Te Rā (sail)

Te Rā is the name given to the only surviving traditional Māori sail. She is over 4 m (13 ft) long, and is made of harakeke (New Zealand flax) and edged in feathers from native bird species. She is thought to have been collected between 1769 and 1771 by British explorer Captain James Cook, but this has not been verified. Te Rā has been part of the British Museum's collection for 200 years; in 2023, she returned to New Zealand on loan.

History

Te Rā is the only known traditional Māori sail. She is thought to have been collected between 1769 and 1771 by Captain James Cook on his first voyage to New Zealand, but this has not been confirmed.[a] The sail has been held by the British Museum for around 200 years.[2]

The sail was the subject of a three-year Marsden grant-funded project, beginning in 2017, to systematically study and analyse the materials and construction techniques used to shed light on how Māori sailed.[3][4]

Display

She was exhibited briefly in 1998. In 2023, Te Rā returned to New Zealand on long-term loan.[5] She was displayed in the Christchurch Art Gallery from 8 July until 23 October.[6] She is on display in the Auckland War Memorial Museum from 18 November 2023 until 17 August 2025, alongside two sibling sails: a small-scale replica, Hine Mārama, and a full-size replica, Māhere Tū ki te Rangi.[7]

Materials and construction

The sail is triangular, 440 cm (14.4 ft) long and 139 cm (4.56 ft) wide at the top; the rectangular streamer is 105 cm (3.44 ft) long.[8] Te Rā is made up of 13 panels woven from strips of harakeke (New Zealand flax). The panels are joined using a reinforced triple-weave join rarely used today called a hiki or hono. Openwork zig-zags (named awamatangi meaning "pathways of the wind") run up the length of the sail, allowing strong winds to blow into the sail without breaking it.[2][3]

The top of the sail and the streamer are edged with wing feathers from kāhu (swamp harrier) and kererū (wood pigeon). The red feathers around the loops on the outer edge are from the underwing of kākā;[9] two of the loops have traces of kurī (dog) hair.[3]

Notes

1. The only documentation associated with the sail is an 1898 registration slip, which states the sail was found in the museum collection at that time.[1]

References

1. Low, Nic (2023). "Raise up the Billowing Sail". New Zealand Geographic. No. 183.
2. Hayden, Leonie (31 August 2019). "Te Rā the sail, last of its kind". The Spinoff. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
3. "Behind 200-year old Te Rā: the last Māori sail". University of Waikato. 20 November 2023. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
4. Workman, Matiu (12 October 2018). "Setting sail for Te Rā". www.otago.ac.nz. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
5. "'A timeless taonga': Only known customary Māori sail Te Rā returns to Aotearoa". RNZ. 29 September 2023. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
6. "Te Rā: The Māori Sail". christchurchartgallery.org.nz. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
7. "Te Rā". Auckland War Memorial Museum. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
8. "Sail (ra); canoe". The British Museum. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
9. Smith, Catherine; Campbell, Donna; Ngarimu, Ranui (14 February 2020). "Whakaarahia anō te rā kaihau! Raise up again the billowing sail! Revitalising cultural knowledge through analysis of Te Rā, the Māori sail". Royal Society Te Apārangi. Archived from the original on 28 October 2020.