Maori human remains

Three preserved Maori heads returned to New Zealand

The case
In November 2005 three preserved Maori Heads and a thigh bone were returned to New Zealand by Glasgow City Council in Scotland where they have been in held in the World Culture Collections of Glasgow Museums. The tattooed heads and the thigh bone may have belonged to Maori warriors who died in the 19th century. In Maori the heads are known as toi moko. One was purchased by Glasgow Museums from James C. Cross a Liverpool collector, son of a menagerie owner in 1906. The other two were donated to the city by collector Archibald Shanks in 1951, fifty years after purchasing them from the Blair Museum in Dalry in 1901. The remains have never been shown to the public by Glasgow Museums.

A delegation from New Zealand's national museum Te Papa travelled to Glasgow on the 14th November 2005 to return the koiwi tangata. The remains were welcomed into the marae within the Museum of New Zealand, Te Papa Tongarewa, on the 22nd November 2006 with a ceremony that involved Te Papa staff and elders for the Wellington, Whanganui and Taranaki areas. The ancestors were then taken to the sacred place in Te Papa where they will rest until they can be returned to their tribe (iwi).

The return was conducted in the spirit of a positive cultural exchange and communications, begun prior to the repatriation have continued with members of Te Papa curatorial staff over the display of the Maori objects in the refurbished Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum.

Procedures followed
On 14th June 2004 the Repatriation of Artefacts Working Group met to discuss the request of the Museum of New Zealand/Te Papa Tongarewa for the return of ancestral remains in Glasgow Museums' collections.
Glasgow Museums based the recommendations for the request on the following criteria:

the status of those making the requests;
the continuity between the community who created the objects and the current community on whose behalf the request is being made;
the cultural and religious importance of the object to the community;
how the object was acquired by the Council and how its subsequent and future use would effect the fate of the object if returned.

Glasgow City Council's Repatriation of Artefacts Working Group decided on 28th June 2004 to return the remains. The Chairman of the group, Councillor John Lynch said it was 'the right thing to do'.

Quote
‘Both institutions involved have a procedure with guidelines that we have followed successfully in the past and which worked well here. However, each case for repatriation is examined on its merits. Te Papa's representatives were of Maori origin and this made the decision far easier as the remains were going to their ancestral home.' (Patricia Allan, Curator of World Cultures Glasgow Museums)

Lessons learnt

It is vital to include the source communities in the process and to be sensitive to their wishes
Each case for repatriation must be considered individually – guidelines are not rules.

Further Information
Patricia Allan, Curator of World Cultures
E: patricia.allan@cls.glasgow.gov.uk

Maori human remains

Maori human remains

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