tangihanga
1. (noun) weeping, crying, funeral, rites for the dead, obsequies - one of the most important institutions in Māori society, with strong cultural imperatives and protocols. Most tangihanga are held on marae. The body is brought onto the marae by the whānau of the deceased and lies in state in an open coffin for about three days in a wharemate. During that time groups of visitors come onto the marae to farewell the deceased with speech making and song. Greenery is the traditional symbol of death, so the women and chief mourners often wear pare kawakawa on their heads. On the night before the burial visitors and locals gather to have a pō mihimihi to celebrate the person's life with informal speeches and song. In modern times, on the final day the coffin is closed and a church service is held before the body is taken to the cemetery for burial. A takahi whare ritual is held at the decease's home and a hākari concludes the tangihanga.
(Te Pihinga Study Guide (Ed. 1): 80-82; Te Māhuri Study Guide (Ed. 1): 56-57; Te Pihinga Textbook (Ed. 2): 109-112;)
Ka mōhio ana te iwi kāinga he tūpāpaku tō rātau, ka haere katoa mai rātau ki te marae ki te tangi. Ka mutu ana tā rātau nei tangi, kua wātea rātau ki te whakapai i ngā moenga o roto i te wharenui mō ngā ope whakaeke, ā, ki te taka kai anō hoki mā aua ope. Ko tēnei te mahi a te iwi kāinga - he mahi i ngā mahi e pā ana ki tēnei mea ki te manaaki tangata. Ko te mahi a ngā koroua he whaikōrero, he mihi ki ngā ope whakaeke. Ko te mahi a ngā kuia he karanga i ngā ope whakaeke, ā, he tangi. Kāore kē he āwangawanga o te whānau pani ki te manaaki i te manuhiri. Ko tā rātau mahi he noho i te taha o te tūpāpaku tae noa ki te rā e ngaro ai te tūpāpaku ki te kōpū o Papatūānuku...Ka hemo ana te tangata ka uhia ia ki te tapu...Ka haria ake ana te tūpāpaku ki te marae, ka whakatakotoria ki roto i te wharemate...Kātahi ka tīmata te whakaeke mai o ngā manuhiri o ētahi atu wāhi ki te tangi, ki te mihi, ki te poroporoaki ki te tūpāpaku. (RR 1974:20-21). / When the home people know that they have a body of a deceased person they all come to the marae to mourn. When their weeping is finished they are free to prepare the beds in the meeting house for the visiting parties and to prepare food for those groups. This is the task of the home people - carrying out the tasks of providing hospitality. The job of the elderly men is making speeches and greeting the groups coming on. The task of the elderly women is calling on the visiting groups, and weeping. The bereaved family do not have to worry about hosting the visitors. Their task is to sit beside the body right up until the deceased disappears into the womb of Papatūānuku...When a person dies he/she becomes tapu...When the body is taken to the marae it is laid out in a wharemate...Then the visitors of other places begin to arrive to weep, greet and make farewell speeches to the deceased.
See also wharemate, kirimate, whānau pani, pō mihimihi, poroporoaki, pare kawakawa, takahi whare
Synonyms: tangi
2. (noun) sound, playing.
I runga i tana kōhatu a Hinemoa e noho ana i te tangihanga mai o te kōauau a Tūtānekai i Mokoia (TTT 1/6/1927:599). / Hinemoa was sitting on her rock when Tūtānekai played his flute on Mokoia Island.
Synonyms: pureitanga
