Sydney Radio Segment: 7th October, 2010

A controversy has errupted at New Zealand’s national museum, Te Papa, this week.  Plans to informally prohibit museum curators who are mensturating or pregnant from attending a special guided tour around Te Papa’s non-public displays have been fiercely debated.

For Maori it is a matter of respecting venerated cultural beliefs.  The prohibition relates to the notion that those in the family way or suffering the monthly curse are “tapu”, a concept that very roughly corresponds to the idea of forbidden, or sacred.  If women in a tapu state come into contact with objects such as those housed behind the scenes at Te Papa - many of which have been used in battle, even to kill - they risk severe consequences.

A counter view, labelled by some as a “feminist” one, holds that such cultural practices are clearly prejudicial.  For a taxpayer funded institution to enforce gender restrictions which buy into the notion of “unclean women” has been seen by many in the community as objectionable.

The debate reflects wider tensions within New Zealand society about the appropriateness of traditional Maori custom at an official level.  Some would draw parallels between the Te Papa case and an incident a few years back when a civil servant was fired from her job for issues arising from a decision to break Maori protocol and refuse to sit at the back of a marae.  For many she was an insensitive racist, for a minority she was woman who refused to be treated as an inferior, no matter what the cultural justifications involved.