There are a range of pūrākau Māori/Māori narratives that relate to and connect to death. These can help us understand the origins of death, inform tikanga we use and carry out around death, and give us a place to look to when dealing with death. We have collated some of these as a downloadable PDF resource.
It's important to remember that there can be many different versions of the same pūrākau, even within iwi, hapū and whānau. This does not mean that one version is right or better than others.
Please note that the pūrākau shared here are brief in nature - we encourage you to seek out and interpret more detailed versions of these and other pūrākau that are relevant to your own whānau, hapū or iwi.
Disclaimer
How To Tangi resources are intended as a starting point for further research and discussion with your whānau and community about death, dying, and tangihanga/funerals - not as a complete guide. The information in this resource is current as at April 2025 and accurate to the best of our knowledge. Reo Māori Mai assumes no responsibility or liability for actions taken based on any of our How To Tangi content or of any other sources linked in this content.
