A single line in an 1865 museum ledger.

A registration number from the wrong century.

A photograph altered to hide everything but a single carving.

This episode dives into the forensic world of provenance research as Amber traces the journey of a tauihu that disappeared inside the museum’s collection. With help from the next generation of museum researchers, and a lot of patient detective work, she uncovers how this taonga — the first ever recorded in the Colonial Museum — slipped into silence, and how it finally found its way back into the light.

Glossary

Atua - ancestor with continuing influence, god, supernatural being, deity

Huaki - washboard of a war canoe

Kōrero - speech, narrative, story, news account, discussion, conversation.

Manaia - stylised figure used in carving

Tauihu - prow or figurehead of a Māori war canoe

Taonga Māori - Māori cultural treasures

Takarangi - double spiral pattern in Māori carving, said to symbolise the revolving heavens.

Te Ao Māori - the Māori world

Waka - canoe

The Taonga Files opens with a journey into Aotearoa’s colonial past, tracing the origins of the country’s first national museum and the taonga Māori caught within its early collecting practices. Join curators Amber Aranui and Migoto Eria as they uncover how taonga were catalogued, misplaced, and silenced — and how provenance research today is helping restore their stories, whakapapa, and connections to iwi, hapū, and whānau. A powerful blend of history, detective work, and truth-telling, this episode lays the foundation for a series dedicated to giving voice back to taonga.

Link to Amber's Blog

Glossary

Aotearoa — New Zealand

Hapū — Sub-tribe; a kinship group descended from a common ancestor.

Hāpai Ahurea — “Cultural uplift/support”; Te Papa’s strategic priority centred on Māori communities and cultural practice.

Iwi — Tribe; a large kinship group descended from a founding ancestor.

Mātauranga Māori — Māori knowledge systems; traditional and contemporary Māori ways of understanding the world.

Mana — Spiritual authority, prestige, or power.

Māori — Indigenous people of Aotearoa.

Motu — The country or nation; often meaning “islands” or “the whole country.”

Taonga — Treasures; cultural items, heirlooms, or objects of deep significance.

Taonga Māori — Māori cultural treasures.

Te Papa Tongarewa (Te Papa) — National Museum of New Zealand; “Container of Treasures.”

Te Tiriti o Waitangi — The Treaty of Waitangi (1840), the foundational agreement between Māori and the Crown.

Waka — Canoe

Whakapapa — Genealogy; interconnected relationships between people, land, and taonga.

Whānau — Family; extended family network.

Whenua — Land; also placenta, emphasising the connection between people and the land.

Welcome to The Taonga Files

In our very first episode, we open the doors to The Taonga Files and introduce the kaupapa behind the podcast. Join Amber Aranui, Migoto Eria‑Rowell, and Monica Tromp — three wāhine with decades of experience across archaeology, curation, science, repatriation, museum practice, and community‑driven research — as we share who we are, why we do this mahi, and what listeners can expect from the journey ahead.

We talk about our different pathways into the heritage sector, the moments that shaped our careers, and the responsibility that comes with working with taonga and the communities connected to them. This episode sets the foundation for everything to come: provenance, reconnection, truth‑telling, and the stories that museums don’t always show.

No matter which season you start listening to, this is the best place to start as it introduces the foundations of the podcast.

You’ll hear about:

• Our backgrounds and what brought each of us into this mahi

• Why provenance research matters — and why it’s anything but boring

• The emotional, cultural, and historical weight carried by taonga

• How science, storytelling, and community kōrero come together in this space
• What you can expect from future episodes, including case studies, interviews, and behind‑the‑scenes insights

This is your invitation into the world behind the labels and the glass cases — a world of journeys, relationships, and stories waiting to be reconnected.

Follow us, subscribe, and join us as we open the first file.

Every taonga has a story. Let’s explore them together.

Glossary

Taonga - possession, object, treasured possession, something prized

Whakapapa - genealogy, lineage, descent

Mātauranga - knowledge, wisdom

Māori - indigenous person of Aotearoa/New Zealand, normal, natural, ordinary

Moriori - indigenous person of the Chatham Islands/Rēkohu

Tūpuna/tupuna - ancestors/ancestor

Whenua - land, country, ground

Iwi - extended kinship group, nation, tribe, bone

Aotearoa - New Zealand

Wānanga - forum, conference, seminar

Mana motuhake - autonomy, self-governance, self-determination

Pakeke - mature adult

Kaumātua - elder

Kaimahi - worker, staff, employee

In this brief we explore the valuable resource of Papers Past, and why this is a must for our research kete.

Papers Past

Niupepa Māori

Trove

Library of Congress

British Newspaper Archive

Glossary

Aotearoa: New Zealand

Niupepa Māori: Māori Newspapers

Te reo Māori: The Māori language

Tupuna: Ancestor

Waiata: Song

Koroua/Koro; Elderly man, grandfather

Whakapapa: Genealogy

Whanaunga: Relative

In this ‘brief’, Migoto Eria and Amber Aranui lay the foundations for exploring how taonga shape, and are shaped by, hauora (wellbeing). Grounded in Te Whare Tapa Whā, they reveal taonga not as static museum objects but as living presences that speak, travel, and maintain unbroken lines of whakapapa. The kōrero moves through the emotional and spiritual weight of caring for taonga, the protective force of tikanga like karakia, and the responsibility museums hold to uphold Māori identity and safety, Māori first, employee second. Reflecting on the legacy of Te Māori, they show how reconnecting people and taonga continues to transform hauora across generations.

Links:

Te Whare Tapa Whā

Glossary:

Hauora - be fit, well, healthy, vigorous, in good spirits.

Karanga - formal call, ceremonial call, welcome call, call

Kōiwi - bone, human bone, corpse

Kōrero - to tell, say, speak, read, talk, address.

Kupu - word, vocabulary, saying, talk, message, statement, utterance, lyric

Mahi - to work, do, perform, make, accomplish.

Mauri - life principle, life force, vital essence, a material symbol of a life principle.

Taha Māori - Māori identity, Māori character, Māori side, Māori heritage.

Tikanga - correct procedure, custom, habit, lore, method, manner, rule.

Tūpuna - ancestors.

Wāhine - female, women, feminine.

Waiata - song, chant.

Whakapapa - genealogy, genealogical table, lineage, descent

Whakaaro - thought, opinion, plan, understanding, idea.

In this Brief, we dig into the meaning of ‘taonga’ from our perspective — what the term holds, how it’s been used, what it means to us, and why it matters for the mahi we do. We also touch on its appearance in Te Tiriti o Waitangi, where Māori were promised tino rangatiratanga over ‘o ratou taonga katoa’ (check out the NZ History link below for a more in-depth look at this). That commitment sits at the heart of our responsibilities today. This Brief sets the foundation for everything else we’ll explore this season.

Links

Te Aka Māori Dictionary

Te Tiriti o Waitangi

Glossary

Kōrero - to tell, say, speak, read, talk.

Kupu - word, vocabulary, saying, talk, message, statement.

Pākehā - English, foreign, European, exotic - introduced from or originating in a foreign country.

Taha Māori - Māori identity, Māori character, Māori side, Māori heritage, Māori ancestry, Māori descent.

Taonga - possession, object, treasured possession, something prized.

Whakapapa - genealogy, lineage, descent.

Te ao Māori - the Māori world.

Te reo Māori - the Māori language.

Wāhi tapu - sacred place, sacred site.

Whakaaro - thought, opinion, plan, understanding, idea, intention.