Te Okiokinga Mutunga Kore - The Eternal Rest: Investigating Māori Attitudes towards Death.

Abstract

Metaphorically entitled as ‘te okiokinga mutunga kore’, ‘the eternal rest’, this thesis addresses the research question ‘what are Māori attitudes to death?’, specifically experienced by three major cohorts of people; working professionals, those in education and Māori cultural practitioners, and explains how their environments have shaped their view of death. These attitudes are shaped through upbringing and belief, thus, this thesis re-tells Māori mythological beliefs of origins of death, discusses key tikanga Māori (Māori customary concepts) and their importance within traditional and contemporary Māori death rituals, which, in turn, forms the unique attitudes that Māori have towards death.