ABOUT TANGIS
It is not the intention of the Health Department to abolish the holding of tangisjjy the Maoris, as it is not practicable to do that. A reply to this effect was given by the Minister of Health (the Hon. Sir Mam Poniare) to Mr H W. Uru (Southern Maori) in the House of Representatives yesterday afternoon A tangi simply means a weeping," stated the Minister, "and you can no more stop people from weeping than you can make them fly." ■ J ArTh, eT,^ ader of the Opposition (Mr. T M. Wilford): "Individually or collectively." (Laughter.) ■"■Ti That J S S?>" - rep,lied the Minister. The matter is simply arrant nonsense. There are, of course certain things which we have to control from the public health standpoint, and we of the Maori race have_ to recognise that." There were certain parts of the tangi custom which might not be altogether hygienic, but, he thought that the Maori people had conformed to hygienic principles in this matter in tho last few years. The M-io-; Councils Act provided'that a body "could not be held for more than three days At ,ono time a tangi used to last for three weeks or a month. "It i s not peculiar to the Maori," remarked the Minister with a smile. "Apparently the Hebrew from whom the pakeha borrowed his religion, -wept over Moses for forty days and forty nights."
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https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/EP19240730.2.72.4
Bibliographic details
Evening Post, Volume CVIII, Issue 26, 30 July 1924, Page 7
Word Count
234ABOUT TANGIS Evening Post, Volume CVIII, Issue 26, 30 July 1924, Page 7
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