Tēnei au
Burying the womb following hysterectomy
Hysterectomy - the surgical removal of the whare tangata - is deeply unsettling for many wāhine who recognise the whare tangata as the sacred house that connects them to the Atua Wāhine, their tīpuna and uri whakaheke.
It is important to understand that if the whare tangata physical organ needs to be removed, her wairua remains within. This simple ritual can be used to re-confirm connection to her wairua. It can also be modified and used to bury any body parts, such as breast tissue following surgery.
All things return to the source, the mother, Papatūānuku. When you bury your whare tangata, rather than a process of loss, see it as a devotion rite, a symbol that expresses your connection to Papatūānuku and the Atua Wāhine. In this way the process becomes one in which you come closer to them.
Tenei au, composed by Matua Wiremu Huta Martin in collaboration with Ngahuia, can be used to bury the whare tangata back to the earth in exactly the same way as the placenta is buried in the earth following birth:
Tenei au tōu uri e Hineahuone e kōkiri ana ki a koe
kia toro mai tōu mana atua, tōu mana wahine.
Māturuturu iho ai tō tapu ki runga ki tēnei tuawahine
Kei te takutaku ki a koe e Papa
kia takoto mārie tōku paepae uri
ki tōu whare atua.
He apakura nōku
Tūrou Hawaiki!
This is me your descendant, o Hineahuone
Invoking you to cloak me with your divinity
That your sacredness purify me.
I am imploring you, oh Papatuanuku
We are one
Let my sacred beam of descendants
Lie peacefully in your womb.
This my farewell
Hawaiki strengthen my resolve!
Tēnei Au
Ngahuia Murphy - Producer/ Director
Komako Silver - Sound Design and Taonga Pūoro Artist
Jaimee Cruse - Audio Post-Production
Shellie Hanley- Photography
Tema Kwan - Video Post-Production