A ‘rangatira’ from Lausanne

Lausanne ...

Several people wept silently as a large jade tiki was presented to Maori Queen, Dame Te Ata-i-rangi-kaahu, by the tiki’s previous owners, Mr Carlo de Marchi and his daughter Carla, of Lausanne, Switzerland.

The presentation followed an emotional Maori welcoming ceremony or powhiri at Ngar uawahia, near Hamilton.

Greenstone (New Zealand jade) tikis are perhaps the most valued of Maori portable items.

Often it took years of sanding the raw pounamu or jade be fore the stylised human form emerged to be worn around the neck. As a tiki grew older it became more sacred, acquired a spirit of its own, a name, and was revered as a person.

The fact that Mr de Marchi was able to sense the spiritual essence of the tiki impressed all those at the ceremony as they listened to his speech (in French) and the translation (into Maori) by Timoti Karetu of Waikato University.

An antique dealer friend had bought it for him at a British auction, Mr de Marchi told the crowd. “I was curious to know what it would be like to hold the tiki in my hands,” he said.

“However, my initial experi ence was a deep feeling of unease.

“The tiki spoke to me pas sionately about his tribe, in

whose bosom he had lived from birth, assimilating the liv ing moments and misfortunes of men, absorbing an element of spirituality which would make him, the tiki, a witness to the tribe’s history, impregnated with its very essence.”

The tiki said it wished to return home, so it was decided to repatriate it. The New Zea land Consul-General in Gene va, Rhys Richards, brought the tiki back with him to New Zealand in 1983, and after laborious research discovered that in the mid-19th century it had probably belonged to the Ngati Pou people. Elders of the Ngati Pou suggested to Mr Richards that it be returned through Dame Te Ata.

“That is how today I have the joy and the honor to see my tiki returned to its country and to its people,” said Mr de Marchi.

Replying on behalf of Dame Te Ata’s people, Henare Tu whangai said they viewed Mr de Marchi as a great man and a rangatira (chief). He had hon ored them by travelling all the way from Switzerland.

After the speeches, another tribal elder told the Ministry of Foreign Affairs representatives, “I just cannot convey how much this means to our people, and how much love and admiration they feel for this

man. ”

Paul Bensemann.

Maori Queen Dame Te Ata-i-rangi-kaahu holds the tiki presented to her by Carlo de Marchi (left) and his daughter Carla (right). —Waikato Times photo.