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Story: Māori weaving and tukutuku – te raranga me te whatu

Weaving a rourou, 1921

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Weaving a rourou, 1921

This 1921 photo shows a woman weaving a rourou or food basket (also known as a kono) at Koroniti on the Whanganui River. Behind her is a flax plantation which probably supplied the material for the rourou. She is kneeling on a small whāriki (floor mat), also woven from flax. 

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library, Wanganui River Expedition Album

Reference: PA1-q-257-29-2

by James Ingram McDonald

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page

Kahutoi Te Kanawa, Māori weaving and tukutuku – te raranga me te whatu – Whāriki, raranga and whiri, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/43492/weaving-a-rourou-1921 (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Kahutoi Te Kanawa, published 6 December 2013.