Tangihanga

He aha te take i uhia ai te kāwhena i te whitu karaka i te ata o te rā nehu?

Hei tautoko i te karakia o te ata.

Why is the coffin closed at 7.00 in the morning of the burial day?

To support the morning service.

Ko wai ngā tāngata i awhi mai nei i te taha o te tupapaku ā kei whea ā rātou nohonga?

Ka noho te pouaru me te whānau pani i te taha maui o te tupapaku (i te wā ka aro atu i te wharenui) ā ka tukuna tērā atu taha ki te whānau whānui.

Who should be sitting with the tupapaku and where?

The widowed person/s sits on the left hand side of the tupapaku (when looking from the wharenui) and the other side is designated for the rest of the whānau.

He aha te take i uhia ai te kāwhena i te korowai?

He tohu rangatira, he tohu taonga i tuku iho nā ngā mātua tūpuna.

Why is the coffin covered with a cloak?

As a sign of a chief, a treasure passed down from our ancestors.