahai manu, caught the birds using bird lime, nets or snares, and were usually released after plucking. The po'e hahai manu would smear kapa pala ki pau (a kind of breadfruit resin) onto tree trunks onto which the birds' feet would stick to. They would pluck only two to three feathers at a time and then set the bird free. Feathers could be collected over generations. The feathers were tied together into small bundles and attached to a mesh foundation of olona fibre cord, starting from the lower border the bundles were attached in rows one above the other, each successive row of feathers overlapping the quills of the row below. This cloak is part of an exchange agreement between the Auckland Museum and the Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Cambridge. The cloak came here in 1948.