Tāniko

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Young Māori woman in a garment made of flax with tāniko decoration

Tāniko is a traditional method of weaving within the Māori weaving art, which can be compared to a European method of weaving baskets and was mainly used to decorate kakahu cloaks . The Tāniko method is considered to be particularly complicated. The method as well as the actual patterns that are woven through it are referred to as tāniko .

description

Tāniko does not need a real loom, it is only woven with the fingers. In the traditional way, the prepared flax fibers, or muka , were attached to a frame made of two sticks so that the woven fabric could be made in between. The sticks, turuturu in Māori , could be used either by sticking them in the ground or leaning them against a wall. For experienced weavers, however, it is possible to work without this scaffolding. The first row of transverse threads of the woven tāniko pattern is called aho tapu , which means "holy weft".

materials

Originally, New Zealander flax ( Phormium tenax ) was used at Tāniko , the fibers of which could be obtained by two possible methods, hāro and takiri . With the takiri method, the flax fibers need to be scraped off less than with the hāro method.

Since tāniko patterns need different colors, the flax fibers were dyed to provide black, yellow and red threads for the weavers. Undyed fibers were used for white parts of the swatch. Each color came from a natural source: a special mud gave black color, red-brown was made from Tānekaha - ( Phyllocladus ) or Taotoa - ( Phyllocladus tricomanoides ) [sic] bark, and yellow came from Coprosma tree species.

Today tāniko is seldom woven from flax. Instead, materials such as knitted silk or twine are used.

template

Tāniko patterns have recently been described in more detail than before, thanks to the work of Hirini Moko Mead. According to an older system, tāniko can be divided into four general pattern types:

  • Waharua kōpito: The meaning of this term is something like "a cross point". Such patterns consist of several rhombuses joined together.
  • Aronui / Aonui: These patterns are made up of triangles.
  • Aramoana: The meaning "way of the sea" describes these zigzag patterns.
  • Tukemata: literally "eyebrows". These patterns are also zigzag, but the prongs have notches.

The system designed by Hirini Moko Mead, on the other hand, proposes seven groupings:

  • Grouping 1: Includes Aramoana and Tukemata patterns.
  • Grouping 2: Aronui / Aonui pattern.
  • Grouping 3: Pātikitiki patterns, which are described as predominantly diamond-shaped. They differ from grouping 4, in which several diamonds are placed on top of each other.
  • Grouping 4: Waharua or Whakarua kōpito pattern.
  • Grouping 5: Patterns that consist of horizontal or vertical lines.
  • Grouping 6: Patterns that use squiggles, similar to the Kōwhaiwhai of marae buildings .
  • Grouping 7: Motifs that do not necessarily have to represent something traditional, such as a cross.

history

Tāniko emerged as a further development of previous braiding methods and enabled a larger selection of patterns. As a cloak ornament, Tāniko could be integrated into the rest of the garment when weaving a cloak instead of being sewn on later.

There are three phases in the history of the development of the Tāniko method: the classical Māori period (1650 to 1800), the transition period (1800 to 1900) and the modern Māori period (1900 to the present day).

The classic Māori period

At that time, tāniko was only used to decorate cloaks, but they were not worn constantly. The tāniko patterns during this period were not particularly broad. One type of cape was actually covered, while other capes were decorated with tāniko patterns on the sides and around the bottom - these capes had no such decoration around the neck. Here one saw tāniko as a single or double border. The appearance and placement of the Tāniko borders depended on contemporary fashion.

The transition period

As more and more Europeans settled in New Zealand, many changes came to the Māori people of the country. For example, they had to gradually adapt to the European way of dressing. Traditional clothes were only used on special, ceremonial occasions.

During the transition period, the application of tāniko changed in that it was not only used for cloaks. Borders also got wider, and the patterns got more colorful and intricate.

The modern Māori period

For a while during this period, Tāniko was more likely to be promoted by tourism, but slowly the importance of the Māori symbols of their culture and identity increased. Tāniko appeared on garments such as headbands and outerwear at this time, but other materials were used instead of flax, mostly wool. At the same time, it is tāniko patterns that are used, rather than the traditional method itself, as the patterns can now be knotted like tapestries.

Tāniko styles

The appearance of Tāniko, like its history, can be divided into several phases: that of the pre-classical style, that of the classical, that of the transitional style, that of the early modern Māori style and that of the late modern Māori style. These phases show the changes that have occurred in the tāniko patterns.

The pre-classical style

  • Intricate, detailed patterns made up of lines
  • Mostly only two colors (dark background with white pattern)

The classic style

  • Lots of black background
  • Less lines, more shapes
  • Colors used are red, black, white and sometimes yellow

The transition style

  • Wide borders on capes
  • Complicated patterns
  • Black is not just used as a background color
  • More colorful colors through the use of wool
  • European motifs are used

The early modern Māori style

  • Other non-traditional motifs are used
  • There are uses for tāniko other than as a cloak ornament
  • Scrolls that disappeared after the pre-classical period are being used again
  • Other materials are used instead of flax

The late modern Māori style

  • The traditional Tāniko method is used less often
  • Wool is reused
  • Conservative and new patterns emerge

present

Although the traditional use of tāniko has been to decorate cloaks, several others have been added. Tāniko has been used not only for clothing, but also to make cages and traps, and recently it has been seen on belts and bags, as well as jewelry and other small items. In addition, you can see painted Tāniko patterns on some buildings today.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f Puketapu-Hetet: Maori Weaving. 1999, p. 26.
  2. ↑ Mead: Te Whatu Taniko. 1999, p. 19.
  3. ↑ a b c Taniko . Website of the Te Papa Tongarewa Museum of New Zealand. Retrieved September 24, 2013.
  4. ↑ a b Mead: Te Whatu Tāniko. 1999, p. 17.
  5. ↑ Mead: Te Whatu Taniko. 1999, pp. 19-21.
  6. ↑ Mead: Te Whatu Taniko. 1999, p. 22.
  7. ↑ Mead: Te Whatu Taniko. 1999, pp. 25-27.
  8. ↑ a b Puketapu-Hetet: Maori Weaving. 1999, p. 27.
  9. ↑ Mead: Te Whatu Taniko. 1999, pp. 75-76.
  10. ↑ Mead: Te Whatu Taniko. 1999, p. 88.
  11. ↑ Mead: Te Whatu Taniko. 1999, pp. 29-31.
  12. ↑ Mead: Te Whatu Taniko. 1999, p. 33.
  13. ↑ Mead: Te Whatu Taniko. 1999, p. 34.
  14. ↑ Mead: Te Whatu Taniko. 1999, pp. 37-38.
  15. ↑ Mead: Te Whatu Taniko. 1999, p. 38.
  16. ↑ a b Mead: Te Whatu Tāniko. 1999, p. 39.
  17. ↑ Mead: Te Whatu Taniko. 1999, p. 41.
  18. ↑ Mead: Te Whatu Taniko. 1999, p. 43.
  19. ↑ Mead: Te Whatu Taniko. 1999, p. 44.
  20. ↑ a b Mead: Te Whatu Tāniko. 1999, p. 47.
  21. ↑ Mead: Te Whatu Taniko. 1999, p. 50.
  22. ↑ a b Mead: Te Whatu Tāniko. 1999, p. 53.
  23. ↑ Mead: Te Whatu Taniko. 1999, pp. 55-56.
  24. ↑ Mead: Te Whatu Taniko. 1999, p. 56.
  25. ↑ Mead: Te Whatu Taniko. 1999, pp. 60-66.
  26. ↑ Mead: Te Whatu Taniko. 1999, p. 78.

literature

  • Erenora Puketapu-Hetet: Maori Weaving. Pitman, Auckland 1999, ISBN 058254193X .
  • Hirini Moko Mead: Te Whatu Tāniko - Tāniko Weaving Technique and Tradition. Reed Books, Auckland 1999, ISBN 9780790006796 .

Web links

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