Tāniko (or taaniko) is a traditional weaving technique of the

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

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 ...

related to "twining". It may also refer to the resulting bands of weaving, or to the traditional designs. The tāniko technique does not require a loom, although one can be used. Traditionally free hanging warps were suspended between two weaving pegs and the process involved twining downward. The traditional weaving material is

muka Muka is prepared fibre of Phormium_tenax, New Zealand flax ( mi, links=yes, harakeke). Prepared primarily by scraping, pounding and washing, it is a key material in Māori traditional textiles where it is usually used in tāniko or twined weaving. ...

, fibre prepared from the

New Zealand flax New Zealand flax describes the common New Zealand perennial plants ''Phormium tenax'' and ''Phormium colensoi'', known by the Māori names ''harakeke'' and ''wharariki'' respectively. Although given the common name 'flax' they are quite distinc ...

(''Phormium tenax'') by scraping, pounding and washing. The muka fibre was dyed using

natural dye Natural dyes are dyes or colorants derived from plants, invertebrates, or minerals. The majority of natural dyes are vegetable dyes from plant sources—roots, berries, bark, leaves, and wood—and other biological sources such as fungi. Archaeol ...

s. There has been a resurgence of tāniko and other Māori cultural practices starting in the 1950s and as part of the broader

Māori Renaissance The Māori renaissance is the revival in fortunes of the Māori of New Zealand beginning in the 1970s. Until 1914, and possibly later, the perception of the Māori race, although dying out, was capable and worthy of saving, but only within a Europ ...

. This has led to tāniko practitioners Diggeress Te Kanawa and her mother Dame Rangimārie Hetet receiving honorary doctorates from the

University of Waikato The University of Waikato ( mi, Te Whare Wānanga o Waikato), is a Public university, public research university in Hamilton, New Zealand, Hamilton, New Zealand established in 1964. An additional campus is located in Tauranga. The university perfo ...

. The award-winning designer, Adrienne Whitewood ( Rongowhaakata), demonstrates a new wave of Māori designers connecting customary designs and techniques with modern designs. Her work Tāniko was the Supreme Award Winner of the Cult Couture Fashion Awards in 2012.

References

Bibliography

*"Te Whatu Taaniko: Taaniko Weaving", Sidney M. Mead, 1968, , * "Weaving a Kakahu", Diggeress Te Kanawa, 1992, Bridget Williams Books Ltd, * "The Art of Maori Weaving: The Eternal Thread Te Aho Mutunga Kore", Miriama Evans and Ranui Ngarimu, 2005,

Huia Publishers Huia Publishers (HUIA) is a book publishing company based in Wellington, New Zealand established in 1991. HUIA publish material in Māori language and English for adults and children. HUIA was founded by Robyn Rangihuia Bargh (CNZM) and her ...

External links

Collection items featuring taaniko from the collection of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
online book by Judy Shorten
Harakeke weaving varieties
Māori culture Weaves Māori art {{Maori-stub