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“Heru” is the Maori word for ‘comb.’ “Heru paraoa” means whalebone comb. In Maori culture, a person’s head is “tapu,” or sacred, prohibited, restricted, under protection. The higher the rank of the person, the more tapu their head. Therefore, anything that came in contact with the head (like combs) was also tapu, and had to be treated with great care.

 

Patoromu Tamatea was of the Ngati Tamateautahi, a sub-tribe of Ngati Pikia. He carved canoes. When that work ceased in 1864, he was involved in settling a dispute over pigs. In later life, he started carving wood items, including combs, for British Captain Gilbert Mair. This comb comes from the Kajetean Fiedorowicz Collection.