The Material Culture of the Cook Islands (Aitutaki)
The House Walls, Patiha
The House Walls, Patiha.
From the wall plates (rape) to the ground, both at the sides and the ends, the walls are called patiha. They are usually made of vertical rods of hibiscus (hau). Sometimes the aerial roots of the pandanus (kaihara) and the cane known as teka are used.
In some cases, a single pair twine without the horizontal pole is run along to keep the rods close together.
The patiha wall is called koro in Raratonga. It lets in plenty of air and is beautifully suited to the climate. On occasions however, a cold wind comes through the wall rather readily, and plaited screens of cocoanut leaf may be hung up against the walls to keep out the draught.