Yesterday on the 27th of May Nā Here Kahikatea went for a trip to lake Ianthe to collect some Kuta and Kiekie. The first thing we did was karakia so that we could be safe while collecting our materials. Kuta is used for weaving but Occasionally it was bundled with raupo and used as wall insulation. Kuta grows in the water and when going into the water, The water is about up to your waist depending on where you are harvesting from. When collecting Kuta, It is best to collect the longer ones because it produces more material. To pull it out you have to kind of wiggle the Kuta so that it will come out more easily and not break. After harvesting the Kuta the boys had a bit of a swim then we took a short break before harvesting the kiekie.
Kiekie grows on trees and is also used for weaving, it was also used to lash canoes together, make sails and create traps for fish and eels.
When collecting kiekie you have to snap the branch before you do anything else. After you snap the branch of the kiekie you have to strip the kiekie of the branch, then size them. To size them you have to have 7 in each hand then join them together in one hand ( make sure that the bottom of the kiekie leaves are all level ), you then slide your hand almost to the highest point of the kiekie leaves and when you do the shorter ones will drop out, than you repeat the process about two more times depending on the length of your kiekie. After sizing the kiekie leaves you to need to take off all of the green parts because you only need the white parts to weave. Try your best to take all of the green parts of. When you are done you pick up everything you haven't used and return it back to where you got it. You then wash your hands so that you don't get bad karma.
