Whānau wait seven weeks for lockdown to end before burying father

Funeral director Allen Pukepuke says there are many lessons to be learned for non-Māori from Covid. Photo / Sylvie Whinray

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A whānau asked Haven Falls funeral director Allen Pukepuke to keep the tūpāpaku of their loved one for seven weeks while they waited for the Covid lockdown restrictions to be lifted.

Pukepuke said each night, without fail, the man's partner would park outside the funeral home.

"She would park and have a sleep," Pukepuke said. "She wanted to be close to her loved one.

"After the seven weeks and the restrictions were lifted, whānau took the tūpāpaku over the border to his ahi ka, and had a meaningful send-off for their father, grandfather, uncle and husband."

Pukepuke said a Keep Safe strategy was also initiated during the lockdown period as embalmers were asked to keep the wellbeing of a body for longer periods than normal.

"We would have up to 13 bodies in one of our four funeral homes at any given time.

"That was called Keep Safe because whānau asked for their loved one to be held longer than what was the norm."

He said after the restrictions were lifted, the whānau had their tangi on their marae under their terms.

Meanwhile, Pukepuke believes more Māori are opting for cremation over burial because of two factors - cost and disconnection from culture.

He said the majority of Māori not connected to their whakapapa, their marae and their home community, wanted their loved ones close by - not halfway down the country. They are the ones who are disconnected from their whakapapa and have a cultural disconnect.

"And the cost is a big factor now," Pukepuke said. "To bury a person at Waikumete Cemetery you have to put $5500 up front and for a lot of whānau that's out of their reach."