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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 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."

Steelers C Pouncey misses another practice

FORT WORTH, Texas – Steelers center Maurkice Pouncey got treatment for his sprained left ankle while his teammates practiced Thursday for the Super Bowl.

Pouncey's availability is in question because of the injury sustained in the AFC championship.

"It's getting to be the witching hour for Maurkice," coach Mike Tomlin told a pool reporter after practice. "He's going to have to show us something very soon."

If he can't play Sunday, Doug Legursky would make his first NFL start at center.

Defensive end Aaron Smith, who has been out since Oct. 24 with a torn triceps muscle, didn't participate in scrimmages.

Ben Roethlisberger threw touchdowns on four straight red-zone series and was sharp throughout the workout. The first-team defense snagged four interceptions against scout-team quarterbacks.

"I'm glad we were sharp, but I'm not sure it really means anything for the game," Tomlin said. "I've seen us practice great on Thursday and play poorly on Sunday, and then I've seen us practice not worth anything Thursday and then come out and play great."

The Steelers worked out at TCU's indoor practice field. Horned Frogs coach Gary Patterson, several assistants and a few players watched.

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."

Super Bowl decision -- what to drink during game

NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) – With about 100 million Americans expected to watch the Super Bowl on Sunday a big decision for many fans will be what type of beer to drink during the four-hour television broadcast.

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Gene Muller, the owner of the Flying Fish Brewing Company in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, said the choice of lager or ale for the game between the Green Bay Packers and the Pittsburgh Steelers could depend on whether or not you're a football fan.

"If you're going to watch the game, you need something that will let you get through the four hours. Like an extra pale ale that has some flavor to it, but allows you to still be able to enjoy a few," he said.

"If, on the other hand, you're just interested in the commercials and don't mind sleeping through the half-time show, you can go with something that may have a bit more flavor and alcohol like a Belgian-style beer."

At the Hinterland Brewery in Green Bay, Wisconsin, where every good football game is accompanied by bratwurst, owner Bill Tressler expects most of his customers will be sipping the fuller-bodied ales.

"The hoppiness of the ales really stands up very well with the spice from say bratwurst or chicken wings," he explained, adding that when the Packers win, he will break out the maple bock.

"It's made with maple syrup. We don't use the maple for flavoring. We use it for extra fermentable sugar," he said.

Ryan Johnson, brew master for the MillerCoors' craft and imported beers in Chicago, explained that while there are many styles of beer, there really are only two types -- ale and lager. The main difference between them is the kind of yeast used in fermentation.

Ales, which have been around for thousands of years, "tend to be discussed in terms such as fruity, robust and flavorful," according to Johnson, "while lagers are often described as crisp, clean and refreshing."

And just as there are broad guidelines for wines, the same holds true for beer.

"Nice ales are almost like red wines and go very well with bigger, more flavorful dishes. Lagers, more often than not, tend to be paired with lighter fare," Johnson said.

He recommends lighter lagers to quench the fire from hot chicken wings, though the malt in ale has a sweetness that also works well with spicy foods.

Johnson said stouts and sweeter ales also had a proper place at the Super Bowl party table.

"Stouts will act as cold coffee with dessert," he said, "except for the lack of caffeine and the addition of alcohol."

Andy Rich of the Penn Brewery in Pittsburgh suggested lagers would go very well with pierogies, the boiled, baked or fried dumplings that are part of that city's football diet.

"They're a good beer soaker too," he said. "Our German-style pilsner is a light golden beer, very crisp and clean and very good with spicy food. It enhances the flavors and will quench your thirst as well," Rich said.

If Pittsburgh wins the Super Bowl, Scott Smith at East End Brewing Company, also in Pittsburgh, will break out "our gratitude barley wine. It's a real game-ender at 11.5 percent alcohol."

U.N. urged to tighten grip on North Korea atomic program

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – A U.N. panel reported to the Security Council that North Korea may have further secret atomic facilities and called for better implementation of sanctions against Pyongyang, U.N. diplomats said on Monday.

The diplomats told Reuters on condition of anonymity that the assessment and recommendations were included in a confidential report prepared by the so-called U.N. Panel of Experts, a group that monitors compliance with two rounds of U.N. sanctions against North Korea over its nuclear arms program.

The report to the U.N. North Korea sanctions committee was based on conversations with a U.S. nuclear scientist, Siegfried Hecker, who saw hundreds of centrifuges used to enrich uranium during a rare visit to North Korea last year, as well as the panel's own investigations and analysis, the diplomats said.

"What the report says is that it's not operational," one of the envoys said about North Korea's uranium enrichment program. "They (the panel) are also mentioning other secret facilities."

Envoys said the panel endorsed Hecker's view that there had to be additional secret sites in North Korea, in addition to the facility where Hecker said he saw "hundreds and hundreds" of centrifuges in November. Hecker visited a former fuel fabrication plant that was virtually empty several years ago.

"There's no way they could have outfitted the centrifuge facility between 2009 and now without there being additional secret sites," a diplomat said.

The panel's report says North Korea's uranium enrichment work -- which is in addition to its plutonium-based nuclear arms program that is a subject of international concern -- started back in the 1990s, the diplomats said.

EXCHANGE OF KNOW-HOW WITH IRAN?

Much of what is known publicly about North Korean nuclear activities is based on information about the Yongbyon nuclear complex. But the United States and its allies have long suspected that North Korea has other sites around the country.

A South Korean intelligence official said last month that North Korea has been secretly enriching uranium that could be used to build nuclear weapons at three or four undisclosed locations.

Uranium enrichment could give North Korea a second pathway to fissile material for bombs in addition to its plutonium-based program, which had been frozen under an earlier disarmament-for-aid deal.

North Korea expelled U.N. inspectors from Yongbyon in late 2002 and withdrew from the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, a global pact banning the spread of atomic weapons, several months later.

The panel also warned the Security Council's sanctions committee that North Korea continues exchanges of expertise in the nuclear field. Although it does not name any countries, diplomats said the panel clearly had Iran in mind.

Iran denies pursuing atomic weapons, but Western diplomats and intelligence officials say that North Korea and Iran have been cooperating on missile-related issues and possibly in the nuclear field as well.

The panel urged the council to increase the number of individuals and companies on a U.N. blacklist for supplying North Korea's nuclear and missile companies. The individuals it suggested blacklisting are connected to Pyongyang's "military industrial complex" or procurement, the envoys said.

The report makes other recommendations aimed at improving compliance with the U.N. sanctions imposed on North Korea after its two nuclear tests in 2006 and 2009.

It says that "neighbors should apply more vigorous export controls," a diplomat said, adding that it was obviously referring to China.

The panel also calls for greater information sharing among member states and more guidance from the North Korea sanctions committee on how to comply with the U.N. measures.

Envoys said the report urges exporters of sensitive technology to "consult with export control authorities when red flags are raised" -- such as large or one-off orders for technology that could be used in a nuclear program.

(Editing by Cynthia Osterman)