Kete are traditional baskets made and used by

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

Māori people The Māori (, ) are the indigenous Polynesian people of mainland New Zealand (). Māori originated with settlers from East Polynesia, who arrived in New Zealand in several waves of canoe voyages between roughly 1320 and 1350. Over several ce ...

. They may be of many sizes, but are most often found in sizes similar to large handbags. Kete are traditionally woven from the leaves of New Zealand flax called

harakeke ''Phormium tenax'' (called flax in New Zealand English; in Māori; New Zealand flax outside New Zealand; and New Zealand hemp in historical nautical contexts) is an evergreen perennial plant native to New Zealand and Norfolk Island that is an i ...

and have two handles at the top. Other materials are sometimes used, including the leaves of the nikau palm and

cabbage tree Cabbage tree is a common name for several plant species: * '' Andira inermis'', native to Central and South America * Various members of the genus ''Cordyline'' native to New Zealand. **''Cordyline australis'' (Cabbage tree) **''Cordyline banksii'' ...

. In pre-European society, Māori had specific plantations of flax, which was their most important textile. It was prepared by cutting the green leaves close to the base before the leaves were split and woven. Various preparations of the leaves allowed the material to be used both as a hardy flat thick-woven material (as in kete and mats) and also as a fibrous twine, used for creating both rope and finely woven cloaks.

References

Basket weaving Containers Domestic implements Māori art Māori culture Textile arts of New Zealand Indigenous textiles {{Māori-stub

See also

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