Taonga in a digital world: Maori adornment and the possibilities of reconnection

Traditionally, Taonga tuku iho (Māori ancestral treasures) circulated within complex political, social, and economic landscapes. From the late eighteenth century, however, the influx of Pākehā (non-Māori) resulted in tens of thousands of artworks moving out of Māori communities and into museums overseas. This article considers the dilemma of how to reconnect taonga Māori with whānau (family), hapū (sub-tribe), and iwi (tribe). A digital case study is presented as part of the Ngā Taonga o Wharawhara: The World of Māori Body Adornment project, as one strategy. We created a database we call the Rākai Register, and identified easy-to-use and cost-effective digital technologies such as Google Drive and Google Maps to store and display information about adornments either in public museum collections or which have been sold through auction. In the last section, we present the perspectives of Māori and Pasifika experts engaged with museum collections who reflect on the value and concerns of putting such cultural material online. Glossary of Māori terms: Atua: deity; Aurei: cloak pins of ivory or greenstone;Hapū: sub-tribe; Harakeke: Phormium tenax, fibre used extensively in weaving; Hei matau: fish hook-shaped greenstone adornment; Hei tiki: human-shaped adornment, usually from greenstone; He kupu hōu: some terminology; Heru: fine hair comb; Iwi: tribe; Kaitiaki: guardian; Kaitiakitanga: guardianship; Kanohi-ki-te-kanohi: face-to-face; Kapeu: a greenstone eardrop with the end curved; Kōrero: narratives; Kōrero pūrākau: knowledge review; Kuru: straight greenstone adornment; Mako: shark's tooth, used as an ear-ornament; Mana: prestige; Manaia: spiritual guardian, often shown as a beaked figure; Marakihau: carved figure with a fish tail, human head and a tube-like tongue; Mātauranga Māori: Māori knowledge; Mihi: greet; Pākehā: non-Māori; Papahou: rectangular-shaped carved wooden container for adornment; Pekapeka: a greenstone adornment representing two bats back-to-back; Pōria: an adornment made of pounamu or bone to mimic a ring worn on the leg of a captive bird; Powaka whakairo: box-like container for adornments; Pūpū harakeke: land snails; Rakau momori: Moriori tree engraving; Rākei: to adorn, bedeck; adorn oneself; Rei puta: whale tooth adornment; Tā: Sir; Tamariki: children; Tangata whenua: people of the land, Māori; Tangihanga: funeral; Taoka: Ngāi Tahu dialect version of 'taonga'; Taonga/taonga tuku iho: treasure, anything prized; Tapu: sacredness; Te Ao Māori