As well as eating the meat of the kakapo, Māori would use kakapo skins with the feathers still attached or individually weave in kakapo feathers with flax fibre to create cloaks and capes. Each one required up to 11,000 feathers to make. Not only were these garments considered very beautiful, they also kept the wearer very warm. They were highly valued, and the few still in existence today are considered "taonga" (treasures) – indeed, the old Māori adage "You have a kākāpō cape and you still complain of the cold" was used to describe someone who is never satisfied. Kakapo feathers were also used to decorate the heads of taiaha, but were removed before use in combat.