Hoeroa (whale bone weapon)

item details

NameHoeroa (whale bone weapon)

ProductionUnknown; carver; 1800-1875; Hokianga Harbour

Classificationhoeroa, edged weapons

Materialswhale bone (bone)

Techniquescarving

DimensionsOverall: 78mm (width), 1270mm (length), 10mm (depth), 1332.05g (weight)

Registration NumberME012835

Credit linePresented by the descendants of Rev. William Rowse, 1972

Overview

The hoeroa (whale bone staff) is an enigmatic taonga made from the lower jaw of the sperm whale. Hoeroa were usually owned by high-ranking men, and represented their personal mana (chiefly authority). They are prestigious heirlooms. Hoeroa are also weapons, but the technical aspects of their use are no longer known. It is thought they may have been both a throwing and hand held weapon.

History
Ngā Puhi leader and politician Hone Mohi Tāwhai, rangatira (tribal leader) of Te Māhurehure, a sub-tribe of Ngā Puhi, presented this hoeroa to the late Wesleyan Reverend William Rowse sometime between 1863 and 1878. The hoeroa was deposited with the Dominion Museum (now Te Papa) about 1944, and subsequently gifted to the museum by the descendants of Reverend William Rowse in 1972.

Hone Mohi Tawhai
Hone Mohi Tāwhai was an astute and prominent Māori leader and politician (1879-84) who advocated for Māori rights and entitlements enshrined in the Treaty of Waitangi. Tawhai was a founding member of the Māori Parliament established at Waitangi in 1892. He later composed a damning satirical genealogy denouncing government bureaucratic processes that were designed to alienate Māori from their freehold lands.