Interpreting indigenous art in university collections

Abstract

Debates on the representation of indigenous cultures in museums have come to the fore in the past thirty years. This paper examines the context for the opening of Waipapa Marae at the University of Auckland in 1988. It outlines a history of Māori meeting houses used for teaching and learning in a specifically Māori context in the New Zealand tertiary sector. The challenge for the university curator with a marae as part of the collection is how to interpret it for the 21 century. Facilitating a student-led process can make present those who have been traditionally absent in ethnographic exhibitions – the culture group who produced the objects. Introduction: The New Zealand context Article 2 of the Treaty of Waitangi, signed in 1840, has implications for all New Zealanders, but especially for university curators (MURPHY 1999). Under its provisions, Māori kept possession of their taonga or treasures, including art and architecture, after colonization. Since 1990, when the sesquicentennial of the Treaty was commemorated, representational control of taonga by iwi (Māori people) has become accepted practice in museums and galleries, including those in universities. Māori people as tangata whenua (people of the land) have asserted their right to decide what, when, why and how of taonga display and interpretation. All university collections in Aotearoa contain taonga, and five of the eight universities have marae with associated whare whakairo or carved meeting houses. Working with Māori to develop conservation and interpretation strategies for taonga on campus is increasingly a priority for New Zealand university curators. These initiatives are taking place in a difficult funding environment but one in which universities themselves have made the commitment to grow Māori enrolments in undergraduate and postgraduate programmes as part of strategic planning. Fig. 1 Author’s adaptation of Terrence Barrow’s diagram of a traditional meeting house facade. The porch is termed the roro (brain), the door is the kuwaha or mouth, and the window is the eye (matapihi). Inside the house is the womb (koopu), a sacred place, necessitating the removal of footwear before entering. Symbolism of the whare whakairo As momentum for indigenous rights grew in Aotearoa throughout the 1970s and 1980s, several university marae were built to enhance the campus environment and provide opportunities for teaching and learning, as well as to provide a place for welcoming visitors. Many Māori writers have argued that the marae is the one institution where other ethnic groups including Europeans can meet the Māori on Māori terms. It is therefore key to understanding what it means to be a bicultural society. The word marae refers to a meeting area in general. The full name is Te Maraenui-atea-oTumatauenga meaning the larger marae of Tumatuenga, God of War. Coming onto a marae involves being challenged before being welcomed into the meetinghouse or wharenui (literally, big house). This main building represents the ancestor for whom it is named symbolically. The head is the koruru with a tekoteko (carved figure) at the apex of the roof, the arms are maihi or bargeboards reaching down to the