I te hinganga o Wiena...

Ka mahara pea koe ki te pūrongo o nāia tata nei mō te whakahokinga mai o ngā kōiwi me ngā tūpāpaku i Ateria.  Kua roa, kua uaua ngā mahi kia whakahokia mai, mai i tētahi pitihana, ko te tuatahi o ngā inoi tūturu, i puta mai i ngā wiki whakamutunga o te whawhai ki Ūropi i te tau 1945.  He tauira tēnei nō ngā tini pukapuka-inoi a te iwi Māori.  Kua roa te wā i tuku pitihana ai ngā iwi Māori ki te pāremata mō ngā tini take - ki te whakatika i ngā hē, ki te kimi utu, ki te whai i ngā kerēme hoki, ahakoa he take ā-tangata, he kerēme ā-iwi, he kaupapa tōrangapū rānei.  I tukuna tonu ēnei inoi puta noa te pakanga, i muri hoki.  Ko tētahi o ēnei te Petihana 66/1945.

Mai i 1877 ki 1889, ka mahi he kaipūtaiao manu, ko Andreas Reischek, ki Aotearoa nei, e kohi ana, e whakapakoko ana i ngā manu māori hei taonga pūtaiao.  I te tau 1881, i muri i ngā tau tekau mā whitu i noho mōriroriro ai te Kīngitanga i muri i raupatu, ka whakapā atu a Kīngi Tāwhiao ki te kāwanatanga kia hohou te rongo.  Ka whakamahia e Reischek tēnei tohu maungarongo kia whakapono te Kīngi rātou ko ētahi rangatira ki a ia, kia whakaaetia ai ia kia uru ki roto i te Tohe Pōtae kimi ai i ngā manu.  Engari, ka tahuri hoki a Reischek ki te kohi i ngā mea kē, arā, i ngā kōiwi me ngā whakapakoko tūpāpaku (“mummies”).[1] E tinga ano, nā Ferdinand von Hockstetter a Reischek i akiaki; he manuhiri pūtaiao ki Aotearoa a von Hockstetter i mua, ā, hei tumuaki hoki ia mō te Imperial Natural History Museum ki Wiena mai i te tau 1876.[2]

I roto i tāna pukapuka, i Yesterdays in Maoriland, ka whakapehapeha a Reischek mō āna hara, e whakamārama ana i tāna tāhaetanga i ngā tūpāpaku e rua mai i ētahi ana o Kāwhia i waenganui pō, me te hunahuna i aua tūpuna kia taea te kawe atu ki Ākarana. “But even then I kept them cautiously hidden from sight right up to the time of my departure from New Zealand. Now both these ancestors of the Maori adorn the ethnographical collection of the Imperial Natural History Museum at Vienna.”[3]

Kāore e kore, ko Tūpāhau tētahi o ngā tūpāpaku i tangohia; he rangatira nō Tainui i te tekau mā whitu o ngā rautau.[4]  Kīhai i roa, ka kitea e ngā Māori te mahi whānako nei, engari, ko te āhua nei, kīhai i whakaarohia ko Reischek te nanakia.[5]  Tērā pea, i te tekautau 1930, ka āta mōhiotia, i muri i te whakapākehātanga o tā Reischek pukapuka, me te tānga o ngā tini taonga Māori ki Wiena i roto i te Journal of the Polynesian Society.[6]

He mea hono a Ateria ki Tiamani i te tau 1938, ā, he wāhanga ōna tāngata nō te taha Nazi i te wā o te pakanga.  I te whawhai e mutu ana i te tau 1945, ko Lieutenant Colonel Arapeta Awatere te āpiha toihau o te Ope Māori e noho ana ki Itari-ki-te-raki i taua wā. Ka whakaaroaro ia me tuku he tauā ki Wiena hopu ai i ngā kōiwi me ngā tūpāpaku nā Reischek i tāhae, engari, he āhua ngākau kore āna hōia ki te hūrau i aua mea, ā, i whakapakepakea e ōna āpiha toihau.[7]

I muri, i taua tau anō, ka pitihana a Paneta Maniapoto Ōtene mā ki te pāremata. Nā rātou i tuhi:

Now that Vienna has fallen we your humble petitioners humbly pray that your honourable house will take steps to have restitution made on behalf of the Maori people by taking steps to have the whole of the Collection herein referred to returned to the Dominion of New Zealand.

I whakamārama hoki te pitihana, ka whakahoahoa a Reischek ki ngā rangatira whakahirahira o Tainui me Ngāti Maniapoto kia wātea ia ki te hāereere i roto i te Rohe Pōtae.  He ““a ghoulish act” āna mahi tāhae, arā “a serious betrayal of trust . . . which caused deep grievance to the late Maori King, Chiefs and the Maori people”.  I whakamōhio hoki te pitihana, e “37 Maori skulls and a number of mummified Maori bodies” i roto i te whare taonga ki Wiena.[8]

Nui atu i te tau, ka tutetutea taua pitihana i waenganui i ētahi tari kāwanatanga me tō te pāremata Komiti mō ngā Mea Māori.  Ahakoa ka aroha mai ētahi āpiha, kaitōrangapū hoki, i āhua ngoikore te kāwanatanga ki te whakaea i te inoi nei.  I Ōketopa 1945, ka tohua e te tumuaki o te Tari o te Pirimia, e James Thorn, ki te mea ka whakahē te whare taonga, “no further action be taken seeing that scientific interests might be served”.  I Hune 1946, ka meatia e te Tari o te Pirimia, i meatia e te kāwanatanga o Ingarangi kia kaua te kāwanatanga o Aotearoa e tohe kia whakaurua he kupu mō ngā tūpāpaku Māori ki roto i tētahi tiriti maungārongo, nā te mea, “this is not a matter arising out of the recent war with Germany”.  I Hūrae 1946, nā te Tari Māori i tuku he manatū ki te Tari o ngā Take o Tāwāhi e kī ana “no good purpose would be served by taking any further action”.[9] 

I kī hoki taua manatū o Hūrae 1946, ko te hunga nāna te pitihana i tuku “hardly be said to be representative of the people concerned, nor has any move been made by the leaders of the either the Waikato or Maniapoto tribes”.  Ko te whakaaro nei, kia kaua te kāwanatanga e aro nei ki tēnei hunga hauwarea.  Kei roto i te kōwae nei kei te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga te rārangi o ngā kaipitihana, ā, i tuhia ō rātou iwi e tētahi tangata (e tētahi āpiha pea).  Ko Paneta Maniapoto Ōtene te ingoa tuatahi; kāore e kore, nāna te pitihana i whakaara; e kīa ana nō Tūwharetoa ia. Nō Ngāti Haua Rukumoana ngā tāngata tokoiwa; nō Maniapoto tētahi.  Engari, kei roto hoki i taua kōwae te whakapapa o Paneta Maniapoto Ōtene, he mea tuhi ki te ringaringa; hei tama ia ki a Pae Ōtene rāua ko Pareawa Maniapoto, me ngā kupu “The marriage between Pae Otene and Pareawa Maniapoto was arranged by the Tribe of Ngati Maniapoto-Tuwharetoa and Hawke Bay Tribe Kahungunu to avoid any future friction between the two Tribes.” I reira hoki he pitopito kōrero nō te niupepa mō te matenga o tōna whaea, o Pareawa Maniapoto, e whakaaturia nei tōna kāwai rangatira.[10]  Kua mārama nei, kotahi te āpiha kāwanatanga, neke atu pea, i mōhio he rangatira, he tangata nui te kaipitihana tuatahi i roto i a Ngāti Maniapoto.

I te tau 1946, nā Raureti Te Huia rātou ko ngā tāngata e 23 o te Rohe Pōtae he pukapuka-inoi tuarua, he āhua rite ki te pitihana a Ōtene mā.[11]  Nō ngā kāwai rangatira hoki a Te Huia i roto i a Ngāti Maniapoto; ā, ka whakatūria ia hei mema o te Tainui Trust Board.[12]   I tautokona te pītihana tuatahi e te mea tuarua, ā, e kīa ana, i hainatia hoki e ngā “23 chiefs of the Waikato tribes”.[13]  Hei whakaatu pea te pitihana tuarua, i te tautoko whānuitia te take nei e ngā iwi.

I Hepetema 1946 ka tuku reta  te Karaka o te Komiti mō ngā Mea Māori ki te Tari o te Pirimia hei whakautu i ētahi pātai ōna.  I whakaaetia, he “betrayal … of the trusting kindness and bountiful hospitality of his hosts” ngā mahi a Reischek; kātahi ngā iwi Māori i inoi mai kia whakahokia ngā tūpāpaku, nā te mea, kīhai rātou i mōhio kei hea i whakatakoria ai; ā, nā te tapu o aua taonga, he take whakahirahira tēnei ki a rātou.  Engari, i whāki hoki taua reta, he “only half-hearted” tā te Komiti tautoko i te inoi, engari, i meatia ai kia tirohia e te kāwanatanga, nā te mea “a ‘no recommendation’ report might have offended on such a touchy subject”.[14] Ahakoa tēnei ngākaurua, ka tono te kāwanatanga ki te kāwanatanga o Ingarangi kia whakahokia ngā tūpāpaku o Kāwhia. 

I te tau 1928, ka wehea te kohinga tāonga a Reischek; ko ētahi mea ki tētahi whare taonga mō te mātauranga taio, ko ētahi ki tētahi whare taonga mō te mātauranga momo tangata (i noho ai ngā tūpāpaku o Kāwhia).  Engari, i mau hoki i aua whare taonga he mokamokai, he mea hoko e ngā iwi Māori hei hoko pū.  I riro i te kāwanatanga o Ingarangi he kupu tohutohu e kī ana, kāore he tikanga nō ngā iwi Māori hei whakapakoko (mummify) i ngā tūpāpaku; kīhai hoki taua tohutohu i whakamārama, he rerekē te tangohanga i ngā tūpāpaku o Kāwhia ki ērā atu kōiwi. Nā reira, kāore te kāwanatanga o Ingarangi i whakaaro he kerēme pai tō ngā iwi kia whakahokia ō rātou tūpuna.[15]

I ngā tau e whai ana, ka puta tonu mai he īnoi anō, engari, ka puta kē te kaupapa nei mai i te tekautau 1970.  Nā ngā inoi tuturu a te Arikinui, a Dame Te Atairangikaahu, me te kāwanatanga o Aotearoa, ka whakahokia mai tētahi tupuna i Ateria i te tau 1985; kāore e kore, ko Tūpāhau.[16]   I whakahokia he tupuna tuarua nō Tainui e te Weltmuseum Wien i te tau 2015, engari, i te tau 2022 te whakahokinga nui rawa atu o ngā kōiwi Māori, Moriori hoki mai i te Natural History Museum o Wiena.[17]

E mārama nei, he kino, he wetiweti, he hē hoki ngā mahi a Reischek, engari, ehara i te mea he tauira mokemoke tēnei; he nui ngā kohinga o ngā kōiwi me ngā tūpāpaku o ngā iwi taketake i kāhakina mō ngā take “pūtaio” i te wā o Wikitōria.  Ka nui te mamae i rangona i ngā mahi hē a Reischek ki Kāwhia, ki hea, ki hea.  I whakaaro ngā iwi, he āheitanga pai te mutunga o te pakanga me te hinganga o Wiena kia hoki mai anō ō rātou tūpuna, kia whakatikatia te hara.  He maha ngā tau i hipa mai nei; whakahokia rawa ake ngā kōiwi e toe ana i tēnei tau.

Whakaahua: “Reischek remains welcomed back to Te Papa”. Nā Maiono Barton te whakaahua. (He mihi ki a Waatea News).

[1] Ray G. Prebble. 'Reischek, Andreas', Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, putanga tuatahi i 1993, he mea whakahou i October, 2022. Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/biographies/2r14/reischek-andreas  (He mea titiro i te 4 Tīhema 2022).

[2] Amber Kiri Aranui, “Te Hokinga Mai O Ngā Tūpuna: Māori Perspectives of Repatriation and the Scientific Research of Ancestral Remains”, PhD (VUW, 2018), 438-9.

[3] Andreas Reischek, Yesterdays in Maoriland: New Zealand in the ‘eighties, he mea whakapākehā e H.E.L. Priday (Edinburgh: Morrison & Gibb, 1930), 214-216.

[4] Prebble.

[5] New Zealand Herald, 14 Hune 1883: 5, he mea whakamahi e Coralie O’Hara, “The Andreas Reischek Collection in Vienna and New Zealand’s Attempts at Repatriation” i roto i Cressida fForde, C.Timothy McKeown & Honor Keeler (ētita.), The Routledge Companion to Indigenous Repatriation: Return, Reconcile, Renew, (Abingdon: Routledge, 2020), p.441.

[6] Raymond Firth, “Maori Material in the Vienna Museum”, Journal of the Polynesian Society, pukapuka 40, nama 159 (1931): 95-102.

[7] Aranui, “Te Hokinga Mai”, pp.153-4.

[8] Committees – Maori Affairs [Minute Book, Petitions and Reports], LE1 1261 1945/12, Archives New Zealand, Wellington [ANZ-W].

[9] LE1 1261 1945/12, ANZ-W.

[10] LE1 1261 1945/12, ANZ-W; Kei Opunake Times, 25 February 1947: 1 te kōrero nei.

[11] Maori Affairs Committee (Reports of the): Nga Ripoata a te Komiti mo nga Mea Maori (Mr. J.B. Cotterill, Chairman), I-03, Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives, 1946.

[12] Te Awamutu Courier, 15 Nōema 1950: 7.

[13] O’Hara, “The Andreas Reischek Collection”, wh.443.

[14] LE1 1261 1945/12, ANZ-W.

[15] O’Hara, “The Andreas Reischek Collection”, wh.443-4.

[16] O’Hara, “The Andreas Reischek Collection”, wh.445-6.

[17] Media Release, 3 Oketopa 2022, Museum of New Zealand: Te Papa Tongarewa, “Remains of mummified Tainui child to return home after 100 years”, https://www.tepapa.govt.nz/about/press-and-media/press-releases/2015-news-and-media-releases/remains-mummified-tainui-child (He mea titiro i te 4 Tīhema, 2022); Tepara Koti, “Remains of mummified Tainui descendant returned home from Austria”, Te Ao Māori News, 25 Mei 2015. https://www.teaomaori.news/remains-mummified-tainui-descendant-returned-home-austria (He mea titiro i te 4 Tīhema, 2022); Media Release, 3 Oketopa 2022, Museum of New Zealand: Te Papa Tongarewa, https://www.tepapa.govt.nz/about/press-and-media/press-releases/2022-media-releases/te-papa-welcomes-home-ancestral-remains(He mea titiro i te 4 Tīhema, 2022).