(TINKLY MUSIC) Captions by Jordan Waetford Captions were made with the support of NZ On Air. www.able.co.nz Copyright Able 2022 (BELL TOLLS) (CURIOUS MUSIC) - It's exciting ` a suit fitting. - Is it? - Yeah. I've never had this done before. - For many years, we've always wanted to have a uniform together, as staff, so, right now, we just go into a shop that has all of our sizes in one colour. And that proves to be difficult, because we're all different sizes and different shapes. And I love that. People like Fiona, Fehi, Logan, you know, we're tall, we're short, we're wide, we're thin, and it was always hard to get something to fit everyone. And so now there's a gentleman who's going to come and make everyone's clothes fit them how they would like it. - Oh, you changed. - Absolutely. (STAFF LAUGH) I'll never be seen in the same suit twice, brother. And so I just took the opportunity. 'Yes, let's do it. 'Let's get a couple of samples through. Let's get the most accessible staff.' So that was Tamale, and, of course, Fehi. We wanted a male and a female. And then hopefully present us with the sample. - Yas, dear. - Yeah. I'm going to get a funeral suit. - You are. - I'm not skinny. And surely they want skinny people (CHUCKLES) to size up, cos, faaar, I'm a big boy, and, um` HUSHED: the suits are a little big on me. - So, Tamale, have you ever worn, like, a made-to-measure? - No. - Mm. It's going to change your life. - Oh, this is tailor tailor-made. (FEHI LAUGHS) - That is tailor-made. - Whoa. You're measuring everything. - (LAUGHS) - It's different being sized up this way, eh? - Yeah. - (LAUGHS) - What's your problem, mate? Looked at Fehi, you know. I could just tell she was laughing at me, cos I was like, 'It's a bit low, there.' So I was like, 'Ah, no.' - (LAUGHS) - (LAUGHS) These thighs are massive. (ALL LAUGH) - You have to get measured everywhere; like, your arms; your wrists, the lengths; your legs and thighs; groin area. So for a lot of (CHUCKLES) people, it can be different and uncomfortable, but it's worth it in the end. - We getting sized up, dear? - Yas. - Fehi is enjoying this... measuring moment. There's this male going about her business, and she's looking quite comfortable. - It's all good, brother. (TAMALE LAUGHS) - (CHUCKLES) It doesn't surprise me one bit. - She didn't her weight, but I had to say my weight out loud. - It was just 6-5, eh, dear? - 65, yeah, sure. - Ooh-hoo-hoo. - You are not 65. - 65, man. Believe me (!) - (LAUGHS) (TINKLY MUSIC) - All right. - OK. Hello, my dear. - Today in our care, we have Rachel Elizabeth Curry, who passed of respiratory arrest at age 58. - OK. She's got her socks. - Oh, and something to keep her warm, eh? - Yep. Today I am assisting Barbie to dress Whaea Rahera. Probably just this one, dear. What do you reckon? - Yeah. That will go over the collar. Yeah. - Yeah. - The significant thing about Whaea Rachel is her Warriors jersey. She was a hearty Warriors supporter, staunch right through to the end. So it's only fitting that she goes out on her final journey in her Warriors jersey. - Chea. Too good. - There we go, whaea. You're in your gears. - Ready to go to the game. - Yep. Whanau would be the ones that would normally dress their loved ones, but due to COVID, it's been a responsibility that we've taken on behalf of the whanau. - Kia ora. Kuhu mai. Kuhu mai, whanau. Whanau have come in to view Whaea Rachel. They're all wearing masks, and there's ten seats available for whanau to be present and have a noho. These are just some of the restrictions that are in place during Alert Level 3. These COVID times, it's been a challenge for whanau to return back home and be present with their loved ones. And so a solution for that has been through Facetiming whanau or video calling them so that they can feel connected. - It's sad that you have to watch from all the way over there, from afar. You know, Mum will be still watching you, just from another far, as well. - I don't like to police or monitor viewings, but it's a requirement on our part to ensure that the gathering is safe. - Can I have your name, dear, please? 'Having to inform whanau, you know,' 'Sorry. You can only have 10 family members. 'They must be from the same household bubble.' So these gentlemen will have to come out when Amanda arrives. - Yep. No worries. - It's very difficult. Now it's time for us to transport Rachel to Waikumete Cemetery for her final service. - BOTH: E tama, te maro. Roa ina hoki ra te tohe o te uaua na e tau nei. Ana, ana, ana, aue, hi! - Love you, Aunty. (POIGNANT MUSIC) - I will always love you. You will always be the most precious sister that anyone could ever have. Go in peace. Fly high, Miss. Until we meet again. Sisters forever, you and I. - When we had a little drink-up on Saturday, and we were talking about it, me and the cuzzies, that's the one thing that we'll miss when we're together ` (SNIFFS) is not seeing my mum. But I love you very much. And it's not a goodbye, it's a see you soon. I love you, Mum. - The whanau are now going to be coming back, with myself and Kaiora, to the back end of the crematorium, which they will view the charge of the cremation. - Riua te wairua ki rangi tawhiti. Tenei ra to tinana ka heke. E te whaea, e Rachel, e moe. (POIGNANT MUSIC) Nga mihi, Matua. Tena koe mo tera. Thank you. (SEABIRD CALLS) - Leo. - Sunscreen. - There we go. Boom. (CHUCKLES GENTLY) (PLAYERS SHOUT, WHISTLES TRILL) - Mia. (WHISTLE TRILLS) - ...see so many of our younger learners putting their best foot forward. The winner is... Lewis Tyler. (APPLAUSE) - (MOUTHS) (WARM POP MUSIC) - The grips. That's it. One, two. - (GRUNTS) - That's it. (CHUCKLES SOFTLY) - Got enough T-shirts in there and jerseys? - CHUCKLES GENTLY: Yes, Mum. - This will keep you safe, moko. - Thank you, Nana. - Mm. Pack your bags. - Hi, guys. Come on in. Nice and gentle. Look. You're all finished. - Easy. (POIGNANT MUSIC) - Today in our care, we're looking after the late Mrs Ivoni Fo Holoholo a Tungi Vaea, who was 77 years old and died of pneumonia. Here we are, Mrs Vaea. Come in, dear. 'Our head embalmer, Jay, is accompanying me today, 'to bring Mrs Vaea back to the Henderson branch 'in preparation for dressing. 'Fatafehi Tamale will be the head funeral director for the funeral for Mrs Vaea.' Fatafehi is of Tongan descent, and so it's only natural that we let her be in charge, because communication is beautiful. She understands the culture, the rituals that need to take place, and also the ceremony that happens in the Tongan language. - We like to send our bodies naturally in their final journey. Remove anything metal or plastic from the bodies or the clothes, because we believe it's a bad sign. Someone might get sick, or someone could die in the family. Yeah. We can casketise now. - OK. Put the ngatu in? - Yes, please. Do you want to just hold it? - Yep. Ok. - Thank you. - It's an honour for us to have Mrs Vaea here in our care, 'because she has close affiliations to the Tongan royal family.' The fitting of that ngatu in there is perfect, eh? - Yeah. - Lovely, dear. 'There is a huge undertaking happening here in the Henderson Branch Chapel,' where the chapel will be transformed into something that will look like a palace, ready to hold their queen. Being a half Tongan myself, it's such a blessing and a privilege to be in amongst all the Tongan people, in the culture, and to be immersed in everything that's happening, because I wasn't brought up in that realm and that understanding. And so to see why they do things and having the ability to ask questions to Fehi and to families and to get an answer back is just so neat. It's going to be so beautiful, like a heaven. - The decorations for the fai lotu have started. Fai lotu is the family service. The last final night for the family to say their goodbyes. You're already beautiful, Ivoni. This is just a little extra. - It is the fai lotu and the palace-like chapel which they've created is so beautiful. And it's fitting for Mrs Vaea. - We then place her on her tokoto'anga. The family are very happy with how she looks. And if they're happy, I'm happy. (MOURNERS CRY) (TINKLY MUSIC) (CURIOUS MUSIC) - Morena. - How's it been? - Good. - Yes. How are you liking your... I don't know. What shall we call it? Your shield? This... Perspex. This... feels like a barrier, eh? Now. - Yeah. It does, but I feel safe. - As part of living in a new COVID-19 world with the different strains of variants that we have, we've had to adapt, you know, the funeral home in different ways. And one of the ways is to have erected a shield or clear Perspex to keep, you know, the physical distance between the whanau and reception. - I feel like you're blocking me out. I feel you're` - (LAUGHS) - You don't want me in your space anymore. - No, I do. But, yeah. (CHUCKLES) I like it. - I almost feel like you must hugging us. - Yeah, eh? To be honest. - Why do I feel like you're lying? - Oh, sh` (LAUGHS) - It's different in a way that I feel has created a barrier, 'because we're all about manaaki. 'We're all about hugging our whanau and mihi to them a-kanohi without any form of barrier in the way. And so it's... it's certainly not us. So what? Do we just come down here now? - (LAUGHS) - Kia ora, Aniwa. - Ordinarily, you know, Ani would stand up, walk out, give you a awhi and hug, but now it's like, 'Oh, you're there, we're here,' and we korero. And we hand over through the little slot at the bottom. - I feel like this is all I can do now. I feel limited. I can't exactly answer the phone. Look ` how? How do I` the phones are going to ring and I'm, 'Aniwa, give me the`' Hey, look, we have to do our transactions through there, and just got to make it work. How do you think Francis will take this? Cos I can already see that all I have to do is go like this and I've got fingerprints on there. Eww. Don't react like that. - (LAUGHS) - Hang on. I just feel like I need to go like this. Grab a tissue and wipe this off. Eh? (CHUCKLES) That'll save him from complaining, and I'm pretty sure he won't even know their my marks so that's OK. Look, I feel like I need to go like this on this side. - Beautiful. - (SIGHS) Yeah, no. It's not beautiful. He'll just come and clean it anyway. - One of the negative points about it, as well, is that it's been a clear Perspex, like a beautiful clear window, that, you know, any little thing will smudge. (PECULIAR MUSIC) You walk up to Aniwa and talk, and your head touches it. Then your sweat mark's there. Then your hands go there and you're knocking on it, eh? By the end of the day, it's filthy. (GROANS) Blu-tack. So messy. Bloody terrible. I need Jif. 'As well as it being a protector, it's also a place that holds all the bacteria. So we've got to make sure we squirt, squirt, squirt and clean it down, because it's there to protect, not to spread, ne? (PECULIAR MUSIC) Can't wait to rip it down. (CURIOUS MUSIC) - I just need to have a quick korero with you. Is that OK? OK. Come. - Today, Tamale, he's just received the news that he's a close contact. - You disclosing to us that you're a close contact, obviously... - Yeah. - ...You are needed to isolate. - Yeah. - And so what that means for us straight away is that he needs to remove himself. He'll go home and start isolating and get tested. And so will we, as well, as casual contacts. Need to test and keep an eye on symptoms for the next few days. - As you know, I love to work with you in your space, but just to keep us all safe at this time, I'm just going to have to have this korero with you this far away. Is that OK? - Oh, it's awkward. - I needed to give to Tamale a document to assist him with access to RAT tests. It was difficult for me to have that korero with him, because we're having this conversation 2m, 3m apart, and I'm trying to stay positive or informative. At the same time, I just don't want him to feel uncomfortable. 'And you want to awhi them. 'But I can't, you know?' You can't physically go over there and say, 'Aroha mai, Tamale. This is what needs to happen.' Instead, you're talking from a distance, like, 'Are you OK?' You know? It just doesn't feel right. - My wife came to inform me of the news that she sent Tamale home, and she's organised his documentation to get his rapid antigen tests. - I found it a bit tough to talk to him. It almost felt like he was like a piece of object and I had to talk to him from a distance. And I just still reassured to him, though, that we're here to awhi him. - Mm-hm. - And it's the virus that's the problem, not the people. - Exactly. 'Course we feel aroha for him, but we want him to go home.' We spoke to him later on too, to make sure of it. I said, 'Look, brother, this week it's you. Next week it's me.' It's a bit like death ` comes to us all in different ways. But ` engari, you know, ora tonu ` we're not dead. But it's just we don't know who it's going to be. So don't worry. Enjoy seven days off or 10 days off, because after that, you've got to come back to mahi. (CURIOUS MUSIC) (ALL SING IN TONGAN) - Today I'm the funeral director for Mrs Ivoni Fo Holoholo a Tungi Tupou Vaea. (SINGING CONTINUES) - We have one last funeral service here in the chapel before we depart for Waikumete Cemetery for her final burial service. The chapel is filled with music, speechmaking. - (SPEAKS TONGAN) - There are Bible readings and reflections of Mrs Vaea's life that happen. And so that all takes place before we leave to go to Waikumete. - Mum, we will sorely miss you. Fly high. Ofa atu. - We've just finished the final service, which is the malaga faka'osi, before we take Ivoni her final journey to Waikumete. People are waiting outside, waiting to farewell Ivoni as she departs. (SINGING CONTINUES) (POIGNANT MUSIC) - As we head up to the Waikumete Cemetery, our funeral procession, our convoy, consists of some motorbikes and some beautiful classic cars, along with the many whanau members who are attending the service as well. - It was a nice, beautiful, sunny morning. On her final journey, it just started... bucketing down. (CAR REVS) Easier, yeah. It's wet. - Turn on, eh? - And then straight on. So we'll move it on here. There's all different types of ta'ovala. The type of mat worn indicates how one is related to the loved one or the deceased. The bigger it is, that shows you are from a lower rank to the deceased. If it's small but colourful, they're high ranks over the loved one. - Just watch your step. It's a bit wet and slippery here. - Take your time. - I've got room here, Fehi. You all right? - Yep. - OK. Down together. - And down together. - Just check your` - Sorry, brother. Yeah. We're good. - You all right? Yeah? - Yeah. - Both Fehi and I have a duty, an extra duty, to release some doves, which have been brought in as a sign of peace and love for Mrs Vaea. - When I picked up the dove, Francis didn't want to do it. He was actually nervous and scared too. - Feeling a little bit nervous in preparation of the dove release. We have to release the doves before the rain gets too heavy, because the doves won't fly. - Now. It was a beautiful moment to be able to do that for the family. - Ohh. (ALL SING IN TONGAN) - After the lowering of the casket, we have a speech from a member of the royal family. - The representative here today is Tevita 'Ungatangitau Ma'afu. - (SPEAKS TONGAN) - Malo. - ALL: Malo. - Before we bury Ivoni, we place sand over her casket before the soil. - The sand, you put that on top of the grave, then the dirt. They don't want the dirt to break the casket. So the sand is like a softener for the dirt to go on top. - It has been a beautiful service, even though it rained. Ivoni Fo Holoholo a Tungi Tupou Vaea, (SPEAKS TONGAN) (TINKLY MUSIC) - These keep breaking. I don't think these are made for big heads. - (SIGHS) That's, like, your fourth one you've broken now, so maybe you just have to be gentle on it. Otherwise you're going to use the whole pack on you... - I do feel safer with this around your face. But it's just` how` we just need to stretch this a little bit, cos it keeps coming off. Hm. One side at a time. (STRAP SNAPS) BOTH: Ohh. - (LAUGHS) - Some of those masks are those... N95 or N98, 90... whatever 90 it is, they are very small, you know? But I guess they're probably made overseas, probably in China. So their heads and our heads are different. We just got to try and get through this whole thing without closing the funeral home down. Yeah. So let them know we love them ` that's the main thing. Cos it could be you and I next. We just never know. - But that's why I felt that, you know, maybe I should stay on this side. - Oh, really? - (LAUGHS) - So, there you go. But, yes, let's not get confused. Love is always there. - Mm. But if you get COVID, I'm still sleeping in your room. - Oh, my poor` I feel sorry for myself.