Repatriation of a Toi Moko to the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
May 2011, staff from the Weltkulturen Museum handed over a Toi Moko – the mummified, tattooed head of a Māori man – to a delegation from the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa during a private ceremony. The ceremony took place behind closed doors at the request of the New Zealand delegation.
Since 2003, the Te Papa Museum has been implementing the ‘Karanga Aotearoa Repatriation Programme’ on behalf of the New Zealand Government and in close collaboration with Māori representatives. This programme aims to repatriate human remains, in particular Toi Moko, from collections both at home and abroad. In 2008, the Weltkulturen Museum received an official request for repatriation. This was endorsed the following year by the City of Frankfurt’s Cultural Affairs Office, whereupon the Weltkulturen Museum initiated the repatriation process.
Provenance and cultural contexts
The Toi Moko was acquired by what was then the City of Frankfurt’s Ethnological Museum around 1909 from the Hamburg-based trading firm J.F.G. Umlauff for a purchase price of 1,000 gold marks. It has not yet been possible to trace the route the Toi Moko took from New Zealand into the European art trade. The museum has no information regarding previous owners, collectors or the specific circumstances of its acquisition, nor does it know its exact place of origin in New Zealand. Historical sources from the 18th and 19th centuries highlight the significance of Toi Moko as part of ancestor worship and as a way of honouring deceased, highly respected family members. Facial tattooing, characteristic of Toi Moko, was reserved for nobles and men and women of high standing. The moko had a sacred character and symbolised the spiritual power, or mana, of the individual. The ritual preservation of mummified heads was linked to the belief in preserving the power of the ancestors and making it available to the community. In Europe, the tattoo patterns attracted attention and found their way into European museums as ‘curiosities’ via the art trade. A brisk trade developed, reaching its peak during the ‘Musket Wars’ (between Māori groups in the first half of the 19th century). For some Māori, the trade in Toi Moko offered the opportunity to acquire European firearms. Even in pre-colonial times, during armed conflicts between various Māori groups, the heads of slain opponents were mummified and displayed as war trophies. When peace was concluded, these heads were exchanged between the warring parties. In dealings with European traders, it was generally not the heads of their own ancestors that were exchanged, but rather the heads of slain enemies captured during the war. Enslaved members of opposing groups were also tattooed, before being killed and their heads sold. In 1831, the trade in Toi Moko was outlawed thanks to the efforts of the missionary Samuel Marsden.
Further research and repatriation to New Zealand
A Wahi Tapu (a sacred repository) has been established at the Te Papa Museum for the Toi Moko repatriated to New Zealand under the Karanga Aotearoa Repatriation Programme. The Toi Moko will remain here until their exact origins (‘iwi’) within New Zealand have been researched and they can be returned to their communities. It is only through this final return that (according to Māori belief) the ancestors and their living descendants regain their dignity.
