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N.Z museum mulls options for mummified Maori heads

WELLINGTON (AFP) – For decades, New Zealand has campaigned for museums to repatriate the mummified and heavily-tattooed heads of Maori warriors held in collections worldwide -- now it must decide what to do with the gruesome but culturally valuable relics.

New Zealand's national museum Te Papa has more than 100 of the heads, known as toi moko, in storage in Wellington, along with about 500 skeletal remains plundered from Maori graves as recently as the 1930s.

In Maori culture, the dark swirls and geometric designs of traditional facial tattoos on men recognised high birth and rank, as well as achievements on the battlefield.

Te Herekiekie Herewini, who leads Te Papa's repatriation programme, said the heads of deceased chiefs or family members would be mummified as a way of preserving their spirit, while enemies' heads were preserved as war trophies.

"Initially the mummification of heads and bodies was part of our normal mourning process," he said.

"But when Europeans came, they saw the exotic nature of the heads and they became a coveted trading item because they were of commercial value in Europe, America and Australia."

The heads became so valuable that in the late 18th and early 19th Centuries, some Maori hunted members of rival iwis (tribes) and murdered them to supply the burgeoning market in European museums for exotic human remains.

"For some of the iwi, trading in toi moko was strategic in accessing items such as muskets and European tools," Herewini said.

The trade in human heads was banned in the 1830s but over the next century museums turned their attention to skeletal remains.

New Zealand medical students also fed the demand, as they were required to take their own skeletons when they attended overseas colleges, with most of the bones robbed from Maori tombs.

"People would go to known caves or hidden burial sites where they knew Maori remains were and, without permission, they would take them and trade them," Herewini said. "Every museum wanted their own Maori head or Maori skeleton."

The grisly curios continued to be displayed in museums around the world, including New Zealand, until the 1970s.

Herewini said it was around then that Maori began pushing for the repatriation of their ancestors' remains, often meeting fierce resistance from institutions which feared it would set a precedent that could eventually see them forced to return human remains such as ancient Egyptian mummies.

The French parliament last year voted overwhelmingly inavour of returning around 15 Maori toi moko after years of debate about the implications of the move.

"These are much more than simple museum pieces," French lawmaker Michele Tabarot said at the time.

"These are human remains and some of these people were deliberately murdered to satisfy a despicable trade."

Herewini said repatriating remains was an emotional issue for Maori, who had a strong connection to the land and wanted to give the warriors the dignity of a proper funeral.

"For us, it's taking an ancestor back home, so it's the whole process of remembering," he said. "They're family members and it's important for them to be returned home to their resting place.

"The iwi don't know exactly who these people are but they do know they're connected to the land. They think about the different battles they were in, the different lifestyle they lived and the possible connections they have with them directly."

While the remains are returned to their iwi whenever possible, Herewini said that a lack of historical records meant about a quarter of the heads and bones held at Te Papa could not be identified.

They are stored in acid-free boxes in a special area of the museum and never go on display. Even viewing images of toi moko is considered taboo in Maori culture, Herewini said.

Building a permanent mausoleum for the unidentified remains in Wellington is under consideration but the Ngati Kuri tribe, in the country's far north, has put forward an alternative proposal.

They want to bury them near Te Rerenga Wairua, or Cape Reinga, the northernmost point in New Zealand, where Maori believe the spirits of the dead depart for the afterlife.

"It's a special area where there are ancient burial sites," Ngati Kuri Trust chairman Graeme Neho said. "Provided the other iwi agree, we believe placing their final resting place there would be a comfort to them and we would be their guardians."

Regardless of the remains' final destination, Herewiri sad he would continue his quest to return Maori ancestors to their homeland.

"For me, it's about righting a wrong, whether that was committed by Maori or Europeans is really immaterial," he said.

"It's completing the circle and bringing these people back home."

Top US senator: 'No real warning' on Egypt unrest

WASHINGTON (AFP) – US intelligence services gave the White House and lawmakers "no real warning" that unrest would rock staunch Washington ally Egypt, Senate Intelligence Committee chair Dianne Feinstein said Tuesday.

Feinstein told MSNBC television that US policymakers had "a good deal of intelligence about Tunisia," where turmoil drove longtime strongman Zine El Abidine Ben Ali from power, but "virtually nothing about Egypt."

"So there was, to the best of my knowledge, no real warning either to the White House or certainly to the Senate Intelligence Committee or the Congress," the Democratic lawmaker said in an interview.

Asked whether intelligence officials had sounded the alarm after Ben Ali's ouster, telling lawmakers that the uprising in Tunisia could trigger unrest in Egypt, Feinstein replied: "Not that I know."

"And as a matter of fact, I don't believe there was any intelligence on what was happening on Facebook or Twitter or the organizational effort to put these protests together," she said.

Asked whether the events in Egypt had highlighted a US intelligence failure, Feinstein replied: "I would call it a big intelligence wakeup."

The lawmaker expressed concerns about the transition from longtime Egyptian strongman Hosni Mubarak to democratic rule, citing the country's "tricky" mechanisms for political succession.

Feinstein said she had met with Tunisia's ambassador on Monday and that the country was "redoing" its constitutional rules on who can run for president and declared "the Egyptians, I believe, need to redo this as well."

Feinstein also expressed US "concern" about Islamists taking over and that Hamas's victory in Gaza elections in 2006 showed "we do not understand the ebb and flow of the currents in the Middle East."

The White House on Friday had defended the US intelligence community, with National Security Council spokesman Tommy Vietor saying it had been warning for years about instability in the Middle East.

"The president expects the intelligence community to provide relevant, timely, and accurate analysis of events as they unfold, and that?s exactly what?s been done throughout this crisis," Vietor said.

On Thursday, Stephanie O'Sullivan, who was picked by Obama to be deputy director for national intelligence, said in a congressional hearing that Obama was warned late last year of potential unrest in Egypt.

There were also US media reports that Obama told Director of National Intelligence James Clapper that he was disappointed that US intelligence agencies failed to predict the upsurge of social unrest that overthrew the government in Tunisia.

N.Z museum mulls options for mummified Maori heads

WELLINGTON (AFP) – For decades, New Zealand has campaigned for museums to repatriate the mummified and heavily-tattooed heads of Maori warriors held in collections worldwide -- now it must decide what to do with the gruesome but culturally valuable relics.

New Zealand's national museum Te Papa has more than 100 of the heads, known as toi moko, in storage in Wellington, along with about 500 skeletal remains plundered from Maori graves as recently as the 1930s.

In Maori culture, the dark swirls and geometric designs of traditional facial tattoos on men recognised high birth and rank, as well as achievements on the battlefield.

Te Herekiekie Herewini, who leads Te Papa's repatriation programme, said the heads of deceased chiefs or family members would be mummified as a way of preserving their spirit, while enemies' heads were preserved as war trophies.

"Initially the mummification of heads and bodies was part of our normal mourning process," he said.

"But when Europeans came, they saw the exotic nature of the heads and they became a coveted trading item because they were of commercial value in Europe, America and Australia."

The heads became so valuable that in the late 18th and early 19th Centuries, some Maori hunted members of rival iwis (tribes) and murdered them to supply the burgeoning market in European museums for exotic human remains.

"For some of the iwi, trading in toi moko was strategic in accessing items such as muskets and European tools," Herewini said.

The trade in human heads was banned in the 1830s but over the next century museums turned their attention to skeletal remains.

New Zealand medical students also fed the demand, as they were required to take their own skeletons when they attended overseas colleges, with most of the bones robbed from Maori tombs.

"People would go to known caves or hidden burial sites where they knew Maori remains were and, without permission, they would take them and trade them," Herewini said. "Every museum wanted their own Maori head or Maori skeleton."

The grisly curios continued to be displayed in museums around the world, including New Zealand, until the 1970s.

Herewini said it was around then that Maori began pushing for the repatriation of their ancestors' remains, often meeting fierce resistance from institutions which feared it would set a precedent that could eventually see them forced to return human remains such as ancient Egyptian mummies.

The French parliament last year voted overwhelmingly in favour of returning around 15 Maori toi moko after years of debate about the implications of the move.

"These are much more than simple museum pieces," French lawmaker Michele Tabarot said at the time.

"These are human remains and some of these people were deliberately murdered to satisfy a despicable trade."

Herewini said repatriating remains was an emotional issue for Maori, who had a strong connection to the land and wanted to give the warriors the dignity of a proper funeral.

"For us, it's taking an ancestor back home, so it's the whole process of remembering," he said. "They're family members and it's important for them to be returned home to their resting place.

"The iwi don't know exactly who these people are but they do know they're connected to the land. They think about the different battles they were in, the different lifestyle they lived and the possible connections they have with them directly."

While the remains are returned to their iwi whenever possible, Herewini said that a lack of historical records meant about a quarter of the heads and bones held at Te Papa could not be identified.

They are stored in acid-free boxes in a special area of the museum and never go on display. Even viewing images of toi moko is considered taboo in Maori culture, Herewini said.

Building a permanent mausoleum for the unidentified remains in Wellington is under consideration but the Ngati Kuri tribe, in the country's far north, has put forward an alternative proposal.

They want to bury them near Te Rerenga Wairua, or Cape Reinga, the northernmost point in New Zealand, where Maori believe the spirits of the dead depart for the afterlife.

"It's a special area where there are ancient burial sites," Ngati Kuri Trust chairman Graeme Neho said. "Provided the other iwi agree, we believe placing their final resting place there would be a comfort to them and we would be their guardians."

Regardless of the remains' final destination, Herewiri sad he would continue his quest to return Maori ancestors to their homeland.

"For me, it's about righting a wrong, whether that was committed by Maori or Europeans is really immaterial," he said.

"It's completing the circle and bringing these people back home."

Obama denies post-election move to political center

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama denied on Sunday that he moved to the political center after his Democrats were routed in congressional elections last November, insisting, "I'm the same guy."

Most political analysts say Obama has moved to a more centrist position in the wake of the elections -- Republicans took control of the House of Representatives and made gains in the Senate -- as he prepares to seek re-election in 2012.

And they point to his decision to agree to a compromise with Republicans that extended tax cuts for all Americans, even the wealthy.

He has also declared himself much more willing to listen to his political opponents, including a meeting last week with Republican Senator John McCain, who he defeated in 2008 for the presidency.

In an interview with Fox News' conservative commentator, Bill O'Reilly, Obama said he has not made a political shift.

"I'm the same guy," Obama said. "My practical focus, my common-sense focus right now is how do we out-innovate, out-educate, out-build, out-compete the rest of the world?"

When pressed on whether he was committed to a liberal goal of income redistribution, Obama said he "absolutely" denied such a charge.

"I didn't raise taxes once, I lowered taxes over the last two years," he said.

Obama also said he believed his healthcare overhaul, which was passed last year by Congress, will ultimately be ruled constitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court despite, for example, a Florida federal judge's ruling against it recently.

At issue is the healthcare law's requirement that all Americans buy health insurance.

"Well, I think the judge in Florida was wrong. Keep in mind that we've had 12 judges ... that just threw this case out, the notion that the healthcare law was unconstitutional," Obama said.

Asked what the worst part of being president is, Obama had a ready reply as he prepared to enjoy a Super Bowl party at the White House with a guest list that included celebrity Jennifer Lopez.

"Worst part of the job is, first of all, I've got a jacket on on Super Bowl Sunday," Obama said, referring to the National League Football championship game.

He said the biggest problem is being in the White House protective "bubble" that is hard to escape.

"Over time, you know, what happens is you feel like -- that you're not able to just have a spontaneous conversation with folks," he said.

Obama said "there's no doubt that the weight of the office has an impact" on him but he enjoys the job.

"The longer I'm in this job, the more I enjoy it, the more optimistic I am about the American people, the more optimistic I am about this country," he said.

(Editing by Paul Simao)

Home favourite Reichelt triumphs in super-G

HINTERSTODER, Austria (AFP) – Austria's Hannes Reichelt ended a near three-year wait for success on the World Cup circuit when he stormed to victory in the men's super-G at Hinterstoder on Saturday.

Compatriot Benjamin Raich was second with Bode Miller of the United States in third place.

The 30-year-old Reichelt laid the foundations for victory in the middle section of the winding course to finish 0.34sec ahead of Raich and 0.93sec in front of Miller.

It was his fifth World Cup victory -- four of which have come in the super-G -- and arrived just three days before the start of the world championships in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, which run from February 8-20.

"The past three years haven't been so easy, even if I have had a couple of podium places in between," said Reichelt, whose last win came at Bormio in March 2008.

Ivica Kostelic of Croatia took fifth place, behind Switzerland's Carlo Janka, to reinforce his overall World Cup lead.

With 12 races remaining Kostelic has 1223 points and a massive lead on Swiss all-rounder Silvan Zurbriggen, who is second on 703.

Raich's first podium place since the Val d'Isere slalom in December coincided with his Austrian team receiving positive news about Hans Grugger, who has come out of a coma following a heavy crash at Kitzbuhel two weeks ago.

"The good news about Hans has given the whole team a lift," said Raich, who pulled out of the Chamonix leg of the World Cup last week to get over a cold.

"Recently I've been in good form, but the results just haven't been there."

Miller, who also took a break from racing in Chamonix last week, confirmed his solid form two weeks after finishing second behind Swiss Didier Cuche in the feared Kitzbuhel downhill.

"I am always happy to be on the podium, especially this year," said Miller.

"You know me, the result is always secondary to the feeling I have while skiing. I skiied pretty poorly in my opinion. It was a challenging hill, challenging snow, a tough course-set.

"Nobody skiied on this hill before."

Cuche, the downhill World Cup leader, flattered to decieve, finishing in 19th place but reinforcing his second place in the super-G standings.

He is now 36 points behind Austria's Georg Streitberger, who has been out injured since last month.

One of the surprises of the day came from French teenager Alexis Pinturault.

The recent winner of two junior world titles, 19-year-old Pinturault had never before finished a World Cup race and despite starting with bib number 62 he finished in a commendable sixth place.

With the bi-annual world championships on the horizon, many top racers -- including Miller -- seem to have virtually opted out of the overall World Cup race.

"Obviously the championships are the focus point of the year," added the American, a former two-time winner of the prestigious World Cup title.

Raich, meanwhile, is keeping mum about which disciplines he will compete in next week.

He simply wants to prove to his detractors that his mediocre form this season is no reason to keep him out the 'Wunderteam'.

"I don't know how many events I will race in," added the Austrian, the World Cup winner in 2006, who has finished runner-up for the past four seasons.

"All I want to do is ski well enough to prove I deserve my place in the team."