Tangihanga
Tangihanga traditions
The Tangi Hanga or Tangi is the Maori death ceremony. The ceremony has been a part of Māori culture for a very long time; it was used a long time before the pakeha came to New Zealand. The ceremony takes place over 3 days and is a time for Māori people to express their grief over the death of the person and the ancestors who died before him. The ceremony is different from the European funeral practise in many ways is not widely known around the world although it is used in New Zealand by the Māori people all the time.
The tangihanga has been around for a long time and there is a lot that has not changed over the many years that it has been around. One tradition that has been carried through the years is that because of the tapu (Sacredness) that the Māori associate with death, they have a special way of preparing the tūpāpaku (dead body). They have specialist people to smear the body with kōkōwai (red ochre) and oil, then sit it up with the knees tucked under the chin and the arms wrapped tightly around the legs. The crouched body was wrapped in whāriki (mats), cloaks and other finery. (Tangihanga) At the Marae, the people who have come to be at the tangi Hanga also wear special items. They wear wreaths made out of sacred plants, or plants that are precious to themselves. Wearing a wreath like this has become a symbol of Tangi for many people. Image A shows a woman wearing a wreath (Death Customs)
Tangihangas also have a feast that is very traditional for the Māori culture. (See image B.) Early observers noted that the hahunga ceremony was just as much about feasting as recalling the hapū or iwi together. Another tradition that has been associated with the tangihanga is that if one of the tribal
The Tangi Hanga or Tangi is the Maori death ceremony. The ceremony has been a part of Māori culture for a very long time; it was used a long time before the pakeha came to New Zealand. The ceremony takes place over 3 days and is a time for Māori people to express their grief over the death of the person and the ancestors who died before him. The ceremony is different from the European funeral practise in many ways is not widely known around the world although it is used in New Zealand by the Māori people all the time.
The tangihanga has been around for a long time and there is a lot that has not changed over the many years that it has been around. One tradition that has been carried through the years is that because of the tapu (Sacredness) that the Māori associate with death, they have a special way of preparing the tūpāpaku (dead body). They have specialist people to smear the body with kōkōwai (red ochre) and oil, then sit it up with the knees tucked under the chin and the arms wrapped tightly around the legs. The crouched body was wrapped in whāriki (mats), cloaks and other finery. (Tangihanga) At the Marae, the people who have come to be at the tangi Hanga also wear special items. They wear wreaths made out of sacred plants, or plants that are precious to themselves. Wearing a wreath like this has become a symbol of Tangi for many people. Image A shows a woman wearing a wreath (Death Customs)
Tangihangas also have a feast that is very traditional for the Māori culture. (See image B.) Early observers noted that the hahunga ceremony was just as much about feasting as recalling the hapū or iwi together. Another tradition that has been associated with the tangihanga is that if one of the tribal