Broken families have been waiting for this moment for generations.
The remains of several dozen Maoris and Morioris, who had been in Austria for more than 130 years, were officially returned to New Zealand on Sunday by the Natural History Museum in Vienna.
The return ceremony for the remains of 64 Maori and Morioris, natives of New Zealand's main islands and the Chatham Islands, located off the archipelago, took place at the Te Papa National Museum in Wellington where they will rest in a sacred place.
These remains, including skulls, had been in the Austrian capital for decades after being looted from the “
iwi
” tribe by Austrian taxidermist and grave robber Andreas Reischek.
He lived in New Zealand for twelve years, until 1889. In his diaries, he describes how he ransacked several tombs, without authorization, notably on the Chatham Islands, in Christchurch or even in Auckland.
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"Spirit of Reconciliation"
William
“Pou”
Temara, chairman of Te Papa's repatriation advisory committee, said the repatriation, the largest to date from Austria to New Zealand, was significant.
"It is always a relief and a spiritual privilege to welcome back our ancestors who were victims of such misdeeds
," he said.
Culturally, we know that they are crying with joy to have returned to Aotearoa (New Zealand) where they will finally rest in peace.
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The acting head of this operation, Te Arikirangi Mamaku-Ironside, praised the help provided by his Austrian colleagues to end 77 years of negotiations between the two countries.
"
The Natural History Museum of Vienna is committed to righting wrongs and has approached this work with a spirit of openness and reconciliation
", rejoiced William Temara, before adding that a repatriation program government-funded would continue.
"Although there are more negotiations on the repatriation of remains, there is still a lot of work to be done to bring all our ancestors home
," he said.
The human remains will remain at Te Papa while the iwi are consulted to determine their final resting place.