Story: Anthropology and archaeology

About 1840 missionary Richard Taylor drew these sketches of a Māori kite and of a stone said to have the power to relieve the pain of rheumatism. Some missionaries who lived among Māori and learned their language produced important accounts of Māori life, customs and traditions. The type of kite that Taylor refers to as 'kahu mauri' is also known as manu kāhu. The healing stone and its two companion stones also had a function in recording the longest day of the year.