Fun With Flax

Tui drinking nectar from a flax flower.

 Flax is just one of the many amazing plants you can find here in New Zealand. Known as harakeke among Maori, flax is an important plant to human and animal life alike. Flax provides shelter and food to a number of animals including birds, bats, geckos, snails, and insects. Some insects go through their entire lifecycle on this plant alone! The Maori understood that they needed to treat the plant properly in order to keep it alive and subsequently support the surrounding ecosystem. This proverb shows their conservation-mindedness:

Hutia te rito o te harakeke, Kei whea te komako e ko?

If the heart of harakeke was removed, where will the bellbird sing?

The Maori view the harakeke as a family unit,
 with the child at the center.

When gathering flax for a project, only the outer layers are removed. This keeps the plant alive and allows it to regenerate over time. If the center, or heart, was removed, the plant would die and would no longer be able to be used by anyone. In this way, the flax bush was seen as a family. The outer layers are symbolic of the "outer" or older members of the family. The inner leaves represent the parents while the center symbolizes the child. The rest of the "family" shelters and nurtures the child at the center. When cutting the outer leaves, make sure to cut at a downward angle so that water won't pool inside and cause the plant to rot.

Maori usually say a karakia, or prayer, when harvesting leaves from the harakeke. In this prayer, thanks is first given for the plant. The harvester also prays that no harm may come to the plant or whoever will work with the material or finished product.

Flax makes strong fiber to work with. It is traditionally used for making whariki (mats), kets, paraerae (sandals). The stringy fibers are used for making kakahu (cloaks), rope, fishing line, and nets. The nectar was used as a sweetener and the dried flower stalks lashed together as mokihi (rafts). Lastly, the pia (gum) and boiled roots were used for medicinal purposes. Additionally, the "gel" that oozes from a cut leaf has similar properties to that of Aloe vera. Truly a useful plant! 

For homemaking this past week, our friend Ailsa came over to teach us about flax and how to work with it. She took us out to the yard to each cut our own leaf to work with. After we all chose and harvested the leaves, we sat out on the deck and began our project. Working with flax is tapu, or sacred. Because of this, where and how you weave it is important. It shouldn't be done at a table where you normally eat because that causes a mixing of different parts of life. For this reason you also shouldn't eat while weaving. And wash your hands after finishing because it contains the compound anthraquinone, a known laxative. Weaving should be done in a quiet, focused atmosphere. It is also custom that your first creation should be given away. 

Ailsa taught us all the ins and outs of weaving with flax.

Once we were all educated about the versatile harakeke plant and its value, we began our first weaving project. We would be weaving the flax into a flower design. First, you rip the leaf blade into long strips. You can pinch out the midrib as it is very tough and harder to work with. It can also be useful later on to add support. The inner strips should be thinner because they are tougher than the outer ones.  Once this is completed, you're ready to weave! It's over, under, over, under, always starting from the same side (left or right, just choose before beginning and stay consistent). Keep everything tight for a clean look.  Once you get to the last free strip, you'll be changing direction (follow the photos in row 2). As you continue, it will begin to form a spiral shape (row 3). Every flower will look different based on the individual's technique. Mine turned out to be very square, but others were round. Once you are nearing the end of your pieces, take one strip and split it in half. Wrap it around the others in opposite directions and tie it off. From there, you can separate the strips into fine threads and cut them to the desired length. You can also attach shells or other items to personalize it further. Have fun with it!

Steps in weaving a flower out of flax.

All of the girls did a wonderful job. They were natural-born weavers! We are hoping to have Ailsa back with us again to learn to weave baskets.