Death is a worldwide event, it will happen to all of us and how we respond to the thought of death is specific and influenced by our cultural worlds (Nikora, L. W., Masters-Awatere, B., & Te Awekotuku, N, 2012). Māori often act as if the Tangihanga is one of the only things that they possess that has not transformed over time and have a tendency to argue that it is one of the customs that absolutely remains as theirs and only theirs. Many aspects of the ceremony has changed. The religious aspects have been replaced by Christian ceremonies, but the basic elements of the gathering still remains (Oppenheim, 1973). This essay will look into the Māori cultural death system, which is also identified as Tangihanga, and how the meaning of death has changed over time due the influence of social, economic and spiritual factors. Tangihanga also known as a Tangi or funeral ceremony is a continuous institution for the Māori people who are mourning the passing of someone who has passed on. There are a number of traditions, customs and crucial concepts that are involved when it comes to the Tangihanga relating to both the physical world and the theoretical world (Barlow, 1991). When it comes to the tangihanga, it is supposed to provide a culturally safe environment with a free, open and shared expression of grief and sorrow that is seen as helping to heal the individuals involved, we also have to remember that not only is tangi a time of sadness, it is also a time of rediscovering family ties, re-establishing tribal roots and seeking strength from one another (Ngata, 1987; Tangaroa, 1988). The dead play a big part when it comes to the Māori world and they are recognised at every Māori gathering (Salmond,1975). Traditional death rituals and pr... ... middle of paper ... ...td. Ngata, P. (1987). Death, Dying and Grief, A Maori Perspective. In N. Z. Health, The Undiscover'd Country: Customs of the cultural and ethnic groups of New Zealand concerning death and dying (pp. 5-15). Wellington, New Zealand: Government Printing Office. Nikora, L. W., Masters-Awatere, B., & Te Awekotuku, N. (2012). Final Arrangements Following Death: Maori Indigenous Decision Making and Tangi. Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology, 22(5), 400-413. doi: 10.1002/casp.2112 Oppenheim, R. S. (1973). Maori Death Customs. Wellington, NZ: A.H. And A.W.Reed LTD. Salmond, A. (1975). Hui: A Study of Maori Ceremonial Gatherings. Auckland, New Zealand Tangaroa, N. (1988). Tangihanga. Wellington, New Zealand: New Zealand Amalgamated Engineers Union Voyković, A. A. (1981). Ngā Roimata o Hine-nui-te-Pō: Death in Māori life. University of Otago, New Zealand
This sacred space is enclosed with a corridor of stones leading away which represents a Bora. The Bora was a traditional meeting ground of Aboriginals which in this ritual is another connection to their ancestry and spirituality. Connecting with the land has been a vital part of Aboriginal spirituality despite the catholic prominence. Source 1 also ties in with Christian beliefs as well as Aboriginal spirituality with it’s references to “God the creator” and the recollection of Jesus being the light of the world. A candle is placed to acknowledge the light Jesus brought into the world which shows the deep connection to Jesus and Christmas which celebrates Jesus birth. At the centre of the Murri people’s worship place a coolamon which is an area a baby could be placed is created to symbolism Jesus’s Manger. Through source 1 it is shown that religion and spirituality can go side by side in contemporary society by
and taught them how to live. He gave them the laws that are handed down from
...ral differences in patterns of behavior and of social support includes each culture’s sense of what is sane and healthy, as opposed to life- and health-threatening. Thus, what people do protects the bereaved and in some senses everyone around the bereaved form. The cross-cultural emphasis, in fact, is a kind of metaphor. To help effectively, we must overcome our presuppositions and struggle to understand people on their own terms (i.e., not having the intention or the reason why the man placed a rose over Bella J. Bhukhan’s name).
... I. McCubbin (2008). International and Cultural Psychology: The Kanaka Maoli :Native Hawaiians and heir Testimony of Trauma and Resilience
Whereas the prevalence of unanticipated and premature deaths led to pre-industrial cultures to focus death fears on individuals' postmortem fates, the death fears of modern cultures are more likely to focus on the processes of dying. Thus contemporary fears of dying involve the anxieties of dying within institutional settings, where often life is structured for the convenience of staff and where residents suffer both physical and psychological pain in their depersonalization. They also involve fears of being victims of advanced Alzheimer's Disease: being socially dead and yet biologically alive. In sum, the dreaded liminality between the worlds of the living and the dead have historically shifted from the period after death to the period pre...
The role of a kahuna in the Hawaiian culture takes on the responsibility of keeping a balance between the people and the nation. In doing so, they apply their field of expertise towards assisting the aliʻi and the makaʻāinana. In ancient Hawai’i, there were many different types of kāhuna that had a skill set that contributed or benefited the community. In this paper I will discuss the different ways a kahuna achieves this type of balance within the lāhui. These kuleana include advising the aliʻi to make pono decisions, guiding the makaʻāinana in their daily lives and practices, and taking care of the spiritual side of the Hawaiian culture and traditional practices of the people.
In the chronological, descriptive ethnography Nest in the Wind, Martha Ward described her experience on the rainy, Micronesian island of Pohnpei using both the concepts of anthropological research and personal, underlying realities of participant observation to convey a genuine depiction of the people of Pohnpei. Ward’s objective in writing Nest in the Wind was to document the concrete, specific events of Pohnpeian everyday life and traditions through decades of change. While informing the reader of the rich beliefs, practices, and legends circulated among the people of Pohnpei, the ethnography also documents the effects of the change itself: the island’s adaptation to the age of globalization and the survival of pre-colonial culture.
The Polynesian peoples have a lifestyle quite different than that of any other culture, as living on an island requires a level of flexible adaptability in order to cope with such a different, sometimes difficult environment. We see the way diverse cultures build their lives around their circumstances and how they respect them in their cultural myths and stories. The Polynesian legends emphasize the physical environment that they live in. They are quite different than any other region in the world, but the beauty and individuality of the Polynesian culture is prominent as seen in their mythology.
Sylvia Grider. “Public Grief and the Politics of Memorial.” Anthropology Today (London), June 2007, 3-7. Print.
Globally, people celebrate or mourn the passing of loved ones in different ways. Because these traditions are engrained in cultural practices, some may not understand the reasons for death rites of passage. However, monetary challenges in reproducing these traditions can cause a change in tradition. This report addresses the different funeral traditions and offers a solution in the event of financial challenges.
Death is a great wave whose shadow falls upon the lives of all beings below Olympus. Amidst this shadow and its immediacy in war, humans must struggle to combat and metaphysically transcend their transitory natures. If they fail to forge a sense of meaning for themselves and their people in what often seems an inexorably barren world, they are lef...
The concept of human mortality and how it is dealt with is dependent upon one’s society or culture. For it is the society that has great impact on the individual’s beliefs. Hence, it is also possible for other cultures to influence the people of a different culture on such comprehensions. The primary and traditional way men and women have made dying a less depressing and disturbing idea is though religion. Various religions offer the comforting conception of death as a begining for another life or perhaps a continuation for the former.
Weddings and funerals in Igbo culture are very unique and customary to them and they show characteristics throughout the novel displaying wedding traditions, funeral rituals, and the preparations in the both of them. The details behind both the wedding and funerals are an important trait of Igbo culture because it ties into their beliefs and religion. Their diverse celebrations make their culture stand out to the rest and can really describe the Igbo’s as a happy society throughout the novel, but their weddings and funerals are at the center of their
The Treaty of Waitangi is a very important document to New Zealand. It is an agreement that was drawn up by representatives of the British Crown and Maori Hapu and Iwi. It was first signed at the Bay of Islands on February 6th, 1840. There has been a lot of debate over the years about the translation of words between the English and Te Reo Maori versions of the text and the differences in the word meaning over the who languages. In this assignment I am going to cover the rights and responsibilities that the treaty contains and an explanation of the differences in wordings and I am also going to contextualise my understanding of the differences of wording against the Maori Worldview and the Declaration of Independence.
The Te Tiriti o Waitangi was a contract that Maori people believe to be an acknowledgement of their existence and their prior occupation to the land, give respect to their language, culture and belief and “it established the regime not for uni-culturalism, but for bi-culturalism” (Sorrenson, 2004 p. 162). This essay discusses the historical events, attitudes and beliefs regarding Te reo Maori, its relationship to the Te Tiriti o Waitangi and the significance of bicultural practice in early childhood education.