Tupuna: Maori in Australia divided in death

Abstract

Death and disposition of remains are universal problems that touch every culture. Although every culture organises and packages dying and death each manages disposition in a different way. When Māori die in Australia it tests the strength of their resolve to be Māori and differentiate between cultural and national identities and their veneer of Australian-ness. This research engages with constructivism, grounded theory and kaupapa Māori frameworks in order to determine factors that influence repatriation of cremated Māori remains to New Zealand. At the core of this research is the attribution of identity to cremated remains (cremains) as it determines how they will be treated and cared for. Interment decisions have significant cultural and economic impacts, but the main contribution of this thesis is these decisions may redefine Māori cultural and spiritual conceptions of deceased and so homelands. Data was collected for a period of six months through an online questionnaire deployed through social media. From this questionnaire eight people self-nominated for in-depth interviews to determine the reasons for their decisions, however only six people provided consent. Interviews were transcribed and coded and organised into themes. Although this is a small sample size and not generalizable, it is indicative and leaves scope for a much broader study. Analysis indicated Māori transmigrants are making decisions about tangihanga (funerals) and interment of cremains under difficult circumstances. All the while they were either disconnected from family, tikanga (cultural protocols) and a society that values deceased or connected to tikanga that was disrupted by the colonial project. As transmigrants, Māori tend to cremate because the cost of burial is too expensive and repatriation of a body is unachievable with a limited disposable income. Interment in either country appears to be determined by the strength of connections to family, kainga (homelands) and ancestors on either side of the Tasman Sea. This generated internal conflict and divided loyalty between both countries. This thesis is about how death practices are disrupted by migration and are forced to evolve. Although difficult, this thesis has determined that people participating in this research attributed an identity and an afterlife to cremains. They are recognised as tūpuna, still protected, watched over, and secreted away to be safe from harm.