Normandy Museum to return tattooed Maori head to New Zealand

tattooed maori head

Seems Normandy museum has realized that restoring dignity to human remains is our duty. The years-long wait of New Zealand for the return of mummified Maori heads and other remains is over. The Normandy museum has offered to return the tattooed Maori head that has for long aroused the exotic curiosity of masses.

Some of the Maori heads that displayed the intricate tattoos of warriors were kept as trophies from tribal warfare but the prized goods offered by Westerners in exchange for them started making people feel in danger of being killed for their tattoos. Moreover, to meet the demand according to the museum, some slaves were forcibly tattooed and decapitated once their scars healed.

Rouen’s Maori head that was given to the city’s natural history museum in unclear circumstances in 1875 was on display in the Normandy museum until 1996. The museum remained close for 10 years and after it reopened the museum officials decided to return Maori head to New Zealand. I believe that this is a praiseworthy step taken forward by the museum to restore the dignity to human remains.


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