God Forbid Bodies bodies bodies: burial, belief and death across faith
May 16, 2025
Join Paul Tapsell, a Māori academic who enriches discussions on Indigenous death practices, Vicky Balabanski, an eco-theologian exploring Christian views on death, and Annie Whitlocke, a Buddhist death doula guiding end-of-life experiences. They dive into how different faiths perceive death, evolving burial rituals in the face of ecological challenges, and the significance of personalized support from death doulas. The conversation highlights the interplay between tradition and modernity in death care, offering profound insights into cultural perspectives on mortality.
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Life And Death As A Continuum
- Māori view life and death as a continuum where people come from and return to the whenua (earth placenta).
- Wairua (spirit) combines streams from sky and earth and separates back on death.
Pre-Contact Māori Funeral Process
- Pre-contact Māori treated the dead as if living until putrefaction then secretly buried the tupapaku overnight.
- A year later bones were lifted, dressed in red ochre and presented for final farewell.
Hybridisation Of Rituals
- Many Māori practices persisted but hybridised with Christian forms like coffins and cemeteries.
- The underlying function of extended mourning and a one-year release ritual remains.