The Māori survived on an island without any supermarkets. Back in the 1800s, the Māori survived by making tools out of rocks, and sticks, or flax. They used the tools to hunt animals like eels, and sharks. They did not cook inside the sleeping areas because it was sacred or tapu. This meant that they were surviving with materials from nature and also making their souls spirituality clean. They had a very useful plant called harakeke.
Harakeke was very important to the Māori because it was very strong and durable. They even used it to make clothes for them and they would never run out. New Zealand flax was very craft-able. You could craft it into lots of different items, so it was pretty important. Harakeke was basically a practical use.
People destroy nature by building factories and cutting down trees, which destroys New Zealand’s cultural significance. Now, in modern days, they pollute the air and destroy plants to make factories, buildings or maybe houses, but back then they used to not take much and did not destroy nature. They only took the stuff they needed. They made harvesting tools out of woven flax or harakeke, so they could do lots of things with harakeke.
To twist harakeke and make a nice rope, you first have to get a partner. Even out the strings into four separate groups, with four strings each. Hold the first string on the first group, but hold the first left string and put the left string over the right. On the other group on the far right side do the same thing on the right side. When you do that make sure to switch the strings with your buddy, but also switch the strings with the string you were holding in your left hand. Then you were done and just keep repeating to make a nice and beautiful rope. This is such a beautiful engineering technique because you make it with plants and it gives you a nature vibe look.
This traditional way on to craft a rope with harakeke changed my mindset a lot because the Māori had to do this back then when they had no stores, and they usually had to craft things out of harakeke, and trying to make a rope was kind of hard for me. Modern stuff is now more advanced, and it has changed a lot because the Māori had to make things out of plants or resources that were on the island.
– Ethan Latayada
– Jesse McCormick