- (CHORAL MUSIC) Captions by Faith Hamblyn. Captions were made with the support of NZ On Air. www.able.co.nz Copyright Able 2021. (MUSIC CONTINUES) (BELL TOLLS) (MUSIC FADES) (WHIMSICAL MUSIC) - During level 4 of the Covid lockdown, it really was... the hardest time of my career, because it was such a shock. When someone died at the beginning of alert level 4 here in New Zealand, we would come through and uplift the body. And that was the last time, if you were lucky enough to be near the body during the time of death, you were able to see your loved one. From that point, there was closed casket and straight to the grave, or to the crematorium without any ceremony. - Once we did hit lockdown alert level 4, there were a lot of uncertainty, and even funeral homes or the industry weren't too sure exactly what processes looked like. And when we did get a guideline, where there was strictly no tangi, strictly no engagement from immediate family, it went against everything that we're about, during this Covid times. Whanau are not allowed to dress their own loved ones ` we must do that on their behalf. We've had to move things around in order for it to work, and because there's a restriction on those attending funerals right now, we have set up a space where we can store... tupapaku, and they will... they will be in our care till such time they are to be released. - (TINKLY MUSIC) (POIGNANT MUSIC) - Ata marie, whaea, Whaea Maggie. Today in our care, we have the late whaia Maggie Kemp, who has passed away due to end-stage renal failure, and she is 77 years old. But don't worry, whaea ` we'll not cover up your moko kauae; just gonna give it a little bit of colour. (SPEAKS MAORI) - (PEACEFUL MUSIC) - (SPEAKS MAORI) Whaea Maggie Kemp's tangihanga was the first to be held, when the restrictions were given for 50 people. - (POIGNANT MUSIC) - (CALLS KARANGA) - (ALL CALL KARANGA) (ALL CALL KARANGA) - Ordinarily, Whaea Maggie Kemp would have had a... very, very large tangihanga, but due to the circumstances with the world, and more importantly of New Zealand, going through the Covid 19, Whaea Maggie Kemp's tangi has been downsized to 50 people, with strict hygiene practices being put in place. - (ALL SING IN MAORI) - What I love about Manurewa Marae is that they are adhering to the guidelines ` they are practising hygiene; they are wearing gloves, masks, and they're demonstrating that they can, uh, exercise their mana still, by incorporating hygiene practises. Mm. - (SPEAKS MAORI) - (POIGNANT MUSIC) - During the tangihanga, we had great leadership like Matua Ronnie McLean, who stood there to welcome, to whaikorero, to mihi, to... (SPEAKS MAORI) And what that did is that brought that normality back, that brought that rangitiratanga back to an event which had been missing for such a long time. And so it was so beautiful that we had leadership there to guide us through the new way of doing things without changing the principles of the tangihanga. - (TINKLY MUSIC) - We're now at alert level 1, and I feel things are back to normal again. - It is so good to see people, to be able to have a full staff humming and to have people in the chapel. Without the people in the chapel, it was just a building. You know, we had a Tongan service the other day, and it created a mess in the chapel. It was like a tornado had come through, but it was so good to be able to clean. - Aue! It's just amazing that, yes, the team could come together. Out of nowhere, there's all these vacuums. The staff are coming along ` they're telling me, 'Hey, you're not allowed to use that vacuum for that ta'ovala, cos it's gonna get stuck. I'm, like, 'Oh.' Am I not allowed to pick this up with this? - BOTH: Nah. - (LAUGHS) If it sucks, well, I'm just gonna vacuum it up. - Since we've had the cordless vacuums, you just cannot fault them ` they are the way to go. And to be honest, everyone wants to vacuum now. My dream come true. - Where's Francis? I thought it was all hands on deck. Actually, everybody was there, from memory, except for Francis. - What part did I play in the clean-up affair? I normally like to lead by example, but in that instance, it was pretty... you know, it was pretty messy. And so everyone sort of got in there, and` But I came in at the end just to touch up at the end, you know, because everyone knows how to clean. And so I just needed to make sure everything was, you know, back in their rightful places, so it's tidy, ready for the next whanau. * - (TINKLY MUSIC) - My name is Fatafehi Tamale, and I'm from Tonga, from a little place called Navutoka, that's where my mum's from; and my dad is from the end of Tonga, which is Niutoua. I got on to Tipene Funerals though Vanessa, Vanessa Tamale. She is our admin. She's my sister-in-law. So, I started off as a receptionist. And then we started getting a few Tongans during that time, and then I started assisting from there. - Yes, dear. That's why I needed you with me, eh? - Yeah. - Yes. - You gonna run off and have some hot chips down at Ivo's or something? - (CHUCKLES) - Eh? Oh, you gonna go and steal some of those sausages? - Yes, before they run out for the day. - Oh, Fatafehi. (LAUGHS) I think she has definitely, Yeah, no, she's... she's blowing up, this girl. She's come a long way. - I'm a funeral director now. I also assist with the embalming, too. So yeah, pretty much... everything, really. I get to drive with you today, dear, and we've got our paperwork sorted? - Oh, hang on. No. Wait there. Let me just go get it, eh? OK. Otherwise we won't have a cremation today. - (LAUGHS) I've got your phone here. - Oh, no good. - Fehi has just got her licence. You know, she's qualified now, I'd say. She's graduated. Wahey, eh? Driving like you've been in one of these ` like you've done for some time now, eh? - One lesson. I just take my time. I don't care whether it will take it takes ages for me to reverse or to drive. But I do ` I take my time, just so that I can... I don't hit into anything. (LAUGHS) - It was a lovely service, eh? - Short and simple. - Mm. I thought you would get the guitar out there. I thought you would start leading the waiata for everybody. - I should have asked if I could do the karanga. - Oh, yes. - Mm. - Soon she will be a senior funeral director. It's not long, because... she has her own, uh, following now ` a lot of families who ring and want her to care for them. Which is beautiful. - (TINKLY MUSIC) - Tipene Funerals have a new mortuary now, and so all of our tupapaku preparation or our embalming is done all in-house. We'll close this once she's had a horoi. And we've got a new staff member there, Jay Evans. - I'm from Taranaki, from Te Ata Awa and Ngati Ruanui. I used to go with Mum to funeral homes to dress our own whanau. So I just thought one day, 'I could do that.' I started embalming back in 2008. I was just turning 18. - He brings another personality. - I don't really speak Te Reo. (LAUGHS) I'm too plastic. - I call him The Jay-Jay. He's very queen. He is queen. - I've got two daughters later on in life. I jumped the fence and couldn't get back over, so I stayed here. (CHUCKLES) Now look at me. (CHUCKLES) Francis is here a lot. He comes here to escape. - It's only a two-minute walk, you know, our mortuary from our Hill St office. But, you know, it's far enough away to be able to do some good, hard work and to watch over our embalming and to make sure that everything's running smoothly down there. So it's a lot of mahi goes on down there, hard mahi. This whaea's going to the fire. The work that I do down there ` I'm not in the mortuary, I'm not in the casket prep room, I'm in my office ` is very important. I mean,... (SIGHS) you know, um, it's important. - My husband doing important stuff? OK. (GIGGLES) Well,... I hope... I really hope it is important stuff. I just wonder what he's up to. - WHISPERS: Ooh, look at this. (TUTS) Oh my goodness. (SIGHS) Whee. - I think I might just go down and have a nosey. - Can we look at your behind? That is so beautiful. I mean, I love my wife's behind, but that... That. (TUTS) (SIGHS) Beautiful. Look, a hearse is not a car on four wheels; a hearse is... a vehicle that's almost like a spiritual vehicle, that transports our tupapaku from one place, and more often than not to their final resting place, here on Earth. And so a hearse to me is so important to have the right look, to have the right feel and more importantly, to have the right behind, because people don't look at the front ` they look at the behind. - I just hope he's not buying another car, surely. - And, you know, if we were fortunate enough to buy one of these, for the first night, I would probably sleep in it, just to... you know, just to say, I can tell all the whanau how comfortable it is. And so that, you know, we walk the talk ` mm, you don't have to be dead to enjoy it. - (TINKLY MUSIC) - Morena, dear. Today in our care, we have the late Noelene Catherine Henry, who died at the age of 80 years old, and she had dementia for the last eight years, and that ultimately took her life. Just do your hair up before we take you home, dear, to your whanau. With Mrs Henry, uh, dying so recently after her late husband, you know, in a period of seven months, you know, you can put that down possibly to her mokemoke, to her aroha for her late husband. And the family, you know, can rejoice in the fact that they're together again. Nevertheless, the mamae and the pouri that remains with this family... (SPEAKS MAORI) he pani ratou now that they've lost their mum and their dad. Just want a little bit just to bring them up. You don't want to make them, you know, look all Beyonce. So, yes, that colour's wonderful on her. I think in this instance, Mrs Henry and Mr Henry yearn for each other. There's a korero wairua pumau ` you know, they're together as one in life and in death. Nice and natural. A little bit of sparkle. As we know, Mr Henry will be waiting for you. Some tupapaku are just so easy to work with and some have beautiful complexions. You don't need a lot of make-up. (SPEAKS MAORI) There we go, dear. A little bit of blush there. She's got a beautiful nose for hongi. The hongi represents the breath of life, and it also represents the celebration of life. I mean, you know, some people say, why would you hongi a tupapaku, when it represents the breath of life? But it not only represents that ` our noses touch, and so do our foreheads, and so the aroha that I'm feeling and that I have and the thoughts, you know, they pass through one another in that manner. And so that is why we as Maori, we hongi one another. It brings us together as one, and it also celebrates the life of the tupapaku, who we have in front of us. * - Today we are returning Mrs Henry to her family home. Oh, Noelene, this is Stan. - Stan. - Hello, Noelene. Yeah, we're just gonna take you home now, dear. You've got a beautiful escort. (SPEAKS MAORI) You're gonna follow him on his motorbike. It has been a long time since we've taken tupapaku back to a family home, and now that we're in alert level 1, and so the feelings are just so beautiful, that we're able to do this now, to return someone back to their familiar surroundings, rather than, you know, having to stay in our care. One, two, three, all the way. There we go. Good car. - I'm glad I did this thing. - No, thank you. That's all good. It's also neat to have the bikes in front. - (BIKE ENGINE REVS) - And they wanted a hymn, How Great Thou Art. - Oh yeah. - Do you mind singing with me? - Yeah. - Do you wanna take the high or the low? - You always have the lead. - OK, you harmonise, eh? - And I'll come in somewhere. - Oh neat. - We won't be flat, eh? - Don't you be flat. - The family have asked if I could perform a karakia, which, again, is another beautiful honour to have been given. And so we perform, we have a karakia together, and it just settles and sets the tone for the rest of the tangihanga, inviting, you know, the matua nui i te rangi to be in the presence with the family. And also we're given the opportunity to sing a himene, myself and Stan. Rejoice that Mama's home now. # Oh, Lord, my # God,... BOTH: # ...when I # in awesome wonder... # - It's always an emotional moment when the tupapaku arrives home and the whanau lift the lid off the Waka Wairua for the very first time. - (SOBBING) - BOTH: # Then sings my soul, # my Saviour God, # to Thee. # How great Thou # art. - (SOBBING) - BOTH: # How great # Thou art. # Amen. # - I just wanna say thank you very much on behalf of all of us. - Thank you. Thank you. It's all right. It's all right. Kia ora, family. Thank you. Neat, eh? You forget to... (SPEAKS MAORI) - (RELAXED MUSIC) (TINKLY MUSIC) (WHIMSICAL MUSIC) - We have mints at all the funeral homes for our families. A lot of the mints have been missing lately, and I know they're not from the bereaved families. So I think it might be from some of the staff, you know, hoe-ing into them, eating them. I know for a fact that it's not Vanessa. So, she's a bit like me, she keeps the staff at bay. - We know the ones with, you know, piro breath are not eating the mints. - Well, they're not eating enough of them. - It's almost like you can give them one. - Suspect number one, I feel like it's Fehi. Her and I, we do lots of services together, and she chews a lot. And so if she's not chewing chewing gum, she's chewing on something. You know, much like te mahi a te mangai o te kau, like that. - I don't eat it all the time, but I like to take a handful. (LAUGHS) - I would say it'd be a toss between Fehi and Jay. - I'm not as bad as Jay. - He's such a nice guy that it can't be him. And why would you want that impression? You know, when you're just started in a new mahi, so I feel like it is Fehi, so I'll have a chat to her. Open your mouth, dear. And how many chewing gum and Mentos did you have? - (LAUGHS) One. - Oh, one. Is it your brother that's eating them all? - He's the one. - Mm. - But then you've got Jay, who is... chewing them. Especially when he talks, you know, you can smell the mint. So it's evidence. - Jay. - Yeah. - Fehi told me that you've been eating all these. - Nah, it wasn't me. - Fehi. - Yes. Hey. - If it's not in your mouth, it's in his mouth. I'm not gonna go looking at his mouth. - Obviously, it's not in my mouth, Francis. Check his pockets. - Oh, there you go. - So why? - (LAUGHS) - These are for the families. - (LAUGHS) - Did you hear that? - There we go. - (LAUGHS) - Fehi, show me in his pocket. I can't touch him. - Where are you going, dear? - (LAUGHS) - He might have me up for sexual harassment. - (LAUGHS) - Yeah. Could be anyone, eh? - (WHIMSICAL MUSIC) - (SIGHS) The staff know not to eat the mints. Captions by Faith Hamblyn.