A Toi Moko or mummified head currently held in Warrington Museum, and said to be that of “a South Sea island chief”, is to be sent back to New Zealand, the council has announced today.
The head, which was brought to Britain in the 1840s, has been kept in Warrington Museum since 1843.
Janice Hayes, the museum’s manager, explained today: “We don’t know the precise origin of the head. We do know that the Maoris used to preserve severed heads for two reasons – either to venerate a loved one, or to ridicule an enemy defeated in battle.
“But we also know that some Maoris, when they learned that Europeans would pay gold for the old artefacts, began to manufacture more heads for sale.
“But in any case, Te Papa Tongarewa, one of the national museums of New Zealand has been asking for all such artefacts to be repatriated, at their expense, and Warrington Borough Council, which currently legally owns the head, has decided to return it.”
Te Papa Tongarewa has indicated that it will want to conduct a ceremony at Warrington Museum, to thank the museum for its care of the Toi moko before the New Zealand authorities resume custody of it.
Source Article from http://www.cheshire-today.co.uk/19164/warrington-sends-mummifield-head-home/
