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Story: Tangihanga – death customs

Tangi for Āpirana Ngata

Video file

Mourners arrive at Waiomatatini, near Ruatōria on the East Coast, for the tangi of Sir Āpirana Ngata in 1950. Many of the women mourners can be seen wearing pare kawakawa (greenery) as a symbol of mourning.

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Archives New Zealand - Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga

Reference: Weekly Review 458. National Film Unit, 1950

Permission of Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga must be obtained before any re-use of this material.

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How to cite this page

Rawinia Higgins, Tangihanga – death customs – The tangihanga process, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/video/28787/tangi-for-apirana-ngata (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Rawinia Higgins, published 3 May 2011.