Preserving Her Voice: How Penniman Championed Papakura’s Legacy

Known primarily for his role as the Curator of the Pitt Rivers Museum from 1939 to 1963, Thomas Penniman (Vermont & Trinity 1917) was a highly influential figure in early- and mid-20^th-century Oxford. It is therefore unsurprising to learn about his involvement in a recently resurfaced story: the announcement that Mākereti Papakura, the first indigenous woman to attend Oxford, has been posthumously awarded an MPhil degree by the University for her anthropological research conducted nearly 100 years ago.

In the late 1920s, Thomas Penniman and Mākereti Papakura began as peers within the Anthropology Department at Oxford and soon developed a friendship that laid the foundation for the remarkable collaboration which followed. As Papakura’s severe condition of muscular rheumatism progressively impeded her ability to write, Penniman stepped in to assist her with completing her research. After her tragic death in 1930, just weeks before she was to present her thesis, Penniman dedicated himself to ensuring her work would be published, and his efforts culminated in the 1938 publication of The Old-Time Maori.

This unique story highlights the direct insight that Penniman gained into Papakura’s methodologies and academic perspective, his commitment to amplifying her voice, and the existence of a deep intellectual alliance which connected the two scholars. For its distinctive approach to the study of Indigenous cultures, The Old-Time Maori has since been recognised as a formative text in the historiography of anthropology.

ANTHROPOLOGY AT OXFORD

Born in Aotearoa, New Zealand, in 1873, Papakura was the first Indigenous woman to attend the University of Oxford. By the time she came to London in April 1911 she had already built an impressive reputation for herself as a charismatic voice of the Māori people, which only continued when she became an important figure in the Anthropology Department at the University, whose bold aim was to correct and deepen academic understanding of Indigenous cultures from a local perspective. It is hard to understate the novelty of her work and presence in Oxford during this time, especially as the formal study of anthropology in Western institutions was still deeply enveloped in its imperial roots.

At Oxford, interest in the study of anthropology can largely be traced back to General Augustus Pitt Rivers’ 1883 donation of his collection to the University on the condition that a dedicated building be constructed to house it, and a specialist be appointed to teach about the objects. The collection, comprising over 20,000 archaeological and ethnographic artifacts, which had largely been acquired through British imperial expansion, became the Pitt Rivers Museum and the foundation for Oxford’s first anthropology course in 1905, developed by Robert Ranulph Marett. Tightly surrounded by this historic context, during their studies, Papakura and Penniman were mentored by figures such as Marett and Henry Balfour, the then Curator of the Pitt Rivers Museum.

PENNIMAN’S PUSH FOR PUBLICATION

In the years following Papakura’s death in 1930, Penniman devoted himself to publishing her research in book form. As a contingency plan, he liaised with the Rhodes Trust which had agreed to support the book’s publication if no commercial publisher expressed interest. That support ultimately proved unnecessary, as the book, The Old-Time Maori, was successfully published by Gollancz in 1938. Despite this, correspondences with the Trust from that time underscore the perceived importance of ensuring the book’s release.

Writing to the Rhodes Trust on 29 June 1936, Marett described how “Mr. Penniman took infinite trouble to get it all down from her lips” and could be trusted to “turn out a first-class piece of work.” On 24 July 1936, he emphasised further that the book was “of unique value to Anthropology.” In another letter dated 29 June 1936, he wrote, “I can assure you that it [the book] is of utmost scientific value”.

The book itself includes autobiographical sections in which Papakura recounts her early life, her village, rituals, culture and food. Her intent was twofold: to correct misconceptions about Te Arawa culture in the West and to educate younger generations of her community about their heritage. At the same time, she exercised great care in preserving the privacy of her community and the sacredness of certain traditions, often consulting with them for guidance.

Penniman carried this responsibility forward when publishing the work. For example, he sent the manuscript to New Zealand for final approval from the Te Arawa tribe and wrote a thoughtful introduction which contextualized both Papakura’s life and his role in bringing the book to publication.

In a letter that Penniman wrote to the Rhodes Trust while informing them of his plans, these sentiments are clearly expressed:

“I worked with Maggie Papakura for about two years, getting her to put down details about social organization, marriage, children, fire, food, houses, clothes, weapons, etc. […] She married a Mr. Staples Brown in 1912, and died in 1932, leaving me all her MS and pictures, with the understanding that all of the genealogies and incantalons and secret material should be put before the council of the Arawa Tribe for a “nihil obstat”. [27 July 1936]

AN IMPORTANT VOICE TO SHARE

While it is clear that other academics in the field were extremely impressed by Papakura’s work, their very praise, reveals the entrenched assumptions of the time and inadvertently affirm the very need Papakura recognised: to challenge and reshape Western narratives about Indigenous cultures from within.

In one letter which Merret sent to the Trust in 1936, he wrote:

“I knew the lady well; she was a most cultivated woman, who at the same time was Māori to the backbone, and fully aware of her responsibilities as the titular head of her tribe. She has described to me how she was made in her youth to repeat the genealogies, itineraries and charms, constituting the tribal lore, over and over again, so as to have it all word-perfect and preserve the ancient tradition intact. She was at the same time thoroughly imbued with that tradition on its religious side, and most punctilious in observing all the taboos involved by her high rank.” [29 June 1936]

The news of Papakura’s posthumous recognition is undoubtably cause for celebration, but it also underscores the long-standing failure to grant her the acknowledgement she deserved during all of these years. In preserving her voice and legacy, Penniman played a vital role in making this eventual recognition possible.  

Moreover, Penniman’s close collaboration with Papakura likely informed his subsequent approach to his curatorial role at the Pitt Rivers where, after many years of overcrowding, he is recognised for having implemented its first comprehensive card cataloguing system to track, research, and organise every item in the collection. He believed in encouraging students to embrace a hands-on approach to their learning of cultures from all around the world, and left his mark on the development of museum management of ethnographic and indigenous material by underscoring the importance of valuing every element of a global collection.

For example, the way in which the Pitt Rivers’ collection is uniquely organised, not by geography or culture, but by type of object, can be traced back to Penniman’s vision for the Museum and his belief in showcasing how there exist many ways knowing and solving similar problems across cultures and history.

What certainly emerges clearly from the archives documenting Penniman’s efforts, is that Papakura was a pioneering and influential figure, someone whose work and approach Penniman believed must not be lost to time.

Images from: https://oxfordandempire.web.ox.ac.uk/article/makereti,  https://england.prm.ox.ac.uk/englishness-Penniman-and-technology.html, and Rhodes Trust Archive