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Flax In New Zealand
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 distinct from the Northern Hemisphere plant known as flax (''Linum usitatissimum''). ''P. tenax'' occurs naturally in New Zealand and Norfolk Island, while ''P. colensoi'' is endemic to New Zealand. They have played an important part in the cultural and economic history of New Zealand for both the Māori people (who adapted earlier Polynesian traditions of pandanus weaving otherwise unproductive in a colder climate) and the later European settlers. Both species and their cultivars have now been widely distributed to temperate regions of the world as ornamental garden plants – and to lesser extent for fibre production. __TOC__ Traditional Māori uses Textiles Although the Māori made textiles from a number of other plants, including tī ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Weft
In the manufacture of cloth, warp and weft are the two basic components in weaving to transform thread (yarn), thread and yarn into textile fabrics. The vertical ''warp'' yarns are held stationary in tension on a loom (frame) while the horizontal ''weft'' (also called the ''woof'') is drawn through (inserted over and under) the warp thread. In the terminology of weaving, each warp thread is called a ''warp end''; a ''pick'' is a single weft thread that crosses the warp thread (synonymous terms are ''fill yarn'' and ''filling yarn'').Burnham (1980), pp. 170, 179Barber (1991), p. 79. In the 18th century, the Industrial Revolution facilitated the industrialisation of the production of textile fabrics with the "picking stick" and the "flying shuttle", the latter of which was invented by John Kay (flying shuttle), John Kay, in 1733. The mechanised power loom was patented by Edmund Cartwright in 1785, which allowed sixty picks per minute. Etymology The word ''weft'' derives from ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Waka (canoe)
Waka () are Māori people, Māori watercraft, usually canoes ranging in size from small, unornamented canoes (''waka tīwai'') used for fishing and river travel to large, decorated war canoes (''waka taua'') up to long. The earliest remains of a canoe in New Zealand were found near the Anaweka River, Anaweka estuary in a remote part of the Tasman District and Radiocarbon dating, radiocarbon-dated to about 1400. The canoe was constructed in New Zealand, but was a sophisticated canoe, compatible with the style of other Polynesian voyaging canoes at that time. Since the 1970s, about eight large double-hulled canoes of about 20 metres have been constructed for oceanic voyaging to other parts of the Pacific Ocean, Pacific. They are made of a blend of modern and traditional materials, incorporating features from ancient Melanesia, as well as Polynesia. Waka taua (war canoes) ''Waka taua'' (in Māori language, Māori, ''waka'' means "canoe" and ''taua'' means "army" or "war party") a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kete (basket)
Kete are traditional baskets made and used by New Zealand's Māori people. They are traditionally woven from the leaves of New Zealand flax called Phormium tenax, harakeke and have two handles at the top. Other materials are sometimes used, including Carex, sedge grass or the leaves of the nikau palm and Cabbage tree (New Zealand), cabbage tree. Modern designs may also use dyed materials. Some kete, known as ''kete whakairo'', or "patterned bag", feature intricate geometric patterns, while more everyday baskets are known as ''kete mahi'' or simply ''kete.'' Uses Kete may be of many sizes but are most often found in sizes similar to large handbags. They can be used to carry a variety of things, including food. Specialized kete were woven for each item that needed storage, resulting in dozens of specialized styles. Very small kete also exist, and can be used as gift containers. Traditionally, kete were given away following their completion. Kete have also been used to bury plac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fishing Net
A fishing net or fish net is a net (device), net used for fishing. Fishing nets work by serving as an improvised fish trap, and some are indeed rigged as traps (e.g. #Fyke nets, fyke nets). They are usually wide open when deployed (e.g. by casting (fishing), casting or trawling), and then close off when retrieved to engulf and trap fish and other aquatic animals that are larger than the holes/gaps of the net, as well as many unwanted bycatches due to the underwater area a net can cover. Fishing nets are usually meshes formed by knotting a relatively thin thread, and early nets were woven from grasses, vines, flaxes and other fiber crop material, while later woven cotton was used. Modern nets are usually made of artificial polyamides like nylon, although nets of organic polyamides such as wool or silk thread were common until recently and are still used. History Fishing nets have been used widely in the past, including by stone age societies. The oldest known fishing net is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eel Trap
A fish trap is a trap used for catching fish and other aquatic animals of value. Fish traps include fishing weirs, cage traps, fish wheels and some fishing net rigs such as fyke nets. The use of traps are culturally almost universal around the world and seem to have been independently invented many times. There are two main types of trap, a permanent or semi-permanent structure placed in a river or tidal area and bottle or pot trap that are usually, but not always baited to attract prey, and are periodically lifted out of the water. A typical contemporary trap consists of a frame of thick steel wire in the shape of a heart, with chicken wire stretched around it. The mesh wraps around the frame and then tapers into the inside of the trap. Fishes that swim inside through this opening cannot get out, as the chicken wire opening bends back into its original narrowness. In earlier times, traps were constructed of wood and fibre. Fish traps contribute to the problems of marine d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kererū
The kererū (''Hemiphaga novaeseelandiae''), also known as kūkupa (Māori language#Northern dialects, northern Māori dialects), New Zealand pigeon or wood pigeon, is a species of pigeon native to New Zealand. Johann Friedrich Gmelin described the bird in 1789 as a large, conspicuous pigeon up to in length and in weight, with a white breast and iridescent green–blue plumage. Two subspecies have been recognised; the second—the Norfolk pigeon of Norfolk Island—became extinct in the early 20th century. Kererū pairs are Monogamy in animals, monogamous, breeding over successive seasons and remaining together when not breeding. They construct nests with twigs in trees, with a single egg clutch. Found in a variety of habitats across the country, the kererū feeds mainly on fruits, as well as leaves, buds and flowers. Although widespread in both forest and urban habitats, its numbers have declined significantly since European colonisation and the arrival of invasive mammals ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Huia
The huia ( ; ; ''Heteralocha acutirostris'') is an extinct species of New Zealand wattlebird, endemic to the North Island of New Zealand. The last confirmed sighting of a huia was in 1907, although there was another credible sighting in 1924. It was already a rare bird before the arrival of Europeans, confined to the Ruahine, Tararua, Rimutaka and Kaimanawa mountain ranges in the south-east of the North Island. It was remarkable for its pronounced sexual dimorphism in bill shape; the female's beak was long, thin and arched downward, while the male's was short and stout, like that of a crow. Males were long, while females were larger at . The sexes were otherwise similar, with orange wattles and deep metallic, bluish-black plumage with a greenish iridescence on the upper surface, especially about the head. The tail feathers were unique among New Zealand birds in having a broad white band across the tips. The birds lived in forests at both montane and lowland elevation ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tūī
The tūī (''Prosthemadera novaeseelandiae'') is a medium-sized bird native to New Zealand. It is blue, green, and bronze coloured with a distinctive white throat tuft (poi). It is an endemism, endemic passerine bird of New Zealand, and the only species in the genus ''Prosthemadera''. It is one of the largest species in the diverse Australasian honeyeater family Meliphagidae, and one of two living species of that family found in New Zealand, the other being the New Zealand bellbird (''Anthornis melanura''). The tūī has a wide distribution in the archipelago, ranging from the subtropical Kermadec Islands to the sub-Antarctic Auckland Islands, as well as the main islands. Taxonomy Europeans first encountered the tūī in 1770 at Queen Charlotte Sound / Tōtaranui, Queen Charlotte Sound on the north coast of New Zealand's South Island during James Cook, Captain James Cook's First voyage of James Cook, first voyage to the Pacific Ocean. Specimens were brought back to England an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kākā
The New Zealand kākā (''Nestor meridionalis'') is a large species of parrot of the family New Zealand parrot, Strigopidae found in New Zealand, New Zealand's native forests across the three main Islands of New Zealand. The species is often known by the abbreviated name kākā, although it shares this name with the Holocene extinction, recently extinct Norfolk kākā and Chatham kākā. Two subspecies of New Zealand kākā are recognised. It is endangered and has disappeared from much of its former range, though the re-introduction of North Island kākā at Zealandia (wildlife sanctuary), Zealandia in Wellington has led to an increasing population of the birds across the city. Taxonomy The New Zealand kākā was Species description, formally described in 1788 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's ''Systema Naturae''. He placed it with the parrots in the genus ''Psittacus'' and coined the binomial nomenclature, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kiwi (bird)
Kiwi are flightless birds endemism, endemic to New Zealand of the Order (biology), order Apterygiformes. The five extant species fall into the family Apterygidae and genus ''Apteryx''. Approximately the size of a domestic chicken, kiwi are the smallest ratites (which also include ostriches, emus, rhea (bird), rheas, cassowary, cassowaries and the extinct elephant birds and moa). DNA sequence comparisons have yielded the conclusion that kiwi are much more closely related to the extinct Malagasy elephant birds than to the moa with which they shared New Zealand. There are five recognised species, four of which are currently listed as Vulnerable species, vulnerable, and Little spotted kiwi, one of which is Near-threatened species, near threatened. All species have been negatively affected by historic Deforestation in New Zealand, deforestation, but their remaining habitat is well protected in large forest reserves and national parks. At present, the greatest threat to their surviva ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Muka
Muka is prepared fibre of New Zealand flax (). 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. Some varieties produce different grades or quality of muka that result in characteristics such as strength, whiteness or shine. In pre-European times, muka was widely used by the Māori and was the primary fibre used for weaving clothing. ''Patu muka'' or pounding stones were a distinct tool type. In the early colonial period, muka was a trade staple, often being traded for muskets with devastating effects. Well into the European era it was used for paper, clothing and sacking, with large commercial workings in Foxton and elsewhere. Since the Māori renaissance 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 * Co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
