Manuel Beazley explains the significance of tangihanga in bringing together the living, the dead and their ancestors, and the efforts made to continue this ritual in COVID times.

Māori acknowledge the dead at all gatherings, irrespective of the nature and purpose of the meeting, through karanga (calls), whaikōrero (speeches), waiata (songs), oriori (chants) and tears. The walls of whare tupuna (ancestral houses) the length and breadth of the country are adorned with the photographs of ancestors and deceased relatives. Similarly, in many Māori homes photographs of deceased loved ones are hung in places of prominence, often on a wall or section separated from photographs of the living. Such is the importance of the dead in Māori traditions.

This remembering of those who have passed away is a link to our whakapapa (genealogical links) and a way to reinforce certain cultural imperatives such as the importance of life, people and relationships.

Tangihanga Central Ritual

Tangihanga, the mourning ritual, is the ultimate Māori cultural expression; the most durable of our traditions. It is the space where relationships are celebrated, renewed and nurtured, challenged and defined. Tangihanga employs the full range of ritual and emotion, showcasing oratory, song and storytelling of the highest order.

Whanaungatanga, the focus on relationships and manaakitanga, the reciprocal exchange of hospitality, respect and aroha are the underpinning values of tangihanga.

In the period of sickness leading to death and during the ensuing tangihanga rituals, there is a heightened awareness of tapu, the sacred. The observance of tapu during this time regulates certain mahi (actions of encounter), and can also extend to other forms of encounter such as whakaaro (thoughts), wairua (attitude), and kōrero (speech/communication).

Christian Influence on Māori Belief

With the introduction of Christianity to Aotearoa, the tangihanga process and in many ways its fundamental tikanga (cultural norms and practices) have evolved. At a tangi, we might hear the phrase addressed to the deceased, “Haere ki te whare o Hine-nui-te-Po” or “Haere ki te pō, te pō nui, te pō roa, te pō e kore e oti.” These and similar phrases call on the imagery that the deceased descends to the darkness. In traditional Māori mythologies the demigod Maui attempts to enter through the vulva of Hine-nui-te-pō, the Great Maiden of the Night, in effect reversing the birthing process and so securing immortality. In that pursuit, Maui is crushed during his attempt and dies, therefore committing the fate of humankind to suffer death.

In the Christian tradition, where Maui failed, Jesus Christ succeeds and conquers death. Through Jesus’s death and resurrection the potential for eternal life is now made possible for humankind.

How, then, have Māori Christians reconciled the traditions of Māori religious and spiritual beliefs and the teachings of the Christian faith concerning death and the afterlife?

Jesus's Death

One such attempt is to acknowledge that Jesus “descended into hell”. This is not the hell of popular imagination with fire and brimstone, but is more akin to the Jewish tradition of Sheol, a transliminal state into which all the dead enter. Usually Sheol was identified as being deep down within the earth. And so Jesus’s descent into hell is like Te Pō (the nght). At his resurrection three days later, Jesus takes all the dead with him to the light of the kingdom of heaven.

COVID-19 has significantly challenged tikanga Māori, and particularly those tikanga about tangihanga. Marae are closed during the higher Alert Level restrictions. This means whānau have not been able to lay their deceased loved one in their ancestral house. Only graveside services have been possible, sometimes only being performed by funeral directors and not a priest or katekita (lay minister in Māori Catholic communities).

Tangihanga Re-joins Living and Dead

Remembering is important — it’s a process of uniting. Through the tangihanga ritual the deceased is re-membered, that is, he or she is ritualistically re-joined to the ancestors, “te hunga mate ki te hunga mate” and the living re-membered to one another, “te hunga ora ki te hunga ora.” To break these links is tantamount to an eternal death for Māori.

In the absence of the appropriate mechanisms for the deceased to be tangihia (mourned) and mihia (eulogised), tapu (sacredness) and mana (dignity) have been affected in a negative way. The effect on the whānau pani (mourners) is a sustained grief which, if not addressed appropriately, may adversely affect the physical, emotional, spiritual and relational well-being of an individual and/or their whānau.

The physical practice in Māori terms called kanohi ki te kanohi (face to face) is the basis of the customs of the tangihanga. Just the ability to physically embrace and comfort another in grief is an innate human behaviour.

Challenges of Technology

Although digital technologies have allowed Māori to shift “kanohi ki te kanohi” practices and rituals to the virtual space, allowing people to participate and engage, there is the tension of how the tapu nature of tangihanga is managed in a digital environment. For example, how are still and/or moving images of the deceased to be displayed or stored online? What becomes of the whaikorero (speeches) relating to tapu elements, such as whakapapa, which traditionally are reserved for the whare tupuna, now that they are accessible online?

Because of this and other tikanga considerations, digitally mediated grief and grieving and the reliance on technology for tangihanga in a COVID-19 environment have proved challenging for Māori.

Being Present at Tangihanga

While some tangihanga rituals have adapted and are still adapting, tangihanga still remains the most authentic of all Māori cultural practices. In Māori terms there is but only a thin veil which separates the world of the living from the world of the dead. This is why we address the deceased with: “Haere ki tua o te arai” “Go beyond the veil.” There is a dynamic communion between te ao wairua (the spiritual world) and te ao kikokiko (the world of the living). Celebrating the life and death cycle in a way that links us to our past, present and future is essential for the health and vitality of tangata Māori.

Tui Motu Magazine. Issue 265 November 2021: 18-19