“Māori do grieving and supporting whānau and death better than any other culture that I know. But we don’t, as whānau, engage in the planning side of things to make the rest of it easier.” — Julie Herewini, author of ‘He Aroha Te Aroha’.
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“Many Māori homes have a ‘dead wall’. A place for photographs of beloveds who have passed on. No one living should be seen up there. On our wall, there’s a small, framed picture of a smiling Māori woman holding up a tāniko panel.” — Tainui Stephens.
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“Her farewell was her final gift. She showed us the strength of our culture, the resilience of our whānau, and the power of kaupapa Māori when it is lived, not just spoken.” — Shonelle Wana.
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“Her greatest gift was being a genuinely good person. A kind and reliable force who could let go of the leash, knowing she had passed on a good moral compass to guide and hold us together. We were the lucky ones.” — Moana Maniapoto on her mum.
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“I think we’re meant to go out as we came in — totally dependent on those who love us. Caring for Dad after he died felt like the most natural thing to do.” — Tarsh Te Rure.
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“Lately, it’s felt like every single day there’s a new struggle to add to the list, a new fight to be had. But the kotahitanga I witnessed and felt at Tūrangawaewae gave me hope again.” — Siena Yates on attending the tangihanga for Kiingi Tuheita.
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“She was intimate with death, conversed with it sometimes, muttering away, defying, even threatening. How the hell do you threaten death? A frequent reminiscence of her childhood at Waahi Paa was, ‘Too many tangi, Son.’” — Ben Brown on his mum.
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“That lack of control over our traditions (and data) at a tangi raises serious questions about the new tikanga we need to protect tapu online. Without the right restrictions in place, we risk the loss of tapu, and perhaps the death of tangi.” — Tainui Stephens
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“I was a whāngai kid — a pretty common practice used by Māori families to make sure their children are brought up okay.” — Francis Tipene, in an extract from ‘Life as a Casketeer’.
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“Huirangi’s online memorial offered those of us still working on our reo a very rare gift: whaikōrero with English subtitles.” — Vanessa Ellingham.
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“Huirangi met every test of his strength, courage, integrity and leadership to secure the rights of future generations to the language of his tipuna.” — Andrew Robb on Huirangi Waikerepuru.
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“Let Aotearoa show the world how Indigenous rights and health equity can be meaningfully upheld and respected as we face this crisis together.” — Dr Elana Curtis.
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One day, while our Māori Anglican dad was at work, our Pākehā Catholic mum rushed her brood off to...
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Māori, says Moana, believe the more wailing and carrying-on at a tangi, the better. It’s healthy....
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