Muka

{{short description|Flax fibre used in textiles}}

{{Use New Zealand English|date=April 2024}}

File:Detail of border of Māori kahu kiwi.JPG, the muka warps (vertical) are twisted pairs.]]

Muka is prepared fibre of New Zealand flax ({{langx|mi|links=yes|harakeke}}).{{cite web |url=http://www.maoridictionary.co.nz/index.cfm?dictionaryKeywords=muka |title=Māori Dictionary |work=maoridictionary.co.nz |year=2011 |quote=(noun) prepared flax fibre. He harakeke iraira, he mumura te kākāriki o ngā whā, he kōwhai ngā tāekaeka, he karaka ngā tapa me te tuaka, he mā, he mōhinuhinu te muka o tēnei harakeke (PK 2008:603). A variegated flax, with bright green leaves, yellow stripes, orange edges and midrib, while the fiber of this flax is white and shiny. |accessdate=10 October 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120425054258/http://www.maoridictionary.co.nz/index.cfm?dictionaryKeywords=muka |archive-date=25 April 2012 |url-status=dead }} Prepared primarily by scraping, pounding and washing, it is a key material in Māori traditional textiles where it is usually used in tāniko or twined weaving. Some varieties produce different grades or quality of muka that result in characteristics such as strength, whiteness or shine.{{Cite book |last=Chitham |first=Karl |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1118996645 |title=Crafting Aotearoa : a cultural history of making in New Zealand and the wider Moana Oceania |publisher=Te Papa Press |others=Kolokesa Uafā Māhina-Tuai, Damian Skinner, Rigel Sorzano |year=2019 |isbn=978-0-9941362-7-5 |location=Wellington, New Zealand |pages=15 |oclc=1118996645}}

In pre-European times, muka was widely used by the Māori and was the primary fibre used for weaving clothing. Patu muka or pounding stones were a distinct tool type.{{cite web |url= http://collections.tepapa.govt.nz/objectdetails.aspx?oid=132710 |title=Patu muka - Collections Online - Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa |work=collections.tepapa.govt.nz |year=2011 |accessdate=10 October 2011}}

In the early colonial period, muka was a trade staple, often being traded for muskets with devastating effects.{{cite web |url= http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/flax-and-flax-working/3 |title=The early flax trade - Flax and flax working — Te Ara|work=teara.govt.nz |year=2011 |quote=The Māori producers were not paid in cash but in goods – usually muskets. The trade therefore had a lasting impact on Māori society. With firearms, conflicts between tribes turned into full-scale wars. Tribes competed for control of the flax trade and thus the supply of muskets. |accessdate=10 October 2011}} Well into the European era it was used for paper, clothing and sacking, with large commercial workings in Foxton and elsewhere.{{cite web |url= http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/manawatu-and-horowhenua-places/8/4 |title=Last flax cut, Foxton - Manawatū and Horowhenua places — Te Ara |work=teara.govt.nz |year=2011 |accessdate=10 October 2011}}

Since the Māori renaissance the resurgence in traditional Māori weaving has seen up-swing in the use of muka, especially for art and high-end craft items. Usually woven muka is distinguished from woven (unprepared) flax which is only suitable for coarse work such as bags (kete) and panels.