Story: Hawaiki

An orator’s farewell for the dead

At a tangihanga (ceremony of mourning) it is customary for speakers to refer to a person’s death as a journey back towards Hawaiki, the source and the destination of human life. The speaker in this case is Martin Wikaira of Ngāti Tūwharetoa.

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How to cite this page

Te Ahukaramū Charles Royal, Hawaiki – The significance of Hawaiki, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/video/475/an-orators-farewell-for-the-dead (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Te Ahukaramū Charles Royal, published 4 March 2009, updated 1 April 2015.

Comments

Ayleen Wikotu
13 May 2011

Kia ora just want to say my dad taught me that Hawaiki was my mum. Ha-my 1st breath; wai-the water I lived in for the 1st 9 months of my life; and ki-meaning full. Thus Ha-wai-ki. As I fill my mother's womb with my growing body I await the rushing waters to take my 1st breath. Hawaiki