Maori ancestral remains to be repatriated

Te Papa will this month repatriate ancestral Maori remains from five European institutions.

The remains of 33 Maori would return to New Zealand from the National Museum of Wales, Gothenburg Natural History Museum in Sweden, the Museum of World Culture in Sweden, Glasgow University's Hunterian Museum in Scotland, and Trinity College in the Republic of Ireland.

The largest repatriation took place in 2007 when 45 ancestral remains were repatriated from the United Kingdom.

The majority of the remains were koiwi tangata (skeletal remains) and four toi moko (tattooed preserved heads).

The remains would be welcomed on to Te Papa's marae in a ceremony on November 30.

Te Papa's acting chief executive Michelle Hippolite said the repatriation was "both a time for sad reflection on the turbulent journeys these ancestors experienced and, at the same time, a cause for joy and hope as they are returned".

She thanked the institutions involved for their decisions to repatriate the remains and their support in planning the repatriation.

- NZPA