Toi-moko and kōiwi tangata: Maori Repatriation

When I was 17 I had the wonderful opportunity to spend a year in New Zealand. I had always wanted to experience a high school year abroad and my parents finally agreed to the plan in grade 11. They were at first upset that I had chosen New Zealand as they didn't think it really differed that much from Canada, and really the whole thing was suppose to be a "cultural experience." Luckily I held fast and it turned out that it was definitely more of an experience than even I could have predicted.

The town I lived in was just outside of Wellington with a small and very much a low income population. I also happened to fall into the category of belonging to a white minority, the majority of my classmates and neighbours being from the Pacific islands (Samoans, Fijians, Tongans, etc.) and most importantly a large and amazing community of Maoris. Because of this I became quite quickly educated and immersed into the Maori culture and to this day I am always interested in learning more about these wonderful people.

Like most indigenous populations, the Maori do not have the happiest history since colonization. A particular example being when the use of the Maori language was banned in schools from the 1870s until the 1970s, when Maori Tino Rangatiratanga (self determination) led the fight for Maori rights ¹. Maori remains have also been taken from New Zealand through the years and like with Canada's First Nations there is a growing movement among the Maori to track down and repatriate these remains.

Maori remains fall into two categories:

The toi-moko, which are the preserved/dried tattooed Maori heads and the kōiwi tangata or human skeletons.  It is forbidden to take photos of these items in New Zealand and I will not post any here. However, this video is a news report (in Maori with English subtitles) on the repatriation of toi-moko and while it shows a toi-moko I believe it is in respectful manner and therefore appropriate to share.

Maori remains returning to Te Papa
Photo Source: Rob Kitchin, The Dominion Post

There are several aspects to the Maori repatriation movement that I find fascinating. First there is the procedure itself. While there were some remains that were held domestically the majority were in foreign museums. Instead of each tribe having to work independently and on their own dime the New Zealand government mandated in 2003, that the national museum Te Papa, form the Karanga Aotearoa Repatriation Programme ²; a programme that is funded by the government! This also means that when these remains are repatriated they are brought to Te Papa first, and then the quest is undertaken to return them to their rightful tribe and place.

The handover in Rouen, France
Photo Source: Associated Press

The second aspect that caught my attention was both the success and the impact the movement and programme have had. As of 2012, the programme has successfully repatriated the remains of over 200 Maoris from 14 different countries ³. This is, in my opinion, a fantastic result and certainly worth celebration. But not only have these repatriations been successful they have also brought about a surprising policy change. In France, when the Rouen museum was involved with the Maori and had enthusiastically agreed to return their collection of toi-moko they hit and unexpected roadblock, the law. Previously the law placed such remains into an inalienable category and as such they had to undergo a process of declassification before they could be returned - a long and drawn out practice. But in 2010, France passed a new law one which facilitated repatriation efforts and removed all legal barriers to the Maori, the Rouen museum, and hopefully to all future efforts by other indigenous groups ⁴.

The repatriation efforts and results of the Maori are definitely an example to be used by other groups.  As the Rouen museum put it, it is about time that we put an end to the "hateful trafficking of another era" ⁵, a statement with which I wholeheartedly agree.

Sources:

1. National Library of New Zealand / Te Puna Mātauranga O Aotearoa 

2 & 3. Museum of New Zealand / Te Papa Tongarewa - Repatriation 

4.  Heading Home: French Law Enables Return of Maori Heads to New Zealand (Robert K. Paterson, UBC)

5. First repatriation of Maori remains from Rouen Museum, France (Te Papa Media)

A little mid-week humour

EDIT (March 28, 2012): Well it seems that my comic posting was "not approved" by its original website for which I do apologize. Here's a link instead because it is still good for a chuckle and of course if you like it, do take a minute to stop by Brevity Comic. I also stumbled across another great archaeology related comic hosted by the Smithsonian, also definitely worth a glance! Now back to your regular programming original blog post...

A thousand years from now you're going to be able to tell which are the graves of past archaeologists based solely on the weird and unexplainable grave goods!  Also for another humorous look at archaeology you should check out the introductory textbook "Archaeology: The Comic" I haven't read through the whole thing but I would have been delighted if my ANTH100 teacher had used it as a text, if only for a joke!

A New Dig Hopes To Tell A New Story

So I stumbled across this article the other day on the excavation of a slave burial ground in St. Helena. Now first of all, I had no idea where St. Helena was. And it's no surprise really...that purple maker on the map marks the tiny island, so small it doesn't even show up (only 122 square kms)! But despite its size during the mid-1800s St. Helena was the landing place for over 26,000 freed slaves. However even these freed slaves became victims of the horrendous conditions aboard the ships and many succumbed to various illnesses before landfall. Because of this, a huge cemetery developed on the island and the article's authors were able to excavate 325 of the estimated 5000 bodies that were buried there.

View St. Helena in a larger map

The main reason I found this article fascinating, and an idea that the authors themselves touch on, is that this is truly archaeology of the individual. This excavation is looking at these bodies as people with faces, names, and stories. The article even touches on a few possible kin groups that may be present! This archaeological dig is helping to highlight that each of this victims has a history that unfortunately was robbed from them in more ways than one. The complete report is published in book format and looks like it could be an interesting read. Unfortunately with an Amazon price of $50.00 I think I'll have to wait until it's available through the library!

Room for improvement...

Mycenae, Greece is a recognized UNESCO World Heritage Site and was first excavated in the 1870s by Heinrich Schliemann. However, it seems that even though Mycenae has been studied for over a hundred years there are few websites that are dedicated (or even touch on) the grave circles found there. I chose to look at Dr. J's Illustrated Grave Circles and see how it held up to our rubric.

First of all, the site is not particularly attractive.  It's simple and is easy to look at, but it's lacking any sort of pizzazz that would keep my attention. It is very easy to navigate though as there is only one page on the Grave Circles. There are others on the various other "finds" at Mycenae and there is a great "site index" link that lays everything out. 

Content wise, this page is sorely lacking. There are brief descriptions explaining various photos and a very short introduction but there is no attempt to analyze or look at the multiple excavations in depth. To be fair, the website seems to be geared more toward those perhaps travelling to Mycenae rather than those interested in the archaeological record. Saying that, there are some great photos both of the site and the significant artifacts that were found. The content is also clearly articulated though not particularly interesting. The major downfall of this site (besides the design) is the lack of sources. Although the author clearly has done some reading or is herself knowledgeable it would be nice to see some bibliographic links.

Overall, Dr J's website is a great introduction to the Grave Circles at Mycenae. Held to my group's rubric I would say that it falls into the "good" category rather than the "strong" or "excellent". The things that would make it better, and which we hope to achieve with our site, are definitely more depth in the content and a greater degree of design. Dr J's page is boring and in no way reflects the awesomeness and importance of the Grave Circles or the Mycenaean culture.

Writing about how I came to understand death made me think about how I deal with death in my life today. Beyond the foreseeable deaths of older relatives and friends in my life I have also had the misfortune of seeing a handful of friends taken from me by alcohol and/or drugs. If there is one thing that always gets me through any hardship in life it's music and of course there are many songs that take on the subject of death. Dallas Green is arguably my favourite Canadian artist and I pretty much love anything he touches. "Body in a Box" is a favourite of mine and always makes me think about my own "dying day"

Song starts in at about 1:15

Lyrics | City And Colour lyrics - Body In A Box lyrics

Anybody else have a favourite "death" song?

Death and Dinosaurs

As someone with absolutely no "maternal instinct" and no wish or desire to ever procreate I count myself lucky that I will hopefully never have to explain death to a child.  Children terrify me and the idea that I would be responsible for teaching a little human being about things that could potentially scar it for life is truly bloodcurdling.

Image Source: Chattahbox.com

My own education surrounding death is somewhat convoluted. My parents tell me that I learned of death in what they consider the predominant fashion, through the church. However, they also remember that the idea of death I first developed was somewhat warped. Apparently they first sat me down to talk about death after I threw a tantrum while visiting Drumheller.  My demands for a pet dinosaur could not be dissuaded by their state of distinction.  I argued that if Jesus could die and come back so could a brontosaurus. Or, like the photo, they could come back together! Death, in my 5 year-old mind, was temporary and you either came back again or went to heaven which was just like real life only better (it definitely had dinosaurs!).

Image Source: Amazon.ca

These days there are a plethora of resources for parents or any adults to use when preparing to talk to children about death.  I googled "children death" and came up with whole guides to explaining death to your child.  And if you're feeling particularly overwhelmed or inept there are even whole libraries of books to use!  Lifetimes is one that I recently came across in a book drive and gave to my cousin to read to her children after their cat, Seagram, passed away.

Reading the comments on this book's Amazon page prompted me to think about the ways death is perceived and explained by people.  Usually I refrain from reading internet comments due to their alarming predisposition to decline toward indecency and simple stupidity. This time, however, the comments pointed out what I believe to be perhaps the biggest factor that influences our ideology surrounding death - religion! Despite my relatively religious upbringing I consider myself today an atheist, or perhaps more aptly, a humanist. I no longer believe in an afterlife and instead view death as the end of being. Nothing more, nothing less. When I die, my neurons will cease firing and I will no longer exist.  This is something I have embraced but I feel would have difficulty sharing with a child.  In some ways the idea of heaven is the perfect addition to death.  It takes away the oblivion which I believe in and replaces it with a paradise to look forward to. Plus with heaven comes hell, the threat of which is sure to make most children behave!