Ours is a tribal response to death. When death comes, everybody feels it. The loss resonates through the tribal whakapapa, heartfelt, reminding all about bloodlines and how blood links family to family, generation to generation, all the way back to the beginning of the world. (Ihimaera, 2005, p.131).
How close is this response to death to the response in your own culture?
In this story, people gather together for farewell. Not only families living with them, but Tama who was living in Wellington came home to prepare the funeral: Tangi. Also, relatives, tribe members, colleagues and friends come to Tangi. Local people, who knows what to do, help the family to prepare Tangi, such as cooking meals, so the families are able to sit beside the body. People dress formal and take all their families including baby children, and they contribute for expenses of Tangi, as cash, food and so on. Tangi continue three days, and some people stay over nights along Tangi. Tangi is an opportunity for people living away to see each other and to update their recent happenings, as well as about memory of the dead person. People sing for farewell. Dead bodies are buried where relatives have prepared and its son has measured after Tangi. There are roles for daughters, for sons and for wives. Men carry a coffin to a graveyard to pay respect to the dead person. At last, there is poroporoaki; a concluding ceremony for living people, and visitors start going home after poroporoaki. (Ihimaera, 2005, p.130-168).
In Japan, family, relatives, colleagues and friends gather at a place for a funeral. People come to the place for farewell as well as to meet other people remaining. There are companies to help family to prepare the funeral with special knowledge, so families do not need cultural knowledge for a funeral, and they do not need to work. Children hardly attend funerals, because they have schools as so on. Family members welcome those visitors, and visitors contribute the funeral costs as Kouden. Due to their busy work condition and so on, funerals tend to be a day, and funerals are one of few opportunities to see wider relatives, and talk about memory of the dead person. Dead bodies are burned at a special public facility, but its ashes stay several days at home. Buddhism families have some ceremonies after the funeral, such as 49 days, 1 year, 33 years and 49 years
There are traditional funerals as well as casual funerals.
There are insurances to cover transport costs to attend funeral.
From description of the tangi in Ihimaera's novel, explain how the ceremony is linked to Maori history and mythology.
"Our people say that you can never take the measure of a man until it is shown to you at his death" (Ihimaera, 2005, p.135), and the story mentions many visitors travelling long distance to attend Tangi. That means value of men's lives may be measured at Tangi, that how many and what kinds of people come to their Tangi.
"Go to Te Reinga, the world after this life. Go to Hawaiki. There your ancestors will greet you. (Ihimaera, 2005, p.139). That means Tangi is farewell for people who are travelling to another world where all ancestors are, and death is not only end.
"Every generation has the duty of ensuring that the next generation prosper" (Ihimaera, 2005, p.141). "The one task Maui could not complete was to conquer Death. His great triumph, however, was to usher in the Time of Man, the region of mortals on the earth. Each generation of men, women and children continue the great journey of humankind. Each death does not diminish the breath of life and memory that is passed on from one generation to the next" (Ihimaera, 2005, p.160). People share ideas and knowledge among and between elder generations to younger generations at Tangi, to pass continuing traditions.
"They are stories of Te Kooti Arikirangi and the Prophet's escape from the Chatham Islands. They are tales of valour, telling of the morehu as they were pursued throughout the length and breadth of the land, even unto Puketapu Mountain. They are stories of the fall of Waerenga a Hika pa and the siege at Ngatapa. No, the past is never behind us. It is always before us" (Ihimaera, 2005, p.144). Concluding ceremony; poroporoaki is for living people, so they can start living with joys again.
Do you think this might help the people to cope with the death of a family member? How might it do so?
Yes, I think Tangi help the people to cope with the death of a family member, because the ceremony is not for dead people but for living people to overcome the death.
Because many people gather at a place to prepare Tangi and farewell for dead people, family members can be with someone always and they can overcome the death with supports from those people. They can talk about memories, sing song and cry together.
After three days of Tangi, the poroporoaki allow people to live their lives with a memory of dead people. Also, death is not end but travel to another world, and Tangi is for farewell the departure. People think their family members will enjoy their lives in Hawaiki with all their ancestors. People can cope with death of a family member.
Reference:Ihimaera, W. (2005). The rope of man. Reed Books: New Zealand.
How close is this response to death to the response in your own culture?
In this story, people gather together for farewell. Not only families living with them, but Tama who was living in Wellington came home to prepare the funeral: Tangi. Also, relatives, tribe members, colleagues and friends come to Tangi. Local people, who knows what to do, help the family to prepare Tangi, such as cooking meals, so the families are able to sit beside the body. People dress formal and take all their families including baby children, and they contribute for expenses of Tangi, as cash, food and so on. Tangi continue three days, and some people stay over nights along Tangi. Tangi is an opportunity for people living away to see each other and to update their recent happenings, as well as about memory of the dead person. People sing for farewell. Dead bodies are buried where relatives have prepared and its son has measured after Tangi. There are roles for daughters, for sons and for wives. Men carry a coffin to a graveyard to pay respect to the dead person. At last, there is poroporoaki; a concluding ceremony for living people, and visitors start going home after poroporoaki. (Ihimaera, 2005, p.130-168).
In Japan, family, relatives, colleagues and friends gather at a place for a funeral. People come to the place for farewell as well as to meet other people remaining. There are companies to help family to prepare the funeral with special knowledge, so families do not need cultural knowledge for a funeral, and they do not need to work. Children hardly attend funerals, because they have schools as so on. Family members welcome those visitors, and visitors contribute the funeral costs as Kouden. Due to their busy work condition and so on, funerals tend to be a day, and funerals are one of few opportunities to see wider relatives, and talk about memory of the dead person. Dead bodies are burned at a special public facility, but its ashes stay several days at home. Buddhism families have some ceremonies after the funeral, such as 49 days, 1 year, 33 years and 49 years
There are traditional funerals as well as casual funerals.
There are insurances to cover transport costs to attend funeral.
From description of the tangi in Ihimaera's novel, explain how the ceremony is linked to Maori history and mythology.
"Our people say that you can never take the measure of a man until it is shown to you at his death" (Ihimaera, 2005, p.135), and the story mentions many visitors travelling long distance to attend Tangi. That means value of men's lives may be measured at Tangi, that how many and what kinds of people come to their Tangi.
"Go to Te Reinga, the world after this life. Go to Hawaiki. There your ancestors will greet you. (Ihimaera, 2005, p.139). That means Tangi is farewell for people who are travelling to another world where all ancestors are, and death is not only end.
"Every generation has the duty of ensuring that the next generation prosper" (Ihimaera, 2005, p.141). "The one task Maui could not complete was to conquer Death. His great triumph, however, was to usher in the Time of Man, the region of mortals on the earth. Each generation of men, women and children continue the great journey of humankind. Each death does not diminish the breath of life and memory that is passed on from one generation to the next" (Ihimaera, 2005, p.160). People share ideas and knowledge among and between elder generations to younger generations at Tangi, to pass continuing traditions.
"They are stories of Te Kooti Arikirangi and the Prophet's escape from the Chatham Islands. They are tales of valour, telling of the morehu as they were pursued throughout the length and breadth of the land, even unto Puketapu Mountain. They are stories of the fall of Waerenga a Hika pa and the siege at Ngatapa. No, the past is never behind us. It is always before us" (Ihimaera, 2005, p.144). Concluding ceremony; poroporoaki is for living people, so they can start living with joys again.
Do you think this might help the people to cope with the death of a family member? How might it do so?
Yes, I think Tangi help the people to cope with the death of a family member, because the ceremony is not for dead people but for living people to overcome the death.
Because many people gather at a place to prepare Tangi and farewell for dead people, family members can be with someone always and they can overcome the death with supports from those people. They can talk about memories, sing song and cry together.
After three days of Tangi, the poroporoaki allow people to live their lives with a memory of dead people. Also, death is not end but travel to another world, and Tangi is for farewell the departure. People think their family members will enjoy their lives in Hawaiki with all their ancestors. People can cope with death of a family member.
Reference:Ihimaera, W. (2005). The rope of man. Reed Books: New Zealand.