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MARKERS OF LOSSES
MOKOMOKAI-INSPIREDARTEFACTS
Figure 7: Maxwell. H. (2010) three mokomokai – inspired artefacts with markings.
Left to right: [1] 12.7cm x 21.59cm, [2] 10.6cm x 12.7cm, [3] 15.24 x 20.32cm. Damp clay moulds in various stages during drying
process. Newspaper used to absorb excess moisture due to the thickness of the clay.
Maori considered the head the most tapu part of one‟s body. Mokomokai were the preserved and
tattooed heads of deceased ancestors of renown or enemies to deride, and were openly displayed at
hahunga ceremonies as memorials, to keep alive the memory of their lives and deeds. The art of moko
and mokomokai are substantiated by Robley‟s (1896) study with a vast array of images of mokomokai
collections, including his own, that illustrate craftsmanship and proficiency.
Robley‟s now infamous mokomokai collection was extensive. The patterns and design of a number of
mokomokai in his collection illustrate clearly the carving skills of the Northern tribes (Brown, 2003).
His work is a comprehensive study that stands alone as a body of work. As an advocate of the
exhibiting, display and study of Maori artefacts and relics, he proposed that exhibition was preferable
to the accepted practice of concealment, interment or destruction that was carried out by my
grandparents and great grandparent‟s generation.
The specialist skills and tapu of tohunga ta moko and tohunga tupapaku required years of practical
training in whakaairo, rituals and tikanga. Strict tapu restrictions and customary practices applied to
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