Different Coloured Tears: Bicultural Bereavement Perspectives

Abstract

The research explored the pathways that Māori and Pākehā bicultural whānau follow in mourning, grieving and moving on through life, in response to the death of a signficant loved one. Of specific interest were sites of conflict, processes of negotiation and pathways to resolution occuring across cultural worlds whilst deciding on, organising and enacting tangi/funeral rituals for the deceased. These explorations were founded on the Pou Toko Manawa of the framework offered by Te Tiriti o Waitangi/The Treaty of Waitangi and related principles. The research was conducted across two distinct yet inter-related studies. The first study explored the bereavement experiences of individuals belonging to Māori and Pākehā bicultural families, offering insights related to the emergence of conflict, negotiation and pathways to resolution. The insights gathered gave rise to further explorations concerned with the perspectives of experts who facilitate, mediate and enact bereavement processes. As the second study, the expert perspectives revealed supports, constraints and legalitites that emerge in bicultural bereavement processes. The culmination of the two studies engender a multi-faceted understanding of key concepts, issues and processes in bicultural bereavement, and the cultural and socio-political landscapes within which these events are located. In considering the research findings within the theorectical framework of Te Tiriti o Waitangi/The Treaty of Waitangi, the research offers a unique bicultural and New Zealand specific understanding of conflict and resolution.