RARANGA WHAKAIRO BOOK

Raranga Whakairo
Māori Plaiting Patterns
Mick Pendergrast
Newly republished edition featuring an updated cover design.
First published in 1984, Raranga Whakairo: Māori Plaiting Patterns has long been recognised as one of the foundational reference works on Māori weaving design and kete whakairo patterns. Compiled over more than twenty years of research and fieldwork, this important publication records and illustrates over 200 traditional raranga whakairo patterns gathered from throughout Aotearoa New Zealand.
Created to preserve knowledge that might otherwise have been lost, the book remains an invaluable practical and visual resource for weavers, artists, students, collectors, museums, educators and anyone with an interest in Māori material culture and fibre arts.
The patterns are carefully illustrated and documented as they appeared on original woven objects, including kete, floor mats, tauira and other forms of Māori plaitwork. Accompanying notes provide information on artists, iwi affiliations, materials, construction methods and regional variations where known.
Both beginners and experienced practitioners continue to value Raranga Whakairo for its clarity, depth and enduring usefulness. The work also offers inspiration well beyond weaving itself, influencing contemporary artists, designers and makers working across a wide range of creative disciplines.
Mick Pendergrast first became interested in plaiting and Māori fibre arts while teaching in small communities in the East Coast region of New Zealand. He later worked as a VSA teacher in the Solomon Islands and on the remote Polynesian outlier of Tikopia, and held positions within several of New Zealand’s major museums.
He is also the author of Te Mahi Kete: Māori Basketry for Beginners and Feathers and Fibre, the catalogue accompanying the first major exhibition of Māori flaxcrafts, which he curated.
This edition presents the original work in a newly designed format while preserving the content that has made it an essential resource for generations of weavers and researchers.
Features
Over 200 Māori plaiting and weaving patterns
Detailed illustrations and documentation
Important reference work on raranga whakairo
Inspiration for beginners through to experienced weavers
Valuable resource for artists, educators, museums and collectors
Newly republished edition
A landmark publication in the study and practice of Māori weaving traditions and a privilege for Kiwa Art to keep this book in production
 
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