Six-year-old Joseph Filemu stands by the cabbage tree under which his placenta is buried, at his home in Pukerua Bay. Joseph has tribal links to Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāpuhi and Rangitāne. When he was born, his placenta was buried at the base of the tree. This practice goes back centuries among Māori, and ties people to the land. The word whenua means both placenta and land.
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