Feather cloak

Feather cloak from Hawaii in the Pitt Rivers Museum

Princess Nāhiʻenaʻena in her cloak, 1825

Display at Keauhou, Hawaii

Featherwork cloaks have been used by several cultures.

Hawaii

Elaborate feather cloaks called ʻahuʻula were created by early Hawaiians for the aliʻi (royalty). Feathers were also used in women's skirts called pāʻū. The ʻiʻiwi (Vestiaria coccinea) and ʻapapane (Himatione sanguinea), which provided red feathers, were killed and skinned due to their abundance. Yellow feathers were obtained from the mostly black and rarer ʻōʻō (Moho nobilis) and mamo (Drepanis pacifica) using a catch and release philosophy to ensure future availability.

Māori

In Māori culture feathers are a sign of chiefly rank, and the kakahu (feather cloak), is still used as sign of rank or respect.

Irish

The elite class of poets known as the filid wore a feathered cloak, the tuigen.

Famous Works

• Nāhiʻenaʻena's Paʻū, feather skirt of Princess Nāhiʻenaʻena and funeral garment of Hawaiian royals
• Kamehameha's Cloak, feather cloak of Kamehameha I made entirely of the golden-yellow feather of the mamo, used by the kings of Hawaii
• Kiwalao's Cloak, feather cloak of Kīwalaʻō captured by Kamehameha I in 1782, used by the Queens of Hawaii
• Liloa's Kāʻei, sash of King Liloa of the island of Hawaii