Whether they were genuine toi moko or “manufactured” mokomokai, these heads moved from

New Zealand during this period of colonization and ended up in Western museums and private
collections. As colonizing countries became more powerful in the late eighteenth century,
preserved heads and other Maā ori artifacts were displayed as evidence of this colonial expansion
and dominance.

As systems of classification and Darwin’s later theories of evolution grew in popularity in the
beginning of the nineteenth century, institutions such as the British Museum, the Royal College of
Surgeons, the University of Edinburgh, the University of Oxford, and the University of Cambridge
presented human remains in an attempt to demonstrate evolutionary sequences. 96 Under this
scientific pretext, Maā ori works were collected as examples of natural history, displayed as
“primitive artifacts.”

Later, in the second half of the nineteenth century, Maā ori society began to collapse as a result of
the Musket Wars and the disputes over land ownership. As the civilization faced a threat of
extinction, their artifacts were shown as “primitive curious” of a dying race heeding to British
progress.97 It was also at this time that museums themselves began to play a part in the trade of
human remains.

the Auckland Museum in New Zealand played a large role in the export of remains and artifacts
around the world. Thomas Cheeseman, the curator of the Auckland Museum during this time,
went to great, illicit lengths to expand his collection.

In exchange for items from New Zealand, the museum solicited antiquities and curiosities from all
over the world. Letters exchanged between Cheeseman and representatives from the Florence
Museum and the Smithsonian Institution, respectively, illustrate this effort:

The latter half of the twentieth century saw the growth of a socio-cultural movement known as
the Maā ori Renaissance. This period saw a tremendous increase in Maā ori literary and artistic
achievement, language programs, and Maā ori studies programs in universities. 110 After decades of
exploitation and subjugation, fortunes began to change for the Maā ori. No longer viewed as a
“dying race,” the community began to fight for political and economic rights both within New
Zealand and on an international scale. In this effort to reassert their identity, several high profile
marches and demonstrations were organized.

As the Renaissance continued to gain strength and people searched for ways to re-establish their
identities, moko experienced a great surge in popularity. Ta moko tattooing was a way in which
the Maā ori were able to establish a connection with their larger community.

It is this same impulse to bring back what was taken from the Maā ori that prompted the formation
of official programs of repatriation. As the moral anchor of the Maā ori Renaissance, repatriation
allows for the re-attaching cultural traditions and values to these detached heads.

People became more informed about museum ethics and the rights of native people as the Maā ori
Renaissance grew in strength and visibility. As a result, establishments in possession of toi moko
and other kinds of human remains have been criticized.
In 1988, Bonham’s auction house in London proposed the sale of a mokomokai. The inclusion of
sacred human remains at a modern, highly publicized auction stirred a great deal of controversy
in the art world. Consequently, the head was withdrawn from sale and returned to New Zealand
for burial.118

PROGRAM FOR REPATRIATION

New Zealand has established a program for the return of Maori remains, which is largely administered by its
national   museum.   Through   this   program,   New   Zealand   has   secured   the   cooperation   of   over   forty   foreign
museums.   New  Zealand  is  a  party  to  international   conventions   on  the   return  of   cultural   artifacts   and  has
enacted   implementing   legislation.   The   relevant   law   allows   foreign   countries   to   claim   culturally   significant
objects being held in New Zealand and requires governmental permission for culturally significant domestic
objects to be exported. 

The involvement in repatriation began through the work of Sir Māui Pomare, and was supported by the
Department of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
New Zealand began a government program called “Karanga Aotearoa” in 1990 to retrieve the
remains of its indigenous people back to their homeland.

Karanga Aotearoa is the government mandated authority that negotiates the repatriation of Māori and
Moriori ancestral remains on behalf of Māori and Moriori. The team comprises of
• a repatriation manager,
• repatriation researcher,
• repatriation coordinator.
They work with the support and expert advice of the Repatriation Advisory Panel to locate, identify,
negotiate and physically return kōiwi tangata (Māori skeletal remains) and kōimi tangata (Moriori
skeletal remains) to Aotearoa New Zealand.

In 2003, cabinet agreed that the National Museum Te Papa (which literally means “Our place”) should
act on behalf of the government for the return of kōiwi/koimi tangata (Māori and Moriori skeletal
remains) from international institutions to iwi (native tribes). In this case, it refers to the return of
human remains to their nation, allowing the dead to be reunited their ancestral homeland.

This decision included the approval of operational funding for the repatriation programme. The
funding covers research, repatriation travel, freight and crating, as well as associated expenses for
international and domestic repatriations. It explicitly does not provide for the purchase of human
remains.

Te Papa’s work, as mandated, is governed by these six overarching principles

• The government’s role is one of facilitation – it does not claim ownership of kōiwi tangata;
• Repatriation from overseas institutions and individuals is by mutual agreement only;
• No payment for kōiwi tangata will be made to overseas institutions;
• Kōiwi tangata must be identified as originating from New Zealand;
• Māori are to be involved in the repatriation of kōiwi tangata, including determining final resting
places, where possible; and
• The repatriation of kōiwi tangata will be carried out in a culturally appropriate manner.

Concerning the methodology, Karanga Aotearoa staff carries out provenance research using a
variety of archival sources, including accession information (though this is always interpreted
cautiously), collector diaries and documents, auction house records, combined with traditional oral
histories, waiata, pātere etc.

These records are merged in a process of research triangulation in an attempt to identify common
strands and connecting points. For some kōiwi/kōimi tangata this process is reasonably
straightforward, particularly if reliable records exist about the circumstances of acquisition. However,
it’s not always an easy process. Understandably, it is often difficult to establish provenance,
particularly when there are strict limits regarding the scientific tests that can be run on these
objects. Toi moko are highly sacred artifacts, so removing hair or fiber samples is prohibited.
Donor information, museum accession records, oral histories, and archaeological sites are all
useful in helping to identify the provenance and tribal association of individual heads.

The Karanga Aotearoa Repatriation programme invites institutions to repatriate kōiwi/koimi tangata
and Toi moko held in their institutions. Once an institution indicates they are willing to take the
conversation further, the programme keeps in regular contact and then submits a repatriation case for
the governing body to consider. In some situations a repatriation agreement with an institution can
take less than 12 months, however, in most circumstances a longer period is required.
Toi moko and kōiwi/kōimi tangata are returned from overseas institutions to Te Papa on an interim
basis only. Neither Toi moko nor skeletal remains are accessioned as part of Te Papa’s
collections and Te Papa has a policy prohibiting their exhibition. Rather, kōiwi/kōimi tangata
remain in Te Papa’s dutiful custody pending return to their attributed place of origin. The single goal
of repatriation is not to hold the remains at Te Papa indefinitely but to return them to their
communities. Māori and Moriori believe that through this ultimate return to their domestic homelands
the dead and their living descendants will retrieve their dignity.
After the kōiwi tangata are returned from overseas, they undergo a period of investigation and
research to collect information pertaining to their provenance. Where provenance is achieved,
discussions and negotiations are undertaken to repatriate the kōiwi tangata back to their place of
origin or initial point of collection.
Returning kōiwi/kōimi tangata to their place of origin in New Zealand is the culmination of many
months and sometimes many years of dedicated research and negotiations with iwi (tribe). As part of
the process of domestic repatriation we provide each iwi with a research report containing provenance
information such as, the kōiwi/koimi tangata’s museological and collection history, archaeological
records and maps, and related mātauranga Māori. This document helps to inform iwi and their
membership of their relationship to the returning kōiwi/koimi tangata.
All arrangements for domestic repatriations are led by iwi. Iwi determine the place, time and details for
the repatriation and burial or funerary rites involved. Some iwi have chosen to make their own burial
containers and collect their ancestors from Te Papa. Others have asked Te Papa to escort the
ancestors’ home to their marae. Te Papa’s role at this stage of the repatriation process is simply
to be supportive of iwi wishes.
Te Papa receives repatriation agreements on a regular basis and is increasingly approached by
international institutions offering to return kōiwi/kōimi tangata.
Karanga Aotearoa staff have found that the process of contact and negotiation with international
institutions has brokered a range of other curatorial museum opportunities.
Repatriation contact has often opened the door to exchange programmes, sharing of curatorial
knowledge, and opportunities for hosting repatriation interns and knowledge experts.
Since 1 July 2003 until 1 May 2017, Te Papa has repatriated 420 Māori and Moriori ancestral
remains from overseas institutions, including from countries such as Australia, Austria, Canada,
France, Germany, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States of America. At this point in time
there still remains close to 600 kōiwi tangata and Toi moko housed in overseas institutions awaiting
their journey home.

source
NOTE: in the process of repatriation, bare in mind that most of the heads were not robbed or stolen
but used as object of exchange:

While most of the preserved heads were obtained through bartering, some were also taken by British

soldiers from Maori villages. Other Maori artifacts were also obtained through trade and pillaging.

Grave robbery does not, however, appear to have been a major means of acquiring Maori

artifacts, as Maori dead were not usually buried with their treasures or belongings in tombs.7

Issues regarding repatriation become particularly complex when taking into account the
grotesque commodification and Maā ori complacency that resulted in the creation of falsified
mokomokai. These heads, far from traditional, ancestral mokomokai cannot be associated with a
particular iwi (tribe). They were not made to commemorate departed ancestors, and their moko
patterns cannot be associated with any tribe or geographical area, as it was completely fabricated.
This poses an important question: if these heads are without provenance, should they still be
repatriated? While this delicate issue is up for debate, Te Papa Tongawera and the Karanga
Aoeteroa Repatriation Unit believe that they should, as they are the still remains of someone’s
ancestors and deserve to be treated with respect and dignity. In cases where provenance cannot
be established, the heads are held and cared for in the wahi tapu built within Te Papa while
research continues and discussions are held to determine a permanent resting place.

REPATRIATION CASES

In 2007, the Field Museum in Chicago became the first United States museum to repatriate Maori

ancestral remains. One unusual aspect of this repatriation was that the repatriation delegation was

accompanied by seven native American representatives.

WARRINGTON MUSEUM
In 2013, a toi moko, the tattoo head of a Maori chief, returned to New Zealand after 170 years. The
preserved head was brought to Britain in the 1840s and has been kept in Warrington Museum, in
Cheshire, since 1843. After the call made by the repatriation programme of such rare items due to
their great cultural and social importance, Te Papa and the Warrington Museum were involved in
extensive negotiations. After a long-term process started in 2004, the Museum decided to return it,
even if it was legally acquired. Janice Hayes, the museum's manager, said: “Te Papa Tongarewa, one
of the national museums of New Zealand has been asking for all such artifacts to be repatriated, at
their expense, and Warrington Borough Council, which currently legally owns the head, has decided to
return it.” After the decision was taken, the repatriation took several months, so Warrington Borough
Council invited some members of the New Zealand and Samoan national rugby league team to pay
their respects to the Toi moko during their stay in the UK as part of the World Cup.

Guernsey Museum
The Toi moko at Guernsey Museum was part of a collection owned by Frederick Corbin Lukis, who
was born in Guernsey In 1788. Jason Monaghan, the director of Guernsey Museums, visited New
Zealand in 2011 after becoming aware of Te Papa’s repatriation programme. “We discussed it with the
curators first and got their buy-in,” says Monaghan. “We were reviewing our repatriation and human
remains policies and decided we would not put it on display again. So we decided to repatriate it.”
Monaghan said the repatriation involved a lot of work but it was worth it. “It was a very heartwarming
process,” he said.

MONTREAL (CANADA)
The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts returned a Toi Moko to the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa
Tongarewa (Te Papa) in Wellington, in a moving ceremony with officials from both museums present.
The return to New Zealand of this Māori head follows a request by the indigenous māori population of
New Zealand that, for the past two decades, has been making efforts to repatriate about 500 tattooed
and mummified remains or heads in public and private collections around the world.
In 2011, at the urging of the Museum’s management, the MMFA’s Board of Trustees voted
unanimously in favour of this request, which, it felt, “is not true restitution, and thus a transfer of
property, because ownership of the human body is inalienable.”
“It’s a relief to know that these remains will now be laid to rest in the land of their ancestors and that
they will never again be exposed to public curiosity or stored as artefacts in museum reserves. The
way we see things has evolved and today, we feel it is normal for human dignity to be respected, even
if ethical questions remain, in my opinion, about what we put on view, notably with respect to certain
exhibitions of cadavers. This issue is still very topical.” Nathalie Bondil, the MMFA’s Director and Chief
Curator.
The MMFA’s Toi Moko (1949.Pc.14), donated by F. Cleveland Morgan, was acquired on August 9,
1949, from the Berkeley Galleries in London. This mummified head, with tattooed skin, mounted on a
woven crown of plant fibres sewn to the skin of the neck has been displayed from 1982 to 1984. Since
then, it has been conserved in the museum’s reserves.
FRANCE

The country with which Te Papa has had the most protracted and difficult negotiations appears to have

been France. In 2007, the Mayor of Rouen announced that the Museum of Natural History in that city

would return the tattooed head of a Maori warrior, but he was quickly overruled by the Minister of

Culture on the grounds that French law provides that works of art are “inalienable.”28 However, the

current French government has reversed its position and supports the return of more than a dozen

mummified Maori heads. The Senate has approved a bill calling for the return of the heads acquired

through “barbaric trade” and it has been sent to the National Assembly for debate.29 The major

French objections to the return of the Maori heads appear to have been based on a fear that it might

set a precedent for claims for Egyptian mummies, Asian treasures, and African artifacts. The heads

have not been on display for a number of years, but some have argued that destroying them by

returning them for burial would “erase a page of history.”

Sixteen Maori heads – mummified, tattooed and held for decades as precious artefacts in France –
are to be sent home after MPs in Paris's national assembly voted tonight to return them to New
Zealand. Observers suggested the government was afraid that any move to return a work of art from a
French museum to its native land would set a dangerous precedent for a country bursting with antique
treasures and colonial-era loot. (The Guardian)
The legislation – drawn up by a member of the Nouveau Centre party, Catherine Morin-Desailly, and
voted into law by all but eight MPs – means the Maori heads will be returned to New Zealand without
further delay.

In France, the crux of the debate was whether the heads could be considered to be museum items
when they were human remains.
France was not eager to return the remains but they saw it as a duty and they were aware that there
were rituals that awaited the remains when they returned to New Zealand.

USA

It took five years of negotiation to make the United States agree in returning the remains of almost 54
Maori and Moriori individuals. The Smithsonian Institution in the US agreed to return the objects which
included four Maori heads - it was the second largest repatriation of indigenous remains of the
country’s history. They had originally received the Maori remains from U.S. expeditions held in the
1800s. Two of these heads were bought by an American from the British.