As High as a Kite
Following on from our human High Flyers I wanted to look at one of my other fascinations, kites. Kites date back to as far as 3000 years, where they were made from bamboo and silk in China. All the right materials were found there for their making including: bamboo for the frame, silk for the sail and the bridle. Kite flying had a mythical and religious dimension and later it was experimented with as a science instrument for various researches.
From China, the kite was reproduced throughout Asia. Kite flying remains a popular sport in many Asian countries where it often takes the form of ‘kite fighting’ whereby participants try to snag each other’s kites or cut their opponents kites down. Fighter kites are usually small, flat, flattened diamond-shaped kites made of paper and bamboo. Tails are not used on fighter kites so that agility and the ability to manoeuvre the kite are not compromised.
Weifang, Shandong a coastal province of the eastern People’s Republic of China promotes itself as the kite capital of the world. It’s home to the largest kite museum in the world with a display area of approx. 8100 m2. Weifang hosts an Annual International Kite Festival on the large salt flats south of the city.
It has been generally acknowledged that Chinese kite making has a long history and show a high level of skill in their making. It is also a fact however that there isn’t much detailed material about Chinese kites and or kite-making skills. Weifang Kites have a long history of more than 2,000 years during which they formed their own special styles from one generation to another and attracted kite fans from different countries to come to visit Weifang in order to exchange opinions on techniques.
Flying kites has developed a real following among the people of Weifang from as early as the Song Dynasty where it became popular among the common people. The people of Weifang have kept the custom of fly kites and hold kites competitions for tens of thousands of years now. Kite exchange activities both at home and abroad over this extended period of time have given birth to the Weifang International Kite Festival.
The scale and influence of the Weifang International Kite Festival has been regarded as No.1 in the world within the many kite activities that occur annually. Weifang is considered a glittering pearl in Qi and Lu state. Among the manuals about kites, ‘Manual on Kite During Xuanhe Years’ by Huizong Emperor in the Song Dynasty (960-1279 A.D.) was one of the earliest but it is also a pity that the book was not handed down. Apart from that, only some manuals kept by kite-making families and kite lovers have been found.
In spite of their limitations, the manuals have been considered as valuable material. Among them, The Manual on Kites by Jin Tie’an in 1930s was well worth mentioning, though it was published without illustrations probably due to less advanced printing and publishing conditions and lack of money. Bamboo strip is a valuable material object for kite studies. The standard bamboo strips were generally passed on from one generation to another in the kite-making families, such as the bundle of bamboo strips kept by the “Fengzhengha” Family in Beijing.
Showing the delicate size changes of each strip, the bamboo strips made up the disadvantages of the manuals in which there were only illustrations of kite or frame. Besides words, illustrations and objects, rhymes were another form for the folk craftsmen to pass on their skills. Rhymes made the skills more easily taught, learned as well as kept secret. But the little education that most craftsmen had received often resulted in loss, alternation and errors of the rhymes.
To sum up the skills used in making Chinese kites there are: frame-making, cover-stretching, painting and flying that are a collection of nearly all the skills of traditional Chinese kites, firstly the procedure of frame-making consists of picking, splitting, bending, sharpening and connecting is followed by the procedure of cover-stretching consists of selecting, cutting, covering, trimming and correcting then the procedure of painting that consists of color, background, drawing, painting and refining and finally the flexible application of the four skills as a whole is usually embodied in designing new kites of originality.
Intrepid kiwis can be found everywhere, and in places you’d never expect you’d find them. So it was, in Weifeng, in the Shandong District of China, among the other brass plaques is one inscribed with the words ‘Kite Surfing New Zealand’. Well done boys, it was great to see a familiar antipodean face!
Ancient Māori were also expert kite makers and flight controllers. Their kites were usually “tail-less”, decorated, of varied sizes, shapes, names and purposes. Some were used for light-hearted entertainment while others were used for highly significant spiritual rituals. Children and adults made kites to practice whanaungatanga (social relationships) or to reinforce tikanga/kawa (tribal lore); to commune with spiritual deities, to produce artwork, to perfection aerial movements, to test skills in competitions (as in Manu Namu and Manu Kopua) and for fun by adding their own touch of colour and vibrancy to the sky.
The most common kites were constructed from toe toe (New Zealand pampas grass), manuka (one of New Zealand’s most common shrubs), harakeke (flax), raupo (swamp plant) and aute (mulberry) bark – Manu Aute and Manu Raupo, whilst the largest and most complex were called Manu Atua, Manu Whara and Manu Tangata.
Kites were also believed to be messengers. Like birds, they were considered as having spiritual connections with the Gods, hence the ambitious cloud piercing kites (Manu Atua) requiring several people to operate, and using kilometre long ropes. A Tohunga (priest or man of knowledge) saw kites as a metaphysical means to communicate with the Gods; as a means for divination and to see beyond the real world. Their sacred kites Manu Whara, were constructed according to strictly guarded protocols with flights that required chanting of sacred karakia or prayers in tandem with karere.
Manu Tangata were used to physically pickup people and in addition to Matariki displays they are recalled as having been used by attackers to gain entry to pa fortifications and also as a means of escape. Matariki can be appreciated therefore as a popular kite flying time and as an important period for kite development and proto-type testing.
Of the several thousands of kites flown during early colonial times, decorated with shells, feathers, foliage, Matariki, tukutuku, artefacts and carvings, none exist today. Nearly all old-time Māori practices and games were abandoned soon after the arrival of the early missionaries, and at the time both Māori and European accused the missionaries of ‘repressing harmless recreations among the natives’.
Since the 1980s, we have seen traditional kite flying re-emerge as a singular cultural interest. Kite making knowledge has been disseminated from tribal enclaves, oral and written records and traditional texts. As Māori society was not homogenous, different tribes recall their kite histories as “Manu”, “Kahu” or “Pakau”. However, the most popular collective term for kite arts today is Manu Tukutuku. The return of “Manu Tukutuku” has been given extra impetus as Māori New Year / Matariki celebrations have also become more widespread. New Zealand skies have once again become host to the colour and pageantry that is traditional Māori kite flying.”
To me, kites like bubbles or snowflakes or leaves falling are simply a beautiful thing, they lift my spirits and make my heart soar like a kite, into teh great beyond. It’s too beautiful for words.
