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Ko te raranga i te putiputi

flax weaving

Ko te raranga i te putiputi he mahi māmā mō
te tauhou ki tēnei momo mahi. Ka āhei te
tangata te whakamahi i te katoa o ngā momo
harakeke, i ngā momo tipu rau māro. E
whakaatu ana ēnei tohutohu me pēhea e
raranga i te hibiscus, ā, kei taku pukapuka
mō te raranga putiputi hoki ēnei.

holding a flax leaf


Ki te whakamahi i te harakeke ki te raranga i te hibiscus nei, whakamahia kotahi noa iho tōna rau. Tanumia ngā taha e rau o te rau. Ki te whakamahi i te momo tipu e rua ōna rau, kaua e aro mai ki ēnei tohutohu. Nā te whānui, nā te whāiti o te rau, me whakamahi e rua rānei, e toru rānei ngā rau. Whakamahia te hōpiapia ki ōna rekereke hei here i ngā rau.


splitting a flax leaf


Werohia ngā taha e rua o te rau, e rima mirimita mai i tōna tuarā kia toetoe ai. Tihaea te roanga o te rau.



a split flax leaf


Tihaea anōtia te whanuitanga o te rau kia rite ki te mea tuatahi, ā, heke whakararo ki ōna waewae. Mēnā he whāiti iho ngā taha o waho, tangohia.


Mō ēnei tohutohu kua whakamahia ngā taha kotahi henemita ōna whānui kia pūrangiaho ai. He rerehua ake te putiputi mēnā he whāiti ngā wāhanga o te rau. Ehara te nui o ngā wāhanga i te mea nui engari me ōrite te whānui, te whāiti rānei o ngā wāhanga kia pai ake ai te hua ka puta.


scraping a flax leaf


Whakamahia te taha pūhuki o te naihi hei hāro i te kiri o te harakeke. Ka ngāwari haere ngā rau, ā, ka paku whakamingo. Mā te hāro i te kiri e paku maroke haere hoki te rau, ā, he iti noa tōna kōriorio.


weaving a flax flower step 1


Me mau ko taha pīata o te rau ki a koe, ā, ko te tō ki raro. Pōkaihia te whenu tuataho i te taha matau ki muri i te rau tuarua, ka tōaitia te mahi nei kia mutu kī ngā rau katoa kei te taha matau e takoto ana.

weaving a flax flower step 2



Hoki ano ki te taha mauī o te rau, pōkaihia te tēnei whenu ki muri i te whenu ki tōna taha matau, ka tōaitia tēnei mahi raranga ki a mutu ki ngā rau katoa kei te taha matau e takoto ana.


weaving a flax flower step 3


Ka tōaitia ēnei mahi pōkai ki te wā kua rarangahia ngā whenu katoa, hāunga ko te te whenu whakamutunga.


weaving a flax flower step 4



Hurihia te rau kia takoto te whenu kotahi, ā, kō ngā toenga whenu e tū ana.



weaving a flax flower step 5


Pōkaihia te rau kei te taha matau ki muri i ngā rau kei te taha, ka raranga ki muri, ki mua, kia mutu ki te taha matau.


weaving a flax flower step 6



Hoki ano ki te taha mauī o te rau, pōkaihia te whenu tuatahi ki muri i ngā rau kei te taha atau ka tōaitia tēnei mahi ki mutu i te rau whakamutunga e takoto anat.


weaving a flax flower step 7



Hurihia te rau kia takoto ko te whenu kotahi kei te taha mauī, ā, kō ēra atu rau e tū ana.



weaving a flax flower step 8


Pōkaihia te whenu kei te taha mauī ki muri i ngā whenu kia pēnei te raranga, engari kaua e raranga ki roto i te tō o te rau.


weaving a flax flower step 9



Ka tōaitia tēnei mahi raranga tae noa ki te whenu whakamutunga.


weaving a flax flower step 10



Hurihia te putiputi ki a rite koe mo te wahanga hou.



weaving a flax flower step 11



Rarangahia tēnei wahanga, ki a hurihuri rauna i ngā wahanga o te putiputi.


weaving a flax flower step 12


Haere tonu i ngā raranga nei ki a ahei koe te here i ngā toenga, waiho ngā toenga poto kia raranga ano ki roto i te putiputi, kō ngā toenga ka kutia.



weaving a flax flower step 13


Here ,huri rauna,tetahi o ngā whenu iti ki ēra atu whenu iti kia rua ngā wā. Kua mutu tō putiuti tuatahi.



weaving a flax flower step 14

Hei mahi oti ano oana ngā toenga here māi i waenganui, ki muri i te puitputi, takawiri haere ai, mā tēnei mahi ka pikopiko haere te putiputi ki mua, ka herea tēnei i tetahi whenu ano, ki muri i te putiputi kia here i ngā whenu i takawiri.


He timatanga rerekē

an alternative start to weaving a flax flower

Hei mahi timatanga ano, ka takawiri ngā whenu i mua i te raranga, mā tēnei mahi e taurite, e tika ai te whakmaroke o ngā rau i te otinga o te putiputi.



flax flower curled back

Waihoki, mā tēnei momo timatanga ka rereke ai te hanga o ngā taha o te putiputi,ko ngā here toenga ka pana tonu ki muri i te putiputi takawiri ai, ka taea hoki te here kia rua ngā whenu ki muri here ai.



a flax flower with a finer weave

Ngā hanga rerekē

1. Ka mutu etahi o ngā ara raranga, tihaia ngā whenu, a haere tonu i to ara, mā tēnei mahi ka tīni te ahua o to putiputi mai te ahua kōwharawhara, ki te āhua hungahunga,(tirohia te whakaahua ki te taha matau).
2.Rarangahia ngā rau e rua kia hanga he putiputi nui.
3.Raangahia kia rua ngā putiputi iti i te Rau kotahi, whakmahia i ngā rau e rua.
4.Tapahia te tātārau o te putiputi hei whakarākei mo te tēpu.

If you enjoyed weaving the hibiscus, you may be interested in my book on flax flowers, which includes many more flower designs, and includes another way of weaving the hibiscus that is a bit more long-winded but produces a tighter weave. This alternative way of weaving works with both the folded-over edges and the curled-under edges.

There's also an English version of these instructions.

My thanks go to the translators of this page. The main translation is by Harata Simmonds, Kaiako Te Reo Māori, Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology, and the initial six paragraphs were translated by Te Hurunui Clarke, Researcher for Te Reo Māori, University of Canterbury. Any mistakes are ones I've made in transcribing their translations into HTML.

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