Object Lesson – ‘Ahu ‘ula

What is it? This glorious 18th-century Hawaiian cloak, measuring 175cm in length and c.223cm in width, is made of olona¯ fibre and black rooster feathers, with a border of yellow feathers from the now-extinct ‘o‘o (a honeyeater) and red ones from the ‘i‘wi (a honeycreeper) arranged into triangles. High-status feathered cloaks like this are known as ‘ahu ‘ula (‘red garments’) owing to their lavish use of vivid scarlet feathers, and would have been worn by members of the chiefly class. The ‘o‘o was a small, predominantly black bird, with only a few tufts of yellow under the wings and tail, so its yellow feathers were particularly highly prized. image: The Trustees of