The 1919–1923 Dominion Museum ethnological expeditions were a series of ethnological research expeditions encouraged and led by Ä€pirana Ngata and Te RangihÄ«roa, and undertaken between 1919 and 1923 with Elsdon Best, James McDonald and Johannes Andersen, to study MÄori culture. [1] [2] [3] [4]
The idea for the expeditions came while Ä€pirana Ngata was revising the Dictionary of the MÄori Language. He wrote to the Minster of Internal Affairs saying,
"It was all very well collecting and defining words in a dictionary, but that didn’t very well serve a culture that had embedded its wisdom, traditions, and history in the nuances of spoken language rather than in literature."
He said it was better to send specialists out in the field to record the songs and oratory of MÄori and to undertake,
“the ‘filming’ of hakas and pois, and of Maori village life, showing ‘tangis’, meetings, life on the cultivations and so onâ€. [5]
Other research has points to Te Rangihīroa as being behind the idea of ethnological expeditions. [6]
The four expeditions were across Te Ika-a-MÄui, Aotearoa (North Island, New Zealand) and visted Gisborne, Rotorua, the Whanganui River region and TairÄwhiti / East Coast. [1] [7]
It was the first project of its kind in Aotearoa. Recording iwi and hapÅ« around the North Island they captured knowledge of a range of fishing techniques, art forms like weaving, kÅwhaiwhai, kapa haka, mÅteatea, ancestral rituals and everyday life in the communities they visited. [8] Overall the purpose was to record MÄori life before it disappeared. [9]
Johannes Andersen and James McDonald accompanied Elson Best on these expeditions and they were assisted at each venue by person’s expert in MÄori custom who could smooth the way for the Recordist. [10]
During the 1923 East Coast expedition, Te Rangihīroa was again a member of the team, and Apirana Ngata was present for part of the time. [10]
Of the three permanent team members, Best and McDonald were both staff members of the sponsoring institution. Best the ethnographer, McDonald the expert photographer and cinematographer and Andersen recruited because of his knowledge of music. [10] [11]
First Dominion Museum Ethnology Expedition, 2 - 16 April 1919, Gisborne.
Second Dominion Museum Ethnology Expedition, 12 April - 8 May 1920, Rotorua.
Third Dominion Museum Ethnology Expedition, 17 March - 18 April 1921, Whanganui River.
Fourth Dominion Museum Ethnology Expedition ,18 March - 12 April 1923, TairÄwhiti / East Coast.
Photography and other records from the Dominion Museum Ethnological Expedition can be found in the Archives section, of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. The museum also has a series of sound recordings of MÄori culture by Elson Best. The first set of recordings was made on expeditions to Gisborne 1919, Rotorua 1920 and the Whanganui River 1921. [10] Other recordings done by Best can be found in the Christchurch Art Gallery collection. [8]
Johannes Anderson had a diary for some of the later expeditions, and other work. It can be found in the Alexander Turnbull Library. It describes a visit (Mar-Apr 1923) to East Coast Maori pÄ ( East Cape to Waipiro Bay) and Waiomatatini collecting recordings of MÄori songs from NgÄti Porou. [12] Also an account of a visit to Tauranga (Dec 1923) and Kapiti (Dec 1924 -Jan 1925). [12]
The Alexander Turnbull Library also holds an album of photographs taken on the 1921, third expedition up the Whanganui River by James McDonald. [13]
NgÄ Taonga Sound & Vision holds some of the films James McDonald made from the First Dominion Museum Ethnology Expedition. ( Te hui aroha ki tÅ«ranga, Gisborne hui aroha) [14]
Further information relating to taonga collected on the expeditions can be found in the chapter Reconnecting Taonga by Billie Lythberg in the 2021 publication Treasures for the Rising Generation: The Dominion Museum Ethnological Expeditions 1919-1923. (pages 306-315) [1]
The 1919–1923 Dominion Museum ethnological expeditions were a series of ethnological research expeditions encouraged and led by Ä€pirana Ngata and Te RangihÄ«roa, and undertaken between 1919 and 1923 with Elsdon Best, James McDonald and Johannes Andersen, to study MÄori culture. [1] [2] [3] [4]
The idea for the expeditions came while Ä€pirana Ngata was revising the Dictionary of the MÄori Language. He wrote to the Minster of Internal Affairs saying,
"It was all very well collecting and defining words in a dictionary, but that didn’t very well serve a culture that had embedded its wisdom, traditions, and history in the nuances of spoken language rather than in literature."
He said it was better to send specialists out in the field to record the songs and oratory of MÄori and to undertake,
“the ‘filming’ of hakas and pois, and of Maori village life, showing ‘tangis’, meetings, life on the cultivations and so onâ€. [5]
Other research has points to Te Rangihīroa as being behind the idea of ethnological expeditions. [6]
The four expeditions were across Te Ika-a-MÄui, Aotearoa (North Island, New Zealand) and visted Gisborne, Rotorua, the Whanganui River region and TairÄwhiti / East Coast. [1] [7]
It was the first project of its kind in Aotearoa. Recording iwi and hapÅ« around the North Island they captured knowledge of a range of fishing techniques, art forms like weaving, kÅwhaiwhai, kapa haka, mÅteatea, ancestral rituals and everyday life in the communities they visited. [8] Overall the purpose was to record MÄori life before it disappeared. [9]
Johannes Andersen and James McDonald accompanied Elson Best on these expeditions and they were assisted at each venue by person’s expert in MÄori custom who could smooth the way for the Recordist. [10]
During the 1923 East Coast expedition, Te Rangihīroa was again a member of the team, and Apirana Ngata was present for part of the time. [10]
Of the three permanent team members, Best and McDonald were both staff members of the sponsoring institution. Best the ethnographer, McDonald the expert photographer and cinematographer and Andersen recruited because of his knowledge of music. [10] [11]
First Dominion Museum Ethnology Expedition, 2 - 16 April 1919, Gisborne.
Second Dominion Museum Ethnology Expedition, 12 April - 8 May 1920, Rotorua.
Third Dominion Museum Ethnology Expedition, 17 March - 18 April 1921, Whanganui River.
Fourth Dominion Museum Ethnology Expedition ,18 March - 12 April 1923, TairÄwhiti / East Coast.
Photography and other records from the Dominion Museum Ethnological Expedition can be found in the Archives section, of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. The museum also has a series of sound recordings of MÄori culture by Elson Best. The first set of recordings was made on expeditions to Gisborne 1919, Rotorua 1920 and the Whanganui River 1921. [10] Other recordings done by Best can be found in the Christchurch Art Gallery collection. [8]
Johannes Anderson had a diary for some of the later expeditions, and other work. It can be found in the Alexander Turnbull Library. It describes a visit (Mar-Apr 1923) to East Coast Maori pÄ ( East Cape to Waipiro Bay) and Waiomatatini collecting recordings of MÄori songs from NgÄti Porou. [12] Also an account of a visit to Tauranga (Dec 1923) and Kapiti (Dec 1924 -Jan 1925). [12]
The Alexander Turnbull Library also holds an album of photographs taken on the 1921, third expedition up the Whanganui River by James McDonald. [13]
NgÄ Taonga Sound & Vision holds some of the films James McDonald made from the First Dominion Museum Ethnology Expedition. ( Te hui aroha ki tÅ«ranga, Gisborne hui aroha) [14]
Further information relating to taonga collected on the expeditions can be found in the chapter Reconnecting Taonga by Billie Lythberg in the 2021 publication Treasures for the Rising Generation: The Dominion Museum Ethnological Expeditions 1919-1923. (pages 306-315) [1]