Featherwork

Featherwork

Featherwork is the working of feathers into a cultural artifact. This was especially elaborate among the peoples of Oceania and the Americas, such as the Incas and Aztecs....

 cloak

Cloak

A cloak is a type of loose garment that is worn over indoor clothing and serves the same purpose as an overcoat; it protects the wearer from the cold, rain or wind for example, or it may form part of a fashionable outfit or uniform. Cloaks are as old as human history; there has nearly always been...

s have been used by several cultures.

Hawaii

Elaborate feather cloaks called [[ʻahuʻula]] were created by early Hawaiians

Native Hawaiians

Native Hawaiians refers to the indigenous Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands or their descendants. Native Hawaiians trace their ancestry back to the original Polynesian settlers of Hawaii.According to the U.S...

  for the alii

Ali'i

Alii is a word in the Polynesian language denoting chiefly status in ancient Hawaii and the Samoa Islands. A similar word with the same concept is found in other Polynesian societies. In the Cook Islands, an ariki is a high chief and the House of Ariki is a parliamentary house...

(royalty).
Feathers were also used in women's skirts called pāū.
The iiwi ([[ʻIʻiwi|Vestiaria coccinea]]) and apapane ([[ʻApapane|Himatione sanguinea]]), which provided red feathers, were killed and skinned due to their abundance. Yellow feathers were obtained from the mostly black and rarer ōō (Moho nobilis) and mamo (Drepanis pacifica

Hawai'i Mamo

The Hawai'i Mamo was a species of finch in the Hawaiian honeycreeper subfamily, Drepanididae. It was endemic to Hawaii. It became extinct due to habitat loss and overcollecting.-Description:...

) using a catch and release

Catch and release

Catch and release is a practice within recreational fishing intended as a technique of conservation. After capture, the fish are unhooked and returned to the water before experiencing serious exhaustion or injury...

 philosophy to ensure future availability.

Māori

In Māori culture

Maori culture

Māori culture is the culture of the Māori of New Zealand, an Eastern Polynesian people, and forms a distinctive part of New Zealand culture. Within the Māori community, and to a lesser extent throughout New Zealand as a whole, the word Māoritanga is often used as an approximate synonym for Māori...

 feathers are a sign of chiefly rank, and the feather cloak, is still used as sign of rank or respect.

Famous Works

• Nāhienaena's Paū
  Nahienaena's Pa'u
  Nāhienaena's Paū is the largest known Hawaiian feather cloak. It is a feather skirt made for Princess Nāhienaena.-Story:The paū, or feather skirt, was made about 1824 for the Princess Nāhienaena, the daughter of King Kamehameha I and Keōpūolani, a highborn chiefess considered the most "sacred" of...
  
  , feather skirt of Princess Nāhienaena
  Nahienaena
  Harriet or Harrieta Keōpūolani Nāhienaena was a high ranking princess during the founding of the Kingdom of Hawaii and the conversion of its royalty to Christianity.-Life:...
  
   and funeral garment of Hawaiian royals
• Kiwalao's Cloak, feather cloak
  Cloak
  A cloak is a type of loose garment that is worn over indoor clothing and serves the same purpose as an overcoat; it protects the wearer from the cold, rain or wind for example, or it may form part of a fashionable outfit or uniform. Cloaks are as old as human history; there has nearly always been...
  
   of Kiwalao captured by Kamehameha I
  Kamehameha I
  Kamehameha I , also known as Kamehameha the Great, conquered the Hawaiian Islands and formally established the Kingdom of Hawaii in 1810. By developing alliances with the major Pacific colonial powers, Kamehameha preserved Hawaii's independence under his rule...
  
   in 1782
• Liloa's Kāei
  Liloa's Kaei
  Liloa's Kāei or Kāei Kapu o Liloa is the sacred feathered sash of Liloa, king of the Big Island of Hawaii. The Statue of Kamehameha the Great, commissioned by King Kalākaua, displayed the kāei....
  
  , sash of King Liloa
  Liloa
  Liloa ruled as the 12th Alii Aimoku of Hawaii from 1465 to 1495. He was sovereign king or chief of the island of Hawaii.He was the son of King Kihanuilulumoku, 11th Alii Aimoku of Hawaii and Waoilea. He succeeded on the death of his father in 1465. He was a ruling chief, a sacred high chief who...
  
   of the island of Hawaii
  Hawaii (island)
  The Island of Hawaii, also called the Big Island or Hawaii Island , is a volcanic island in the North Pacific Ocean...