Product Detail

Tukutuku is a traditional Māori artform used for both storytelling and to decorate the walls inside meeting houses. Originally they were made using stalks of dried grasses, lashed together by people working in pairs on each side of the panel.  One person would stitch from one side, and the other person would pull through and return the strands back again, creating intricate latticework patterns.

Tukutuku panels are a traditional Māori art form. They are decorative wall panels that were once part of the traditional wall construction used inside meeting houses. Originally tukutuku were made by creating a latticework of vertically and horizontally placed dried stalks of kākaho, the creamy-gold flower stalks of toetoe grass, and kākaka, long straight fern stalks, or wooden laths of rimu or tōtara, called variously kaho tara, kaho tarai or arapaki.

These panels were lashed or stitched together. This was done by people working in pairs from either side, using the rich yellow strands of pīngao, white bleached or black-dyed kiekie, and sometimes harakeke, to create a range of intricate and artistic patterns. 

Doing this created insulation for the wall, but also literally wove a story. 

Learn more about Māori culture and traditions by weaving your own story into a mini contemporary tukutuku panel. 

The Tukutuku Kit includes:

• 1 x Black Pegboard with 8 x 8 holes
• Red and Cream coloured Aho (Threads)
• 1 x custom designed Pin Tool to work your threads
  
• Detailed instructions