Taonga-Led Digitisation: 3D Scanning the Korowai

Over the last few years the Digitaonga team have been collaborating with Kaikōura Museum to explore the role of emerging technology in the preservation, reconnection and repatriation of taonga Māori. The kōrero with museum staff strongly influenced the development of our taonga-led approach to digitisation.

We have been working with the museum to explore the possibility of scanning a korowai (traditional Maori cloak) currently under their care. The korowai, woven by the skilled hands of Tētahi Ropata, was gifted to the museum by the ancestors of Syd Rogers. The kaitiaki, Whānau Rogers and Whānau Ropata (Ngāti Hinekura, Ngāti Moruka of Ngāi Tahu) are keen to ensure its preservation for future generations.

After much kōrero about the future possibilities where whānau shared stories, asked questions, and had the opportunity to shape the direction of the project, finally the day arrived for 3D scanning to take place. This did not follow typical processes often found in museums, however, rather it was over a two-day in-person wānanga in Kaikōura with the korowai always present to take part in the proceedings.

The wānanga began with karakia and then a discussion of the history of the korowai and the digitisation process ensured. In the afternoon the Digitaonga team where invited to see places central to the taonga’s history including Mangamaunu Marae and the Puhi Puhi Valley. It was decided by the kaitiaki that the korowai was ready to be scanned and the next day the scanning process went ahead.  This was a meticulous process whereby every huka huka (tassel) was documented with precision, offering the possibility of future animation in a digital experience.

The whānau stayed throughout the scanning, watching the digital layers build, pixel by pixel. A rōpū kaitiaki (guardianship group) was established to guide ongoing decisions. At the end of the two days the korowai was returned to its place of honour in the museum and a karakia marked the end of the process. We believe that the scanning of the korowai is just the start in terms of what’s possible when tikanga leads technology.