tangihanga
{{short description|Māori funeral rite}}
{{Use New Zealand English|date=March 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2024}}
File:The tangi for Wi Parata.jpg at Waikanae, 1906]]
{{Lang|mi|Tangihanga}}, or more commonly, {{Lang|mi|tangi}}, is a traditional funeral rite practised by the Māori people of New Zealand. {{Lang|mi|Tangi}} were traditionally held on {{Lang|mi|marae}}, and are still strongly associated with the tribal grounds, but are now also held at homes and funeral parlours. While still widely practised, {{Lang|mi|tangi}} are not universally observed, and some tribes have expressed concerns about lower numbers of {{Lang|mi|tangi}}.{{cite news |url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/maori/news/article.cfm?c_id=252&objectid=10811813 |title=Demise of tangi a threat to culture – professor |newspaper=The New Zealand Herald |date=2012-06-09 |access-date=2013-12-03}}
Modern practises
Tribes—at the level of {{Lang|mi|iwi}} or {{Lang|mi|hapū}}—differ in how they honour those who die. {{Lang|mi|Tangihanga}} generally take three days, with burial on the third day. From the moment of death, the body of the deceased ({{lang|mi|tūpāpaku}}) is rarely alone.{{cite web |title=Tangihanga – Korero Maori |url=http://www.korero.maori.nz/forlearners/protocols/tangi.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220126030612/https://www.korero.maori.nz/forlearners/protocols/tangi.html |archive-date=2022-01-26 |access-date=2013-12-03 |publisher=Korero.maori.nz}} The {{lang|mi|tūpāpaku}} is transported (usually from a hospital and via a funeral home) to the {{Lang|mi|marae}}. There they are welcomed with a {{lang|mi|pōwhiri}} and will lie in state for at least two nights, usually in an open coffin, in the {{lang|mi|wharenui}}.
File:Kawakawa877.jpg leaves]]
File:Tangihanga-Tuhourangi-1905.jpg at Rotorua, 1905]]
Throughout the {{Lang|mi|tangihanga}}, the {{lang|mi|tūpāpaku}} is flanked by the bereaved family ({{lang|mi|whānau pani}};{{cite web|url=http://www.maoridictionary.co.nz/index.cfm?dictionaryKeywords=pani&n=1&idiom=&phrase=&proverb=&loan=&search.x=0&search.y=0|title=pani |access-date=November 22, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120425055418/http://www.maoridictionary.co.nz/index.cfm?dictionaryKeywords=pani&n=1&idiom=&phrase=&proverb=&loan=&search.x=0&search.y=0 |archive-date=April 25, 2012 }} sometimes called the {{lang|mi|kirimate}} or mourners),{{cite web|url=http://www.maoridictionary.co.nz/index.cfm?dictionaryKeywords=kirimate&n=1&idiom=&phrase=&proverb=&loan=&search.x=0&search.y=0 | title=kirimate |access-date=November 22, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120425055425/http://www.maoridictionary.co.nz/index.cfm?dictionaryKeywords=kirimate&n=1&idiom=&phrase=&proverb=&loan=&search.x=0&search.y=0 |archive-date=April 25, 2012 }} who take few and short breaks, dress in black, and sometimes wreath their heads in kawakawa leaves. Around the coffin, flowers and photographs of deceased relatives are placed.
Visitors come during the day, sometimes from great distances despite only a distant relationship, to address the deceased. They may speak frankly of his or her faults as well as virtues, but singing and joking are also appropriate. Free expression of grief by both men and women is encouraged. Traditional beliefs may be invoked, and the deceased is told to return to the ancestral homeland, Hawaiki, by way of {{lang|mi|te rerenga wairua}}, the spirits' journey. The close kin may not speak. It is traditional for mourners to wash their hands in water and sprinkle some on their heads before leaving the area where the {{lang|mi|tūpāpaku}} lies in state. Traditionally, the visitors would bring famous taonga (treasures), such as kākā and kiwi feather cloaks and pounamu mere, which would be placed alongside the {{lang|mi|tūpāpaku}}. These items were inherited by the heirs of the deceased, who were then expected to return them to the original owners at subsequent {{Lang|mi|tangihanga}}. This practice was called {{Lang|mi|kōpaki}}.{{cite book |last1=Grace |first1=John Te Herekiekie|title=Tuwharetoa: The history of the Maori people of the Taupo District|date=1959 |publisher=A.H. & A.W. Reed|location=Auckland [N.Z.] |isbn=9780589003739|page=292}}
On the last night, the {{lang|mi|pō whakamutunga}} ('night of ending'), the mourners hold a vigil and at a time assigned by custom (sometimes midnight, sometimes sunrise) the coffin is closed, before a church or {{Lang|mi|marae}} funeral service or graveside interment ceremony, invariably Christian in modern times. As with the area the {{lang|mi|tūpāpaku}} lies, it is traditional for mourners to wash their hands in water and sprinkle some on their heads before leaving the cemetery. After the burial rites are completed, a feast ({{lang|mi|hākari}}) is traditionally served. Mourners are expected to provide {{lang|mi|koha}} ('gifts', typically money) towards the meal. After the burial, the home of the deceased and the place where the deceased died are ritually cleansed with {{lang|mi|karakia}} (prayers or incantations) and desanctified with food and drink, in a ceremony called {{lang|mi|takahi whare}}, 'tramping the house'.{{Cite web |title=takahi whare |url=https://www.maoridictionary.co.nz/ |access-date=2023-05-02 |website=Te Aka Māori Dictionary |language=en}} That night, the {{lang|mi|pō whakangahau}} ('night of entertainment') is a night of relaxation and rest. The widow or widower is not left alone for several nights following.
Both in traditional times and modern, the {{Lang|mi|tangi}} of high-profile individuals can be both extended and elaborate.{{cite news |url= https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/AS18940922.2.4.1 |title=The deceased king |newspaper=Auckland Star |date=22 September 1894 |page=2 |via=Papers Past |access-date=14 October 2024}}{{cite web |url=http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/2897979/Sir-Howard-laid-to-rest-Tuesday |title=Sir Howard laid to rest Tuesday|publisher=Stuff.co.nz|year=2011|access-date=19 June 2011}}
A 2011 court case over a disputed resting place ruled that Māori customary law could not be applied to funeral traditions under common law, as the customary law allows force to settle legal disputes.{{cite web|author=Mike Watson |url=http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/6020107/Bodysnatching-decision-Law-before-Maori-custom |title=Bodysnatching decision: Law before Maori custom |publisher=Stuff.co.nz |date=2011-11-23 |access-date=2013-12-03}}
References
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{{Māori}}