Digital innovation and funeral practices: Māori and Samoan perspectives during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

The COVID-19 worldwide pandemic has caused the world to stop. It has disrupted traditional funeral processes for Māori and Samoan peoples. Their collective ways of mourning were particularly affected, as social distance restrictions and travel bans meant they were unable to physically gather in large numbers. Despite the disruption caused by COVID-19, digital innovation has meant these groups have been able to remain socially connected, at a physical distance. This cohort has also been able to maintain collective interconnectivity with their family and friends during times of grief. Through the digital space, funerals are still able to be a communal time of mourning, support and comfort. As insider researchers, we present our stories, chants and oratory during times of sorrow, while centring our collective digital resilience.

Keywords

COVID-19 Maori Samoan innovation funeral practice indigenous

Introduction

Māori and Samoan funeral experiences are better understood through their worldviews of Fa‘a-Samoa (the Samoan way) and Tikanga Māori (Māori customs, practices and ethics). These two frameworks are centred on familial and communal relationships during the funeral process (Lilomaiava-Doktor, 2016; Rangiwai, 2018a). Although Māori and Samoan people have experienced colonisation, they continually draw upon their collective cultural knowledge and protocol (Enari & Fa’aea, 2020; Fa’aea & Enari, 2021). Therefore, the ability for large Māori and Samoan families to gather during times of death is important.

The COVID-19 worldwide pandemic has disrupted the traditional process of funerals, for Māori and Samoans. The collective mourning process for these two groups was particularly affected by the implemented international travel bans and social restrictions. Despite the disturbance caused by COVID-19, the digital space has allowed these groups to remain interconnected to their family and friends. Through the digital space these groups have been able to continue the collective nature of their funerals (Enari & Faleolo, 2020). This paper will present a selection of observations and dialogue recorded in Aotearoa, New Zealand among Māori and Australia among Samoan people.

Methodology and approach

A blend of Kaupapa Māori (Māori aspirations, vision and purpose) and Talanoa (conversations) is used to inform this theoretical and phenomenological position piece. Research on Samoan people must be inclusive of a Samoan lens which incorporates the usage of metaphors (Niuatoa, 2007). Through Talanoa Samoans are able to draw upon their own lived experiences to centre their voices and counter deficit narratives against them (Lemusuifeauaali’i & Enari, 2021; Matapo & Baice, 2020). It is through knowledge systems that spirits and ancestors are encompassed and that the Pacific and Samoan views can be in “harmony” (Niuatoa, 2007, p. 15). It is important for scholarship to interweave the Pacific worldview inclusive of Pacific knowledge, skills and research values (Chao & Enari, in press; Enari & Taula, in press-b). Consequently, everyday activities and communication are conducted with regard to family and God(s) (Enari, 2021; Matapo & Enari, in press).

Kaupapa Māori is a decolonising research methodology that retrieves and reclaims space and positions Māori at the centre of research (Smith, 2012). Kaupapa Māori legitimises Māori knowledge within the academy (Smith, 2012) and extends beyond institutional disciplines (Smith, 2011). Indeed, “kaupapa Māori methodologies are sequences of knowledge-creating actions, and practices of knowledge inquiry which give expression to transformative ideals” (Royal, 2012, p. 31). A key component of Kaupapa Māori is “the political notion of challenging the privileging of Western knowledge in the academy” (Royal, 2012, p. 31). The purpose of Kaupapa Māori is “to allow Māori knowledge, culture and experience to ‘find voice’ in the academy” (Royal, 2012, p. 31).

Both research approaches accept their respective cultural worldviews and all its associated philosophies, customs and practices as valid and normal (Rangiwai, 2019; Tui Atua, 2018). These methodologies are culturally centred in tikanga/aganu’u (customs, practices and ethics), epistemologies, ideologies, theories and knowledge, which acknowledges and appreciates history and culture as driven by whа̄nau/aiga (family, families), hapū/nu’u (sub-tribe) and provides the means for critically investigating the world from an indigenous perspective (Nepe, 1991; Pihama, 2001; Smith, 2012; Tagaloa, 2008; Tui Atua, 2018; Wilson, 2017). As academics and researchers from the Pacific, we engage in a co-construction of knowledge, through speaking to people in our communities in ways that adhere to tikanga/aganu’u of respect. We also provide an insider perspective of funerals in our communities, observed using Kaupapa Māori and Talanoa research approaches, during the changing COVID-19 experience in New Zealand and Australia.

Māori perspective

Pōtiki (2018) states that “Death is as much a part of the Māori world as life” (p. 137). Indeed, when the demi-god, Māui, in the form of a mokomoko (lizard), tried to enter the vulva of Hinenuitepō— the Māori goddess of death—in an attempt to achieve immortality, but was instead fatally crushed by her thighs, Māori are reminded that death is enduringly part of life (Rangiwai, 2018a). When a Māori person died, the corpse was prepared—anointed and trussed—for tangihanga (funeral rites) by close relatives (Higgins, 2011; Oppenheim, 1973). A natural method of excarnation was selected which reflected the tribal environment (Best, 1934; Solomon, 2016) and the bones were later recovered, esteemed with ritual, and discretely interred (Best, 1934; Higgins, 2011). In contemporary times, however, Māori now handover the care of the deceased to modern funeral directors who embalm and lay out the body and provide for the whānau one final and dignified image of their loved one (Rangiwai, 2018a). In spite of changes over time, Higgins (2011) argues that of all Māori cultural expressions, tangihanga rituals remain as the closest to those practised before contact. Tangihanga are considered by Māori to be the most significant of all gatherings (Higgins, 2011) and a central form of Māori cultural expression (Nikora et al., 2010).

“Tangihanga is one of the longest-standing and lasting cultural bastions in the Māori world today” (Pōtiki, 2018, p. 145). In this ceremony, the corpse lies at a marae (a complex of buildings where Māori rituals and cultural activities take place) (Higgins, 2011; Pōtiki, 2018; Rangiwai & Sciascia, 2021). During the course of a number of days—most commonly three days—people will come to pay their respects, and traditional speechmaking, chanting and singing takes place (Higgins, 2011; Pōtiki, 2018; Rangiwai & Sciascia, 2021). Indeed, the “ceremonial conventions associated with death are pivotal to Māori culture and tradition” (Pōtiki, 2018, p. 137).

At tangihanga, people are encouraged to express their mourning openly and not hold back their grief (Higgins & Moorfield, 2004). On the final day of the tangihanga a tohunga (spiritual leader) or minister of the church will officiate at a service held at the marae followed by burial at a urupā (Māori burial grounds) or cemetery. Cremation is also becoming more common (Higgins, 2011; Mead, 2016; Pōtiki, 2018; Solomon, 2016). A hākari or feast follows the burial.

Maori funerals during COVID-19

On Saturday 21 March, Jacinda Ardern, Prime Minister of Aotearoa New Zealand, announced a four-level COVID-19 alert system. The levels were as follows:

Level 1: Prepare—the disease is contained in New Zealand;

Level 2: Reduce—the disease is contained, but the risk of community transmission remains;

Level 3: Restrict—high risk the disease is not contained;

Level 4: Lockdown—likely the disease is not contained (New Zealand Government, 2020).

The alert levels affected tangihanga in the following ways:

Level 1—no restriction on tangihanga;

Level 2—tangihanga restricted to 100 people;

Level 3—tangihanga restricted to 10 people;

Level 4—no tangihanga (New Zealand Government, 2020).

New Zealand went into Lockdown on March 26 and remained at that alert level for nearly five weeks (Kronast, 2020). During the Level 4 Lockdown, tangihanga were not allowed. Furthermore, cultural practices such as the hongi (the ritual greeting of pressing noses), were discouraged (Rangiwai, 2020a). This meant that Māori had to find other ways, such as digital means, to participate (Rangiwai & Sciascia, 2021). Although Level 4 included the most severe restrictions, digital participation has been used throughout the levels (Rangiwai & Sciascia, 2021).

Burrell and Selman (2020) argue that mourning in a COVID-19 milieu presents additional trials at all stages of the bereavement process. When physical attendance at funerals is untenable, technology makes digital participation possible (Bear et al., 2020). The very necessary exclusion of physical presence at funerals, however, could have some impact on psychological health (Beaunoyer et al., 2020; Burrell & Selman, 2020). However, digital technology gives people a way of connecting online (Beaunoyer et al., 2020). In Māori cultural tradition, physical presence, represented in the practice of kanohi ki te kanohi (face-to-face), is critical to relationships in Māori society and is even more important at tangihanga (O’Carroll, 2013). Indeed, the physical presence of whānau is part of the healing process (Rangiwai, 2018b).

The physical practice of kanohi ki te kanohi upholds strong kin relationships (Mead, 2016) and is the basis for many Māori customs and cultural practices including those concerning tangihanga (O’Carroll, 2013). O’Carroll (2013) argues that “Māori have long been early adopters of communications technologies” (p. 271). Digital technologies permit Māori to shift “kanohi ki te kanohi practices and rituals to the virtual space to empower their people with the ability and access to participate and engage” (O’Carroll, 2013, p. iii). Certainly, the rituals of tangihanga “are increasingly applied in virtual spaces as technology continues to advance” (O’Carroll, 2015, p. 201). Through social media, for example, Māori have been able to partake in tangihanga online as “tangihanga are shared on Facebook” (Keegan & Sciascia, 2018, p. 366). For Māori, the dead are considered tapu (sacred or restricted). Due to the ritual restriction of tapu—a critical concept in Māori life and death (Rangiwai, 2020b)—consideration must be given to the ways in which information, images, or video of tangihanga are shared online (Keegan & Sciascia, 2018; O’Carroll, 2015; Rangiwai & Sciascia, 2021).

Regarding the dead, Mead (2016) states that “Death escalates the level of tapu to maximum levels, affecting everything belonging to that person in their lifetime” (p. 54). If this is true, then surely any imagery of a decedent shared online is also tapu and therefore highly restricted. Indeed, Keegan and Sciascia (2018) report that concerns have been raised by Māori elders regarding the sharing of tangihanga proceedings online, and this is an idea that they have identified as needing further research. At tangihanga the sharing of food is used as a means of negating the ritual restriction of tapu. During the less stringent levels of Lockdown in Aotearoa New Zealand, tangihanga were permitted with restrictions concerning numbers and contact; in these cases, food was packaged and distributed to mourners and was eaten away from the proceedings. This fulfilled the requirement for food to be shared to break the tapu. In the case of livestreamed funeral proceedings, it can only be assumed that Māori who are culturally aware would partake of their own food, at home, as a means of neutralising the tapu of having participated virtually in a tangihanga.

Samoan perspective

It is important to acknowledge the scarcity of literature on Samoan death (Seiuli, 2015). During pre-contact times Samoans believed they were divine offspring of Tagaloa a lagi (creator of the universe, chief and progenitor of all other gods and humans)Tui Atua, 2018).They also believed their connection was so divine to Tagaloa and their ancestors that they did not share knowledge pertaining to the afterlife, out of fear for acts of jealousy from others (Tui Atua, 1994).

The divine nature of Samoan people is one of the main reasons they place importance on funerals. The process of preparing the body and burial is important and sacred to Samoans (Meleisea & Schoeffel, 2016). Chiefly funerals in particular are extravagant, where entire districts would be involved in the entire funeral process (Tagaloa, 2008), from adoring the coffin to laying the headstone. The Aumaga (untitled men) would sing ancient songs and Lagi (sacred) chants while carrying the deceased (Krämer, 1995).

The arrival of Christian missionaries in 1830 was the beginning of Christian influence in Samoan society (Latai, 2016). Traditional Lagi chants were then replaced by Christian church hymns and Ministers started to preside over funerals (Tagaloa, 2008). Despite this, contemporary Samoa has seen a fusion of Fa’a Samoa and Christianity (Seiuli, 2015; Tagaloa, 2008; Va’a, 1995). Samoan funerals are now a space for exchange of ie toga (fine mats) and Christian prayers, which are seen alongside traditional chanting and Christian hymns. Salutations that were traditionally made to Tagaloa a lagi can still be heard by God fearing Christian Samoans. Times of grief are a space where Fa’a Samoa and Christianity co-exist (Tunufa’i, 2013). Samoan funerals are not private individualistic events: instead they are collective displays of mourning. Members of the village and extended family bring a si’i (ceremonial gift) to the immediate family of the deceased. A si’i can consist of both western goods, such as money and traditional Samoan gifts, such as tapa siapo (Samoan prestige clothing) and ie toga (fine mats) (Thompson, 2007).

The main intention of the si’i is to provide economic and spiritual support (Va’a, 1995). The act of providing a si’i also strengthens the relationship between those who provide the si’i and the bereaved (Va’a, 1995).

It is a belief among Samoans, that death is symbolic of an escape of the spirit through the mouth (Tagaloa, 2008). They believe that death is not the final journey, but a transition between the earth realm and the afterlife (Seiuli, 2015). Even after death, kinship is maintained between family members who are alive and those who have passed (Tui Atua, 2009).

The close connection between the living and dead in Samoa can be seen in how many families bury their deceased close to their houses (Lilomaiava-Doktor, 2016). Goodman (1971, cited in Seiuli, 2015) believes families bury their relatives close to their homes out of love, with an ongoing commitment to maintain their grave.

Migration of Samoans to Australia has seen an end to burying family members next to one’s house, as burying family members on residential property goes against Australian laws. Despite this change, many Samoan funeral traditions are continued in Australia. Samoans who reside in these countries still collectively mourn and support each other through a fusion of Fa’a Samoa with Christian hymns, si’i and traditional chanting, as shown in Figure 2 (see below) (Stanley & Kearney, 2017; Va’a, 1995).

Samoan funerals during COVID-19

The global pandemic has meant another change to Samoan funerals, as communal physical gatherings are not allowed. The restrictions have meant practices such as physically providing a si’i and traditional chanting in front of large crowds were stopped. The COVID-19 border restrictions also meant families from overseas have been unable to attend funerals.

Despite the restrictions on physical gathering, Samoans have used the digital space to remain connected (Enari & Matapo, 2020, 2021). Samoans are not passive consumers of the digital space, but have used it to teach language (Enari & Taula, in press-a; Wilson, 2017), cultural protocol (Tielu, 2016) and dance.

With the COVID-19 restrictions, Samoans in Brisbane have relied upon the digital space to participate in funeral proceedings. Through the digital space, extended families from around the world have been able to virtually attend funerals. Ethical boundaries pertaining to the digital space are addressed as the bereaved immediate families are able to control what is recorded and how virtual funerals are conducted. Examples include families who have live streamed their main services for extended family and friends to watch, while also sending private photos and videos of the deceased person’s body to close family members. Through the digital space, Samoans are still able to collectively mourn and support each other, during the pandemic.

Conclusion

As communal people, both Māori and Samoan have felt the impacts of COVID-19. The collective nature of these groups is the main reason families and communities mourn, comfort and support each other during the funeral process. COVID-19 restrictions such as social distancing and border restrictions have caused these groups to engage more in the digital space. Although we have not been able to physically gather during the COVID-19 restrictions, we have been able to remain connected via the internet. The digital space has provided a platform for Māori and Samoans to participate in funeral processions. Through the digital space we have seen people both passively watch funeral services and actively direct funeral procession via webcam. Even when the pandemic is over, we believe the digital space will still be used during the grieving process.

In conclusion, funeral plans should be done with consideration of cultures that are collectivist in nature, with acknowledgement of their digital innovations. More research is needed to further explore the nuances and implications of digital funerals among Maori and Samoan people.

This article has demonstrated the strength of these concepts during times of mourning among these groups. Despite modernity, a global pandemic and death, these groups still remain interconnected. Through digital innovation, physical distance is no longer a barrier that stops family members from paying their last respects to the deceased. May this paper be used to show the importance and innovation of Māori and Samoan funerals. Fa’afetai tele lava, ngа̄ mihi.

Glossary

Māori

hapū a sub-tribe

hongi the ritual greeting of pressing noses

Hinenuitepō the Goddess of Death

kanohi ki te kanohi face-to-face

Kaupapa Māori Māori aspirations, vision and purpose

marae a complex of buildings where Māori rituals and cultural activities take place

Māui a Demi-God in the Māori worldview

tangihanga customary funeral rites

tapu sacred or restricted

Tikanga Māori Māori customs, practices and ethics

tohunga spiritual leader; expert in customs and cultural practice

whа̄nau family, families

urupā Māori burial grounds

Samoan

aganu’u Samoan customs, practices and ethics

aiga family, families

Aumaga untitled men

Fa‘a-Samoa the Samoan way

ie toga fine mats

lagi sacred

nu’u a sub-tribe

si’i ceremonial gift

Tagaloa a lagi creator of the universe, chief and progenitor of all other gods and humans

Talanoa conversations

tapa siapo Samoan prestige clothing

Footnotes

Declaration of conflicting interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

ORCID iD

Dion Enari

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