The examples of textiles in the cases aren’t ancient artefacts from another era, but components of a cultural practice that continues to exist against centuries of colonial suppression. The burden of colonialism doesn’t fall equally upon its subjects, and with the imposition of British rule wahine Māori were not only disenfranchised politically, but also increasingly alienated from traditional skills and knowledge built up over generations. Weaving, practiced mostly by wahine, was forced into decline by the new colonial structures.
However, from the mid-twentieth century a group of dedicated and determined women sparked a revival movement of traditional Māori artforms, weaving and fibre arts in particular.
The textiles display cases are an invitation for Museum visitors to engage with the taonga tuku iho that produced the items inside, and a challenge to carry on the legacy of women such as Dame Rangimarie Hetet and her daughter Dr Diggeress Rangituatahi Te Kanawa, Kahutoi’s grandmother and mother, who championed the Māori weaving revival.