The taiaha named 'Maungārongo' held in Tūhura Otago Museum has been returned to Ngāti Maniapoto. Photo: Supplied
A significant taiaha held in Tūhura Otago Museum has been returned to Ngāti Maniapoto ahead of the tribe's Treaty of Waitangi claim settlement by Parliament.
Ngāti Maniapoto representatives from the North Island iwi were joined by others from Otago and Murihiku to receive the taonga at a special ceremony on Wednesday morning.
The taiaha named 'Maungārongo' will be taken to Parliament where it will be on display for several years before returning to Ngāti Maniapoto.
Ngāti Maniapoto Kaumatua and Te Nehenehenui Trustee, John Kaati said the iwi decided to want it to return to Parliament.
"Our people have decided that it should carry out the purpose in which the crowd took it for and that it needs to sit in Parliament for a number of years," said Kaati.
Te Nehenehenui Chair Bella Takiari-Brame said having Maungārongo back at parliament was a full circle moment.
"Maungārongo is steeped in history within Ngāti Maniapoto, and the reason it was presented to Parliament by our rangatira of the time as a symbol of the peace that existed between Ngāti Maniapoto and the Crown was also significant. Therefore, having this taiaha return to Parliament was a significant priority for us as part of our Treaty settlement" said Takiari-Brame.
John Kaati said he was thankful the museum and local iwi had treated the taiaha with respect while it had been in the South Island.
"We're very very grateful to the Otago museum and its people, and also Kāi Tahu who have a great affinity for that taiaha because of its history because they knew it," said Kaati.
He said the ceremony was very traditional and an emotional process.
Rachel Wesley signing documentation for the return of the taiaha named 'Maungārongo'. Photo: RNZ / Ashleigh McCaul
Maungārongo is quite large with orange kākā feathers and white kurī fur showing its importance.
It's famously associated with enforcement by Ngāti Maniapoto that saw Pākehā stopped from unauthorised entry into the King Country region in the 1860s.
In 1885, Wahanui (Ngāti Maniapoto) presented the taiaha with the intention of it being sent to the Native Minister, John Ballance to symbolise eternal peace between the iwi and the crown.
But it was instead sent to Port Chalmers MP James MacAndrew who placed it in Otago University Museum after the taiaha was rejected by Parliament during a debate with politicians.
Otago Museum Curator Māori Gerard O'Regan said the taiaha had a lot of history behind it.
"There is no question that Maungārongo is an exceptional example of a taiaha, but it is the whakapapa and history, the hands that have held it and why, that is so profoundly significant," said Tūhura Otago Museum curator Māori Dr Gerard O'Regan.
The taiaha named 'Maungārongo' held in Tūhura Otago Museum has been returned to Ngāti Maniapoto. Photo: Supplied
As part of their Treaty settlement, Ngāti Maniapoto sought the government's assistance in repatriating the taiaha.
O'Regan said it was humbling for the museum to be able to contribute to this return.
"Any museum in New Zealand would be humbled to be entrusted with such a significant taonga, but it will foster much greater cultural reinvigoration back in the care of where it belongs," O'Regan said.
John Kaati said the iwi was currently in talks to decide where the taiaha should be placed after its time in Parliament.
"There are other taonga that Maniapoto have at the Waikato Museum and the Te Awamutu Museum, so there is thinking that Maniapoto may have its own museum either in Otorohanga or Te Kuiti, or we might have arrangements with other museums to house it alongside out other taonga that they hold at the moment," he said.