From the early 1940s to the mid 1980s, hats made from the kāka‘o reed (pare tō) were favoured for church wear and became a focus of inter-district competition in design on the island of Mangaia, Cook Islands.

With the requirement that each district produce two new hat designs a year, Mangaian hat experts created in excess of 400 variations in design over the 40 year period that pare tō were in vogue.

This book explores how these hats were made and their significance to the Mangaian community and presents images of surviving pare tō in public and private collections.