Source: Radio New Zealand
Tanith Wirihana Te Waitohioterangi wearing his rei mako. Supplied / Tanith Wirihana Te Waitohioterangi
A Māori researcher says being forced to remove his rei mako (traditional shark tooth earrings) at the New Zealand border felt like “a stripping of mana”.
Tanith Wirihana Te Waitohioterangi (Rongowhakaata, Ngāi Tāmanuhiri, Te Whānau a Kai, Te Aitanga a Mahaki, Ngāti Ruapani) was stopped by biosecurity officers in Aotearoa after returning from Europe.
He had been in Germany working with the Museum of Five Continents in Munich on Māori taonga, including a pou tokomanawa (carved centre post in a wharenui) taken from his iwi in the 1890s.
“I was infuriated… I was greatly shamed and embarrassed,” he told RNZ.
“I was asked to remove them, place them on the table, and then told they would be sent to DOC to decide whether I could keep them.”
Rei mako (traditional shark tooth earrings) Supplied / Tanith Wirihana Te Waitohioterangi
The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) has since apologised to Wirihana Te Waitohioterangi and says it will remind staff to handle taonga with greater sensitivity.
But he says more should be done at a systemic level so incidents like this do not happen in the first place.
The traditional mako shark tooth earrings were returned about 10 minutes later, he said, after a staff member reconsidered the decision.
“That indicated they could have exercised more discretion in the first place.”
Wirihana Te Waitohioterangi is a PhD candidate in Māori Studies at Victoria University of Wellington, as well as a kaiwhakairo (carver). He said the experience came despite him declaring the taonga on arrival.
“I’m coming through with French wines, cheese and chocolate and there’s no problem, but something that belongs to our people has to go through a DOC process.”
He said the issue was with the system, not individual staff.
“I do not believe the staff themselves are at fault. I believe it is part of a very flawed process.”
Tanith said the incident felt like ‘stripping of mana’. Supplied / Tanith Wirihana Te Waitohioterangi
He said he felt forced to comply after more than 30 hours of travel.
“I thought to myself, well, I don’t want to be getting arrested by making a scene by refusing to give them. So I just signed the form to forfeit them. And I was so infuriated by having to do so.”
“I was so angry that I couldn’t even remember which way it was to get to the domestic terminal.”
He said the taonga carry deep cultural and personal significance – especially for Rongowhakaata and Ngāi Tāmanuhiri.
“It carries my mana, the person who gave them to me, and all of the whakapapa connected to them.”
The rei mako were made using traditional methods by tohunga whakairo Tiopira Rauna Jr, from teeth that were gifted to him and hold particular significance in Tūranga – where he is from.
“Our tūpuna wore exactly the same thing,” he said.
“One of our most famous last barrers of such great taonga was a great tohunga and rangatira of Te Whānau a Kai named Te Kani Te Ua. And you can Google any one of the photos. He wears very large rei mako.”
“I thought to myself in that instant, if he was here, he would have absolutely refused. And he would have been infuriated if he was alive to even be asked such a question.”
In a statement to RNZ, Mike Inglis, Biosecurity New Zealand commissioner, North said at the border, Biosecurity New Zealand officers are responsible for assessing whether items carried by passengers pose a biosecurity risk or are subject to international wildlife protections.
“Our staff assess thousands of passengers coming through our borders every day. This work helps protect New Zealand’s primary sector, environment, and biodiversity, and ensures we meet our international obligations relating to trade in endangered species.”
In this incident, Inglis said, during a baggage inspection, an officer “correctly identified the mako teeth as a restricted item under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).”
“Our standard process is to refer such items to the Department of Conservation, which is responsible for administering and enforcing New Zealand’s CITES obligations.”
“However, there is an exemption for taonga that appear to originate from New Zealand and are carried by a New Zealand resident.”
Inglis said as usual procedure in this case, the rei mako was temporarily taken for assessment.
“After consideration by a chief quarantine officer, it was determined the exemption applied in this case. As a result, the earrings were quickly returned to the passenger.”
When asked by RNZ what training biosecurity officers receive around tikanga Māori and taonga, Inglis said they recieve training in tikanga Māori and Te Tiriti o Waitangi obligations.
“Including workshops on the handling of taonga and other culturally significant items. We also employ cultural advisers to support this work.”
He said, Biosecurity New Zealand will take the opportunity to clarify their processes for officers dealing with passengers carrying taonga and other items of high cultural significance.
Wirihana Te Waitohioterangi said the issue may be resolved for him personally, he described the experience as an example of systemic failure.
“Well, the first thing that came to mind was this is just systemic racism… you don’t see people being asked if their diamonds are blood diamonds.”
He said the handling of taonga raised concerns under Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
“We didn’t sign up to have our taonga removed from us… to have something of that significance taken and for a government department to decide whether you get it back, that is infuriating.”
He also questioned the process of removing taonga to be assessed elsewhere.
“The greatest thing that I really didn’t like was the fact they were going to take them off me in Auckland and then send them back to me in the mail.
“That’s not the respect that these taonga deserve.”
Tanith is a PhD candidate in Māori Studies at Victoria University of Wellington. Supplied / Tanith Wirihana Te Waitohioterangi
Wirihana Te Waitohioterangi said greater cultural understanding and discretion is needed.
“The question remains this could happen again.
“There needs to be greater sensitivity in how indigenous people are treated with their taonga… it’s not just about me.”
He also pointed to the potential impact on others.
“We’ve seen it time and time over the years with airport security taking people’s tiripou (walking stick) and saying, well, this is a taiaha, you could use this to harm people, when it’s clearly a person who’s carrying a walking stick… I would like to think and hope that people are a little bit more sensitive to those things.”
“I thought about our kaumātua… if this was one of our older people, they wouldn’t be too happy about that.”
Since sharing his experience publicly, he said the response had been overwhelming.
“I think this has helped send a gentle reminder to border security to please do a little bit better.”
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
