Rare 19th Century Maori Kotaha Spear Whip

A rare and important 19th century kotaha ( spear whip), the handle carved with a figure with folded legs and well defined wheku head. Rich patina across the surface of the tapering cylindrical shaft. These rare Maori wooden dart launchers are often elaborately carved with a contorted figure on one end. The other end had a cord or whip attached to wrap around the shaft of the dart. This would free itself in forward flight when launched. Elsdon best noted that the term kopere was also used among some tribes to denote the whip sling (dart thrower). Similar examples held in the National Museum Te papa Tongarewa collection. Examples also held in the Auckland Museum and British Museum. Provenance: Nga puhi leader and politician Hone Mohi Tawhai, rangatira (tribal leader) of Te mahurehure, a sub-tribe of Nga puhi, presented this kotaha to the late Wesleyan reverend William Rowse sometime between 1863 and 1878. Hone Mohi Tawhai was an astute and prominent Maori leader and politician (1879-84) who advocated for Maori rights and entitlements enshrined in the Treaty of Waitangi. Tawhai was a founding member of the Maori Parliament established at Waitangi in 1892. He later composed a damning satirical genealogy denouncing government bureaucratic processes that were designed to alienate Maori from their freehold lands. The kotaha was passed on by descent. It was presented with a taiaha and hoeroa to reverend Rowse. The hoeroa was deposited with the Dominion Museum (now Te papa) 1944, and subsequently gifted to the Museum by the descendants of reverend William Rowse in 1972.