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‘Ahu‘ula

human history
  • Other Name

    Feather cloak (English)

  • Description

    ‘Ahu‘ula. Feather cloak reserved for Hawaiian ali‘i (high chiefs, royalty). This ‘ahu‘ula is of floor length size. When laid flat it is a large crescent shape. The knotted fibre foundation is produced from ‘olonā fibre, onto which are attached many hundreds of thousands of small red and yellow huluhulu (feathers) from the ‘I‘iwi bird and ‘Ō‘ō bird respectively creating a thick and textured surface.

    These huluhulu are placed in a geometric arrangement across the foundation fibre to produce a wide yellow serrated border enclosing a field of red along with two central lozenges and two half triangular forms of yellow huluhulu towards the lower half of the ‘ahu‘ula.

  • Place
  • Accession Number
    1948.47
  • Accession Date
    02 Feb 1948
  • Other Id

    29817 (ethnology)

  • Department
Ahu'ula, 1948.47, 29817, 13630, Photographed by Jennifer… … Read more

Images and documents

Images

Artefact

  • Credit Line
    Collection of Auckland Museum Tāmaki Paenga Hira, 1948.47, 29817, 13630
  • Public Access Text

    ‘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.

  • Cultural Origin
  • Primary Maker

     unknown (Maker)

  • Place
  • Date
    18th Century
  • Technique
  • Period
  • Media
  • Measurement Description
    1282.7 x 749.3mm x 3100mm (measurements taken from ethnology card)
  • Measurement Reading

    1283mm

    750mm

    3100mm

    1283mm

    750mm

    3100mm

  • Subject Category
  • Classification
  • Last Update
    24 Mar 2023
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