Recently Melvin Cain, a Māori elder from the Ngāi Tahu tribe in Aotearoa New Zealand, visited the National Museum of Ireland to view a kākahu (cloak) once owned by his tupuna (ancestor) Tuhawaiki, the nineteenth century paramount chief of the Ngāi Tahu tribe.
In 1841, Tuhawaiki gifted this cloak to a surgeon in Sydney. Some years later the cloak ended up in the possession of a lady in Rathmines from whom the Museum acquired this precious taonga (treasure) in 1911 (AE:1911.545).
During this visit, the Museum was honoured to also receive the New Zealand Ambassador, His Excellency Trevor Mallard, and Embassy associates who, together with Melvin, kindly led a karakia to greet the cloak. The Museum was very grateful for the opportunity to facilitate this visit and to learn more about this fascinating and important taonga.