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Toi moko heads to be welcomed home

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Thu, 26 Jan 2012 5:31a.m.

Intrigued French explorers took the heads back to their homeland as souvenirs

Intrigued French explorers took the heads back to their homeland as souvenirs

The mummified, tattooed heads of 20 Maori, taken to Europe in the 1700s and 1800s, will finally be welcomed back to New Zealand with an emotional ceremony today.

The tattooed heads, or toi moko, were handed over by French officials in a ceremony on Monday at the Quai Branly museum in Paris, following years of campaigning from New Zealand.

Intrigued French explorers took the heads back to their homeland as souvenirs, and they have been held in 10 institutions across France for decades.

New Zealand first requested the return of the heads in the 1980s, but it was only in 2010 that the passing of a French law made the handover possible.

A powhiri at Te Papa museum's marae in Wellington will welcome the toi moko on Thursday afternoon.

In a statement, Te Papa said Maori are "humbled by the gracious gesture of the French government" in returning the ancestral remains.

"Returning the remains of these ancestors allows Maori living today to reconcile and honour the past.

"Although the identity of the toi moko is unknown, we will honour them by bringing them home and offering them a resting place where their wairua (spirit) may rest."

The ceremony will greet the ancestors "with tears of affection and warmth".

Te Papa budgeted $79,000 towards ensuring the safe return of the heads to New Zealand, including the cost of travel to Paris for a small delegation from Te Papa.

Once welcomed, the heads will be quarantined, and will be cared for by Te Papa until their whanau can be traced and they can be returned.

Te Papa anticipates five to 10 years of research will be required to trace their heritage - and the museum could consider DNA testing to aid in the research.

Since 2003, Te Papa has repatriated 190 Maori and Moriori toi moko and koiwi tangata (skeletal remains) from several countries. Of those, 82 have been returned to their whanau or place of origin.

Te Papa estimates there are 500 ancestral remains still to be returned to New Zealand. Most are held in European institutions.

NZN

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Comments

27 Jan 2012 11:11a.m.

Brad Spiers wrote:

@Wiki: strictly speaking 'te papa' is the marae. 'Our place', or the place where we all meet/belong/are welcome. Muse-um is where 'objects' are kept or displayed; while a Mau-so-leum is more of a 'stately tomb' for the remains of individuals. Slightly interesting distinction. Are Toi Moko people or objects for our a-muse-ment? Are they taonga? It seems like Toi Moko occupy some between point of being both ancestors (humans) and art-i-facts (something given shape by humans). @John: you were right when you said 'Te Papa is real good'; but then you dropped the ball. Although perhaps you were meaning something like a definition of 'wealth' where it is what you can afford to set aside (waste-expenditure) that denotes true wealth/priorities. You cannot say that we did not get 'value' for the 'money'.

27 Jan 2012 10:09a.m.

ena wrote:

John I am a tax payer twice over and Im glad my money has been used to pay for the toi moko heads to be returned and if they were sold then Im sure it wasn't Maori who sold them and maybe you should have been there so you can capture the true intent of the moment. And Jan, there was never ever a fair swap whether it be land, heads or whatever and despite the statitics on our children there are those of us who are making every effort to ensure our future generations are well looked after, as much and even more then the return of the toi moko.

26 Jan 2012 06:35p.m.

wiki wrote:

i was at te papa in the marae and it was very sad to see my dads fathers father come in i was crying my eyes out and i cant stop crying im very happy that they are in te papas hand and i will see all the heads in auckland and then they will came back to wellington to te papa

26 Jan 2012 11:18a.m.

jan wrote:

It was probably a fair swap back then. How about if we have any mummy stuff we give it all back. Also they should of come back by boat the way they got over there. Funny how maoris make more of an effort with their dead ancestors than their living children.

26 Jan 2012 09:34a.m.

John wrote:

Te Papa is real good at wasting tax payer dollars. Let maori pay for all this out of the millions they have been given over the years. Remember they sold them in the first place. !!

26 Jan 2012 08:31a.m.

Brad Spiers wrote:

I am eagerly anticipating the flood of comments of how the Moriori do not exist. But why would we distinguish between Maori Toi Moko and Moriori Toi Moko? (And not, say Tuhoi Toi Moko or Ngati Whatua Toi Moko along with Moriori Toi Moko....that is, how, prior to dna do we know that Moriori Toi Mokoko are among the Toi Moko - yes the answer is loaded in history - only available to those who dare to ask a question). The other side of this is that the Moriori Toi Moko were presumably created (slaves tattoed for slaughter and sale - like sheep skins) and sold by Maori (Ngati Toa 1834 in the Chathams perhaps?)to Europeans, which to my logic seems like Toi Moko is valued infinitely more now, as they should be, than in the 'once upon a time' past we keep hearing about. Apologies are forthcoming? Hmmmm. Cannibalism is about respect for the meat/the other in the terms of consummation (consumption of the other), whereas Toi Moko seems rather different in intention. Perhaps these people, prior to becoming Toi Moko were not of any value, so therefore could not be consumed, but instead must remain in limbo as ornaments whose only value is what they could be exchanged for (muskets). This is New Zealands original 'value-added' industry perhaps? I.e. adding value to that which has none (slaves = nothing, whereas a tattoed slave is worth a musket). To exercise your right of response: bspiers@gmail.com or bspiers.com