Through my eyes

living my life without regrets

Thursday, August 15, 2019

Winter 2019 - NZ 27 Canterbury Museum, Christchurch


NZ 27   Canterbury Museum, Christchurch

Canterbury Museum
We took the trolley to the Museum. It was a bit of a hike and a bit warm, so we used public transport. I love using buses, trolley’s, subways, etc. it’s fast and easy and much cheaper than an Uber… yes, we could have used a Lime scooter, but we didn’t have the app. 

Primitive Living
Ah, museums, some love them, some not so much. As for me, they give me a lot of info I like to know about, especially when it is a regional museum because Canterbury is the region Christchurch is in. Hence the name! A museum is a place where history seems to be condensed, pulled together as a memorial or a visual library. I always find stuff I like to look at, events I like to think about.

Manual Labour For Building
The main focus of this Museum near the Botanical Garden was the Maori. Understandable since the Maori added so much to the flavor of NZ and to Christchurch in particular. It is said that the surrounding area of Christchurch is the spot where the first Maoris landed; where they started to settle in NZ. I don’t know how they know that, but that is what I read. 

Displays were set up to show how life might have been for the first Maori settlers. I guess the displays were based on studied archeology, but I had another opinion. Here are some pictures of how these
Moa Skeleton Beside an Emu Skeleton
scientists explain things:


Look at the size of this skeleton, the Moa was a huge bird and yielded lots of meat to eat, no wonder the people hunted them to extinction.

Shaping Stone Into Spear Tips, Knives


 The picture shows how very basically the first Maoris lived; it must have been an adventurous life but a hard life, living off the land is not easy.
Wood Carving



Throughout all their hardships though, there was their belief system and their art. Those wood carvings expose their inner physic fears and deeper venerations the Maori brought with them.


Huge Green Stone

 Look at the size of this green stone, a treasure find, the lucky person who found this sure could live off the prestige this rock would give him. It’s like finding gold or a diamond in today’s age.

 
Facial Tattoos

As you can see, NZ is very proud of their Maori heritage. Their very different way of living is still mysterious to many, including me. Those face tattoos for example, would you walk around with one of those? 

 


3 Native New Zealanders With Their Heads Ornamented According to Their Tribe
Sacred Tree Carving
Each Carving is Unique
But then I ran into a puzzle at this museum I did not expect. Sacred Tree Carvings!   

It must have puzzled lots of people because the explanations given by the Museum get a bit confusing, even the Maori have a bit of a hard time explaining those. 

It is said that the ‘old’ Maori made those carvings into Kopi Trees. Some old Kopi Trees still exist that show those carvings. Those trees are under a protection program today, but NZ knows exactly where they are.

Who made those carvings?  The Maori the Scientists would say, “Oh, really?” 

Those ‘old’ tribes had names and traditions totally different from the Maori of today. The ‘old’ tribes were different from the Maori; they spoke different languages. Where did “they” come from?
Hunting For Dinner

In one room I am told that the Maori came around 1250 AD, and here in this room are older tribes, different tribes?  

Wait a second! Something is off!  

After thinking about this, looking at some other histories. I am more inclined to state:
I believe the Tree Carvers were a different people, an earlier people than the Maori who when they arrived in their canoes, mostly eliminated the Tree Carvers.
 
Burial Box
The explanations of their ‘old’ tribal names did not add to a true explanation in my eyes. Those ‘old’ Maori were named Moriori or some named them Manu (Birds).

But in Maori oral tradition they came from older tribes named:  Tangata Whenua
and those again came from the Tchaket Henu
Even Their Carvings Are Fierce



 So does that not tell me that the Maori are not the first settlers? 

It is a fact that the Maori killed thousands of Moriori on Chatham Island as late as 1835 or so. So the Maori do not come across as gentle people but rather ferocious and war-like. Cannibalism was part of the Maori’s way of life.
Intricate Wood Carving
It is totally feasible that Australian Natives somehow settled in NZ first. Those people were hunters and gatherers; they had no permanent settlements as we know from Australian history. Then, when the Maori arrived, they just killed the Australians off. Now, how is that for a hypothesis…?

I have learned to read between the lines when I visit a museum, as you can see.
Green Stone Pendent
Penny Farthing Bike

The Canterbury Museum is a good place. There are many interesting things to visit, to explore. I even had a chance to sit on a penny-farthing bike.  

I saw an awesome Hei Tiki Pendant    

The Museum even had graffiti inside their staircase   2108  and that leads us to our next blog…

Graffiti in the Stairwell