The Doorway to Eternal Life
Matangaroa
The hidden face of death on the other side of maori life. Hine Titama The Night Moon born of the first earthly daughter Hine ahu One. She later transformed to become the goddess of the Maori underworld Hine Nui Te Po.
Hine nui te po guards the universe of the afterlife during the tangihana ensuring the separation between the living and the spirit returning to Hawaiikinui.
The spirit inside her own wharenui ancestral carving awakens to the karanga of women. Churning spirals of mana from our side awaken doorways from the dead.
Her duel roles a womb of old memory and tapu spirit guarding against human immortality.
Hine nui te po can strike back at the people when awoken incorrectly so Maori follow specific protocols and rituals to maintain their physical separation at her spiritual door.
Te Karanga
The Veil of another universe comes to life as the tonal sounds and chants of women open the living gates inside the spirit of their wharenui as whanau and manuhiri gather on sacred ground.
Woven flax mats on the wharenui floor laid over patterned steps up to Poutama come to life with the living spirit calling to the dead past and present.
Te Tekoteko
Chief Guardian of the house gazing out beyond the Pa from the wharenui stepple.
He is always seeking the mood of his visitors while looking to welcome home the descendents with his wairua.
He rises with spear to open the bridge between worlds at the time of the tangihana signalled by karanga.
Te Tupapaku
The deceased person's buriel brings their own whakapapa to rise from the other side like cards in a deck of families.
The families themselves weave chants in and out from the major lines of the papakainga back to their shared chiefs. Acknowledgement of the deceased own family who have passed over are seen in the photos laid to rest around the deceased.
Karakia draws and directs our tupuna who have come to collect their loved one and then return to Hawaiikinui back to the family tree there.
Te Urupa
The karanga awakens the cemetary filled with those passed on to Hawaikinui. Their spirits are guided down into the wharenui through photos placed on the walls around the deceased.
Tupuna tears are mingled with the living as we celebrate the life of the deceased and remember good memories of those who have already passed.
