Making Harakeke Rope

A brief history of rope...

Ancient people twisted strips of hide, sinew, hair, vines, and plant fibers into rope long before they learned to spin or weave. Rope making was a universal skill known in all tribes and civilizations. 

• Braided ropes were used in Asia before 4000 BC. Records indicate the Emperor of China had rope made from ladies’ hair

• The Mayas used rope to move the large blocks of stone they needed for building their marvelous temples. 

• The ancient Egyptians developed rope making techniques in 2500 BC which are still in use today. 

• Some Native Americans chewed hide and sinew into strands that could be used for rope. 

• Rope making in ancient India was so unique that only a special class of people made ropes. 

• Homer frequently mentions rope in his Odyssey. The Romans even fabricated rope out of thin copper wire. 

• In 14th century England, the first guilds of rope makers were established. Medieval monks made ropes to ring monastery bells and to use as belts. 

But it was the age of sailing ships that turned rope making into a vital industry. Phoenician ships were held together by rope. Columbus had 15 miles of rope on his ship. 

So it makes sense that people of the pacific had rope well before they got to Aotearoa. However they needed to adapt their process to make rope when they got here due to the different plants.

Making a rope to form a Poroporo (Bracelet) will take most of a lesson. SC has Kutai shells to scrape the Harakeke to extract the Muka

This was used to make nets, (SC has a net he tied from approx 200m of Jute cord as a demonstration piece) This is too small to use in the ocean, but a skilled person can make 1m of fine Muka Rope an hour. There is considerable time investment in a net 100m long and 2m deep. It was also used for fishing lines, snares, rigging lines for Waka etc.