tour 2 of 16
The Pacific: Gods and People
Feather cloak
The most common colour scheme for Hawaiian
ceremonial feather cloaks uses a red background with yellow
geometrical motifs and lower border, as shown here. The red
feathers are of the
'i'iwi
bird (Vestiaria
coccinea) and the yellow ones of the
'o'o
(Moho nobilis). Such a
large cloak would have belonged to a man of high rank. Yellow
feathers were scarcer than red ones, so the most valuable garments
were predominantly yellow. It has been estimated that the largest
cloaks would be covered with nearly half a million small feathers.
Cloaks were valued items, passed down the generations as
heirlooms.
The Hawaiian
specialist Adrienne Kaeppler has identified this cloak as one
collected on Captain Cook's third voyage (1776-80), based
on its style and on circumstantial evidence. It has the
characteristic straight neckline and shaped lower edge, common to
those associated with the period before European contact. Kaeppler
believes that this cloak, and another in The British
Museum's collection (HAW 134) were gifts from Hawaiian
chiefs to Captain Charles Clerke, Cook's second-in-command.
Kahekili, chief of Maui, presented this cloak to Clerke in
1778.
The cloak is
typically composed of pieces of
olona
(Touchardia latifolia)
fibre netting sewn together to form the desired shape. The
manufacture of these prestigious feathered items was a highly
skilled and time-consuming craft, restricted to men of high status,
who observed religious practices as they worked. Each piece of
netting was made separately, accompanied by the recitation of
protective prayers. Such a cloak provided its important wearer with
sacred protection when worn in dangerous
situations.