![]() 11 In the section on heads of relatives and friends a distinction is made between heads of individuals who died in battle, and those who enjoyed a natural decease. All the earliest accounts indicate that this was for chiefs and notable individuals only 9 (this was still the case in 1815 according to Nicholas), 10 but Polack reports that in 1832 tattooing was no indication of rank, being found on chiefs, priests, commoners, and even slaves, alike. Correlated with this appears to have been a change in tattoo practice. In the discussion on enemy heads it is shown that traditionally only the heads of tattooed chiefs or notable warriors were preserved, but that trafficking subsequently made the preservation of heads much more general. Broadly speaking preserved heads can be divided into two analytically-distinct categories: those of the enemy, as against those of relatives and friends each of these is discussed separately in the text. Although an attempt is also made to indicate how trafficking in heads served to influence this traditional pattern, a study of the trade in heads is to be presented in a later paper. The aim of the present paper is to study preserved Maori heads in their traditional social setting. In the previous year a number of soldiers' heads were preserved 8 There is evidence that Maoris also preserved the heads of Europeans from time to time, 6 and according to Taylor some were those of the very same individuals who were commissioned as agents to obtain heads for the European market 7 Robley states that the last pakeha head to be preserved was that of a soldier engaged in the Hauhau hostilities, in - 298 March 1865. 4 According to Best the last Maori heads to be preserved were those of two Ngati Manawa chiefs, Eru and Tamihana, in 1865. 3 Nevertheless, Barrow claims that it was still possible to collect heads as late as 1870. In consequence, Wilkes experienced great difficulty in purchasing preserved heads when he visited New Zealand in 1839. By 1831 this trafficking had reached such scandalous proportions that Governor Darling of New South Wales was obliged to put a stop to it by imposing a fine of £40 on any individual found trying to sell a preserved head. Europeans first became acquainted with preserved Maori heads during Cook's first voyage, and Banks managed to procure a specimen at Queen Charlotte Sound in January of 1770 2 Later contact with whalers and sealers brought about trading in heads, which increased markedly once a desire for muskets became general in New Zealand.
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