Whānau extend tangihanga over regions in lockdown

For the first time, a tangihanga has been held across two different Covid Alert Levels. 

On Thursday, the whānau of 71-year-old Te Tai Naera gathered in West Auckland.

Naera lived and died in Auckland, which is in Alert Level 4, but was to be buried in the Far North under Level 2 with the help of whānau from Waikato. 

"We've got whānau, our nieces, coming from Hamilton travelling from Level 2 to meet us at the border, and they can go through with him and take him for the rest of that journey," his daughter Gloria Vetekina said. 

His immediate family were able to go inside the funeral home for a personal farewell with Naera, which wasn't allowed until a 1News story reported criticisms that the rules were too strict. 

Other family members had to wait outside and none could carry the coffin or touch his body. 

Vetekina told 1News it had been difficult mourning under the strict rules. 

"And to not be able to do that... yeah, it's foreign, very foreign. 

"We aren't the type of people either who want to take photos. It's just been difficult and very challenging." 

Before leaving Auckland, staff from Te Whānau O Waipareira (Wapereira Trust) greeted them as they paused for Covid-19 testing. 

Then on to Te Hana at the patrolled border with Northland, where Ngāti Whātua gave their first-ever blessing for a body returning north. 

"The whānau have been really good under the circumstances to make sure that they follow protocols and processes," Ngāti Whātua CEO Antony Thompson said. 

"But, at the same time, the respect and mana of their tūpāpaku are adhered to as well." 

The cousins from Hamilton then headed off, escorting Naera further north as Gloria Vetekina and the rest of their whānau had to stay in their cars. 

"We are used to being able to see our whānau off very closely and to not be able to have this opportunity... I believe will be something that will stick with them for a very, very long time," she said. 

"On a personal level, it's always going to be something that I'm going to struggle with because he's very, very close to my heart."