Skirt

Item number 3425/3 a-b from the MOA: University of British Columbia.

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Description

Skirt or piupiu composed of strands of alternating scraped and not scraped flax leaves forming a horizontal striped pattern where the not scraped leaves are a light yellow colour, and the scraped segments are a dark brown colour. Spelled out using dark sections is "AOTEAROA". The leaves hang from a woven waistband made of grey-blue and orange braided fibre with long ties on each end, also braided. The initials B.T. are stitched onto the waistband in white. The piupiu storage bag (part b) is tube shaped with both ends open and able to be cinched. The top has lining tape creating a pocket, through which a grey and red-brown plaited fibre cord is drawn through. The other end has an elastic strap threaded through and tied off.

Narrative

In 1959, the donor spent a year in the US to attend grade 12 as an exchange student from New Zealand. This piupiu was made for her, by her iwi in the Te Rarawa. At the time, she was performing Maori songs and dance. The word "AOTEAROA" (Land of the long white cloud) is the Maori name for New Zealand.

Specific Techniques

The skirt waist bands are traditionally woven from scraped flax fibre, not wool. The flax leaves are scraped with mussel shells. Unscraped pieces of flax within the scraped sections of this skirt indicate it was made by a novice. (Information provided by an Otago University delegation, 2023.)