How long is a tangi

Tangis ignite emotions…beware the whanau they can turn and the dearly beloved will become a pawn in the power play….. Thank you to my cousin Maero who i havent seen for ages….. Passed away 26th Sep. Tangi in kaikoura. Tena koe Moana, I really Tena koe Moana, I really liked your article the stories got my Maori memory juices flowing I could relate to them all. I am from a large whanau and I am the youngest of Both my parents have passed away and I have had several siblings pass away when it came time to bury our siblings we were told that they should be buried at another urupa honouring the tipuna of that Marae.

At first my reaction was shock the thought of them not laying beside mum and dad and us however I realise that it was the right thing to do when I heard the korero the stories of our whanau and our connection to that Marae made me realise that they had to be there and that they were going beside whole lot more whanau aunties uncles cousins nieces nephews. When I got to the Marae she was right they were all in total black.

Things are ever changing too I think finances play a huge part in how tangis are held we have to tell our whanau living overseas to take out funeral insurance no longer can whanau and the Marae be expected to pay for costs.

The korero around donating body parts is being discussed because modern science technology are seeing Maori especially our tamariki receiving life saving organs. I have laughed,cried been I have laughed,cried been embarrassed, astonished and intrigued at the antics and actions by individuals during tangihanga..

But most importantly I have learnt — not all tangihanga are the same.. I pushed the boundaries once.. Gutted that my departed uncle Maori lay in the wharenui — without his wife of 62 years beside him.. She passed on 7 days earlier — Pakeha sitting alone on a mantelpiece in an urn… They had never spent a night apart over those 62 years..

My dismay was evident -and finally I was given a blessing to bring her ashes immediately from the house onto the marae. The weight of the world lifted when they were reunited in that wharenui.

It was after dark — there was no karanga — there was no distaste or disharmony for the decision made… Thank you my beautiful whanau… It is my understanding that this practice had never being carried out.. I maybe wrong.. What a fabulous and What a fabulous and empowering read. The first tangihana I ever attended was my fathers in our lounge room in the house I grew up in. I have grown up in Australia. However my father was half Maori and half Pakeha.

Having Maori Whanua My uncle was the one who orchestrated the Tangihana. I was 14 the Whanau flew in. The Australian family did their best to understand band participate.

I never understood why we did it till now but I always knew that it helped me. I have just yesterday returned from New Zealand on the death of my Aunty. The day we flew in My Maori Uncle passed on. I went straight to their house where me uncle laid in the bed he had passed away in. I attended my Aunties funeral and went and viewed her body as I have always felt the need to do this for those I have been closest too. Probably because it helps me heal. It is a chance to say goodbye. My Uncles brother who simply said I must come.

Did the Maori traditional part even though he had not been invited too and it was perfect. The grandsons of my Maori Uncle did the Haka outside the chapel and it was the most powerful display of love and Maori pride I have ever witnessed and will stay with me always. We then attended the Tangihunga following day which is being held at My Auntys.

I hawk always been welcomed by my Maori Whanau despite being very Pakeha. It has been a full on and very difficult week for my Whanau but I believe that the Maori way and their traditions with death are the best way to grieve. The most natural the most kind and everyone grieves and loves and expresses themself openly. Everyone is greeted with love. Thankyou for this article and for making me completely understand why it is done. What I have just participated in and what helped me deal with my fathers death 18 years ago.

Only then was the koha accepted Ktk Hard case to watch…. Turangawaewae same with the exception of during koroneihana. Tauranga reiterating that, with some whanau choosing to host hui away from marae to avoid clashes with unexpected tangi. Tangihanga is so important to us as Maori, its a part of our culture whether we like it or not. It also taught us to deal with loss. Life goes on… We must be grateful for the time we did have with those we lost.

Thanks whanau. Tena koe Moana. Ka nui te Tena koe Moana. Ka nui te mihi me ou whakaaro rawe. This is a brilliant article that motivated sharing of many interesting stories. It also raises things to discuss such as; filming at tangi using mobile phones which tend to be attached as an extension to some hands, sharing marae responsibilities especially as many are not surviving past years, and catering to all our whanau in Australia.

Are they learning tikanga over there? I know I analyse things too much but just sharing. Great read nga mihi. We grew up at the Marae, playing with the other kids while our grandparents attended to business.

But yes, absolutely — a tangihanga should come before any other event. What neat discussion ensuing What neat discussion ensuing from your article, I love tangihanga and now that I am in my sixties go to them regularly, I love the whaikorero, You learn a lot about a person, you learn to accept at tangihanga, you can go and say what you want to the person, good or bad, and where I did not necessarily like someone or was pissed off at their behavior when they were alive I have been known to turn up to see if the person was really dead, I love the stories, the intrigue, the relationships, the grief, the formality and informality and you capture all of these things in your article.

Tangihanga are indeed multi-layered when you come to think about it. Kia ora Moana special Kia ora Moana special memories how blessed we are to have shared so many Tangihanga at Waitetoko singing, Korero, laughter, wonderful Kai and hugs.

What an awesome article with love. We hosted a tangi there 2 weeks ago, but I did not find that they upheld the tikanga of tangi. My aunty that was not of Tainui but lived across the road in the Kaumatua flats, had her tangi there as it was her wish to lay there, and the night she passed the representative of the Te puea told our whanau it would be their pleasure to have our kuia lay at their marae.

But then we get told there is a Wananga there and that we can not have the Marae until Sunday. My aunty died Friday and that we were to keep her in the little kaumatua flat until Sunday 11am. Their reply was Kao, the Wananga will stay until Sunday might I add there were no more than 10 people at this Wananga.

My next question was where will our whanau sleep as they are travelling from a far such as majority of family came from Rotorua and Australia. I said you can not expect all of them to sleep and feed in this little whare, so they replied we will get you the Kohanga, so we settled for that! Next morning we wanted to cook breakfast and get kai ready as we were not allowed the Kohanga till the next morning, but no one from the marae had organised the Kohanga for us to sleep or prepare our kai.

So I went on the hunt for who I could speak to about this, and I found the chairman of the Kohanga. Her reply was we do not give the Kohanga out anymore, this happened in the past but does not happen now!! I relayed what our whanau were going through and she agreed to let us have the Kohanga which was released to us at 11am, which by now we had manuhiri but we could not offer them breakfast or even prepare lunch, and the Kohanga had no mattresses or cooking equipment!

I asked the Marae if we could have some pots etc so we can cook our family and manuhiri a kai. Their reply was NO! And we did not get any mattresses until the next morning!! I was very upset with how our whanau was treated!! We would never treat our manuhiri like this, and our tikanga always at home is tangi comes first!! When we finally took our aunty onto the Marae, we came to notice that they had locked cupboards on us.

We had nothing pretty much, limited access!! After the nehu we asked for the Marae one more night. Their reply was yes but you can have the shed where they store the mattresses!! I was like no way and then they realised that was harsh and offered the wharenui for one more night.

Anyways I had never felt this feeling of unwanted at any Marae in my life time. I was shocked of the people of Te Puea Marae with how they handled the process of Tangihanga for our whanau, it saddens me to this day now.

Kia ora Chris, ka nui te Kia ora Chris, ka nui te aroha, ka nui te mamae. Sometimes, you could end up with two tangi happening simultaneously if a 2nd person associated with that marae died.

I thought that was sad. Kia Ora, Chris, sorry to hear of your experience. There is no excuse for such behaviour. Kia ora Moana — thanks for Kia ora Moana — thanks for your insights and humour, and continuing to honour our dead with your words here. Tena koe Moana, this is an Tena koe Moana, this is an amazing article about the tangihanga. When I was growing up tangihanga was about catching up with all the uncles, aunties and cuzzies from all over the motu.

It was a sad occasion but whanaungatanga reigned supreme. Now days you are either at the front paepae or at the back preparing the Kai to feed the multitudes.

I remember you coming to uncle Dals tangi at our marae Pariroa and staying for the three days. Thank you for sharing our grief, laughter and waiata. Nga mihi Kia koe. I remember when our Dad went I remember when our Dad went to a tangi of a whanau member of our friends, and handed over his envelope to whomever was putting down the koha after the last speaker.

I think you might have given us the wrong envelope!! Was kinda funny az! This sounds so familiar, and 10 years on it still remains a talking point for the kaumatua in their korero, to uplift those gathered at our tangihana with laughter, and of course to remember the good humour that came from our Kaumatua.

Beautiful memories made. Kia ora Moana, your korero Kia ora Moana, your korero was beautiful and brought back many memories of attending tangihanga from a very early age. I am Ngati Maniapoto and Ngati Tuwharetoa lineage. I was brought up in the little farming community of Okahukura.

Taumarunui was the nearest township. Jars of jam, relishes, pickles and tomato sauce — ready to go. My uncle would have killed a couple of sheep the day before and he would be cutting them up and packaging them.

It would be my job to go to the creek and fill the biggest pot boil up with rotten corn, then take that home and mince it! I like tradition. The etiquette was beautiful. I am a survivor of 8 months. What a lovely korero Linda What a lovely korero Linda and so thrilled to hear of your health triumphs.

May it long last. Yes, not sure when one enters the hallowed hall occupied by kuia. We had an aunt who really warmed to that role and who in fact, dispensed with her dentures while quite young, probably thinking that might build up her cred. Gorgeous hearing about all the preparations, cooking etc in the lead up. So true. I remember our friend Patu getting offside with his neighbours, cooking it up in his flash Ponsonby apartment…!

So humbly done but with so much aroha. Tena koe Moana enjoyed your Tena koe Moana enjoyed your korero and that of the many comments.

And agree very much like the Irish. We celebrate the life of the one who has passed helping to grieve openly. Thank you. Tena Koe Moana, that was a Tena Koe Moana, that was a great artical, i grew up with my Nanny in Putiki, She was always dressed in her best blacks, Emma Hipango, id ask her if i could come and she said no always, but later years changed that, with the passing of my Bro, uncles, and now my Dad, i have seen how we act as Maoris on the Marae.

Enjoyed this article.. I love Enjoyed this article.. I love how we Maori mourn and celebrate death.. I think it is a definite must. There are many a tangihanga that I have attended throughout my life from my parents, aunts, uncles etc.. Our tangihanga is a beautiful way for us maori to grieve openly and it makes the loss real.. However much one wishes the loss to not be true.

The body is prepared by an undertaker, then taken to the dead person's marae. Understanding tangihanga. It is commonly called a tangi, which also means to weep, and to sing a dirge a lament for the dead. The washing and non-drying of the hands helps to illustrate this.

There are several reasons given for washing and not drying the hands after a funeral or visiting a cemetery. So pouring water on our hands symbolizes the kindness that we pray should rain down on the departed in heaven. It was tradition for Maori to wash their hands when leaving a cemetery. Water was used to remove the sacredness of the cemetery , allowing people to return to the everyday world, Mr Whaanga said. You should not just walk onto a marae ; you need to be welcomed on.

Women walk on as a group, while men also group together. Do not eat or drink during the welcome. The people who attend the funeral are exposed to the dead body and hence the bacteria that participate in the decomposition of a dead body.

That is the reason why they are asked to bathe immediately after the funeral , before touching anything or anyone.

They carry these bacteria to the cremation grounds. A funeral is a ceremony connected with the final disposition of a corpse, such as a burial or cremation, with the attendant observances.

The word funeral comes from the Latin funus, which had a variety of meanings, including the corpse and the funerary rites themselves. Haka are performed to welcome distinguished guests, or to acknowledge great achievements, occasions or funerals. Kapa haka performing arts, literally line dance groups are very common in schools. What can you not do in a marae? You should not just walk onto a marae; you need to be welcomed on. Women walk on as a group, while men also group together.

Do not eat or drink during the welcome. What does the Haka mean at a funeral? The term comes from to the words "kapa", which means to form a line, and "haka", which means dance. It is performed for a variety of reasons ranging from welcoming distinguished guests and at ceremonies to preparing for a battle. What is death ceremony called?

A memorial service or celebration of life is a funerary ceremony that is performed without the remains of the deceased person.

The word funeral comes from the Latin funus, which had a variety of meanings, including the corpse and the funerary rites themselves.

Do Maori embalm? What religion requires burial within 24 hours? It's typical to bury someone of the Islamic faith within three days, although most strive for within 24 hours. Where do Maori spirits go? The spirit then slides down a root of the Pohutukawa, to the sea below. How did Maori bury their dead?