Raranga programme helps funeral director to connect with traditional cultural practices
Descended from a long line of undertakers, it’s no surprise that it was tangi that brought Delano Murray (Ngāti Kurī) to Heretaunga, where he’s a funeral director for Simplicity Funerals and studying Toi Paematua Level 5 in raranga with Te Wānanga o Aotearoa.
“I'm a fourth generation undertaker and over the years we've moved from Te Hāpua to Kaitaia to Auckland to Hamilton - where I spent most of my life - and then came down here 10 years ago because the whānau needed a lot of help in terms of education and what the options are, what do funeral homes actually do, all that transparency kind of stuff,” he says.
Delano says he noticed some people in Hastings using woven caskets, but they were hard to come by.
“You really need to know someone to get one of those, or pay a big price to buy it, so that kind of piqued my interest in learning how to do that. And then I was cleaning out my friends yard and he had a lot of harakeke and I was online looking up the tikanga behind it and it came up with the raranga course so I applied.”
He’s loved his experience studying with Te Wānanga o Aotearoa and isn’t shy about encouraging others to enrol. Rather than make things for friends and whānau, he suggests they enrol themselves and learn how.
He firmly believes he is lucky to have Karmen Thomson as his kaiako to mentor and guide him.
“Her skill set is above and beyond excellence and she's a role model for me every day.”
With his new raranga skills, Delano intends putting them to use in the industry he knows so well. In his experience, he believes whānau can learn a lot by being involved in preparing a casket for a loved one.
“Making it together as a whānau, prepping it together, finishing everything off, transferring them in and learning the tikanga behind the whole thing. And it's also environmentally friendly and it's how we used to do things anyway.”
Ultimately he’d like to build a sustainable business making caskets and showing others how to make them too.
“First, I’ve got to learn how to do it, that's the main thing, and then look at teaching other people so it's more economical for whānau. So, I think my main focus would be on caskets, but I’ll always do kete. I love kete.,” he says.
Pūrongo whakahirahira
Featured stories
Creating the spark for business success
With plenty of experience as an electrician, Josh Verstraten was ready to branch out from employee to business owner, but he knew running a successful business would require a new set of skills.
From financial stress to financial freedom for Auckland whānau
For Augustine Kopa, studying the Certificate in Money Management at Te Wānanga o Aotearoa was about creating a better future for her whānau.
Two generations, one reo Māori journey
When Melody Francis (Ngāti Kahungunu) saw the positive impact that studying te reo Māori had on her mum, she decided to jump on the waka and begin the journey alongside her.
Tikanga study boosts whānau presence on marae
Patrick and Donna Tobin (Ngāti Kahu) are a brother-and-sister duo studying tikanga alongside their wider whānau at Te Paatu Marae in Kaitaia, all working towards the betterment of their whānau, iwi, and marae.
A teacher’s path to understanding tikanga
Originally from South Africa, Franda Zondagh has called Aotearoa home since 2003, but it was through studying He Papa Tikanga with Te Wānanga o Aotearoa that she began to feel a deeper connection to the place she lives and people she serves in her mahi.
Leading by example and learning te reo Māori
Liisa Wharepapa’s (Te Whānau ā Apanui) journey with te reo Māori wasn’t something that happened overnight, it was a goal waiting to be pursued until the moment she felt ready to take that step.
Returning home and reclaiming te reo Māori
After many years away building his professional career, Logan Bertram (Whakatōhea), returned home to Ōpōtiki with a clear goal of reconnecting with his whakapapa and creating a better future for his young whānau.
A teaching journey shaped by whānau
The journey to becoming a teacher was not a straight line for Nimai Fraser‑Eccleston, it was shaped by whānau, lived experience and his desire to create a meaningful life for his tamariki.
Governance grounded in te ao Māori
When the opportunity came up to study Manu Taiko, New Zealand Certificate in Māori Governance, at the Ngāmotu (New Plymouth) campus of Te Wānanga o Aotearoa, Paora Rauputu didn’t hesitate to enrol.
Flexible study supports Cromwell business owner
Based in Cromwell, Sam Taylor needed flexibility to balance work, study and build his business, and found exactly that through the online Certificate in Small Business at Te Wānanga o Aotearoa.
