Introduce concept of tangihanga etc outpouring of grief etc.
Tangihanga is the traditional Maori mourning process where whanau, hapu and iwi come together under the mantle of whanaungatanga (family relationships) in love, respect and sorrow to grieve over the loss of a loved one. Ordinarily Tangihanga unfolds in fairly well-defined stages, starting from the time when someone is near death, progressing through the moment of death, the funeral preparations and arrangements, the lying in state and accompanying discussions, the funeral and burial, the final meal after the burial, the return of the immediate family to the home once occupied by the deceased and which they may once have shared and, finally, the unveiling off a memorial …show more content…
Whakanoa (removing certain tapu by special rites) is a ritual in which a woman or women use their noa (power as a woman to remove tapu), cleansing water and cook food to remove tapu (merge, 1976:24; Salmond, 1975:46, 76). This role is evident in relation to death in a number of rituals. For examples, in the far north, tapu male grave digger, as well as using water, may also touch their body with a loaf of bread (representing cooked ofood) held by an elderly woman to remove the tapu. This woman carefully treats this bread and herself to remove this tapu. The bread is divided into three. One part is thrown into the air so it will land in a stream, one part is gently places in the water and the remainder is carefully placed under a stone (hohepa). Women ritually cleanse the place where the dead body was lying on the marae and also have an important role in trampling the house ceremony (takahi whare) which removes the tapu from the house of the deceased and ensures that the spirit does not linger in the world of the living …show more content…
Death often means that a tapu is also imposed over the building or the place where it occurred. In Northland my tupuna traditionally burned the house, the families joining together in building a new one after the ceremony. This is no longer practised due to today 's economics, but partial aspects may be destroyed i.e. bed they dies on etc. The practice of rahui (restriction on use for a set period) is still imposed where a death has occurred in a natural setting; e.g. in the bush, on a mountain, at or in the sea. i.e. diver drowning at cable bay, Rahui placed over entire doubtless bay. Restriction= Protection i.e. if the body hasn’t been found a rahui will give time to locate body or for it to be taken by, meaning no one who use the beach/bay will come across a decomposing body etc.
Death- Pregnant woman should not enter urupā, mixing of positive and negative tapu. Therefore cannot attend the