Many families continue the ancient tikanga of burying a baby’s whenua (placenta) in ancestral land. For some, it is the ceremony to publically mark the birth of a child. This is the account of one such occasion for a whānau from Koukourārata.

Hot, dry, wind pinned skirts against legs, tousled hair and took off with Tāua’s hot-pink hat. Perfect weather for a fun celebration. Kahukura Wayne Manawatu Te Ra Sykes, aged seven months, was coming home for the first time. [Read more…]