Ancestral remains ‘going home’
Ancestral Easter Island skulls will be returned home in the first ever repatriation out of the South Island, following an official farewell at a North Canterbury marae.
Two tı¯puna from Rapa Nui (Easter Island) were officially handed over after being held at the Canterbury and Otago museums for 69 and 82 years, respectively, following a po¯whiri led by Nga¯i Tu¯a¯huriri, Nga¯i Tahu’s largest hapu, at Tuahiwi on Saturday.
A delegation of Rapa Nui kauma¯tua, researchers and Government officials travelled nearly 7000 kilometres to receive their ancestors’ remains.
‘‘New Zealand’s been engaged in repatriating Ma¯ori tı¯puna back to New Zealand for many, many years and that’s been a big process,’’ Canterbury Museum director Anthony Wright said.
‘‘But this is possibly the first time that a host community, in this case in Rapa Nui, has formally asked us for return.’’
A small delegation of Nga¯i Tu¯a¯huriri kaitiaki (guardians) will accompany the overseas visitors back to Easter Island to complete the repatriation.
Upoko Dr Te Maire Tau said the Nga¯i Tu¯a¯huriri wha¯nau was honoured to provide the place for those involved to gather and farewell the tı¯puna.
‘‘Our practice here has always been ‘kia atawhai ki te iwi, to care for the people’, and that’s what we’re doing [on Saturday],’’ he said.
‘‘This is an important occasion and I’d like to acknowledge Canterbury Museum and Otago Museum for doing the right thing by returning these ancestors to their home.’’
Piru Huke, of the advisory panel to the Rapa Nui Repatriation Programme, said Saturday’s po¯whiri was a way to come together with her ‘‘Ma¯ori siblings’’ and ‘‘to bring our ancestor back home’’.
‘‘We are deeply thankful to our Ma¯ori siblings for responding to our call across Te Moana A Kiva and welcoming us on our journey to reunite with our tupuna after so many years.’’
The tı¯puna held by Canterbury Museum was one of 3184 Ma¯ori and Pasifika taonga the New Zea- land Government purchased from British collector William Oldman in 1948.
The other came into Otago Museum’s care in 1935 as part of an object exchange with Frederick Dustin, a fuel engineer on the second Byrd expedition to Antarctica.
‘‘We want our ancestors to be somewhere where we can acknowledge them and pay our respects,’’ Wright said.
‘‘That’s why cemeteries, graveyards and wahi tapu exist, so that people can have that sense of respect.
‘‘To have them in a very foreign place goes against that in a big way so it really is the going home [of this tı¯puna],’’ he said.
Nga¯i Tahu deputy kaiwhakahaere Matapura Ellison, chairman of the Otago Museum Advisory Committee, said the repatriation was ‘‘indicative of an improving relationship between museological organisations and indigenous peoples’’.