"Tangi"

The poem “Tangi” by Hone Tuwhare, describes his feelings when he is at a European funeral and then when he attends a Maori tangi. Rather than being a poem about a specific persons death, this poem is about death generally and the way that different cultures approach it. The two techniques that he uses are negatives and contrast.

One of the important ideas in this poem is the unfamiliar feeling he gets when attending a foreign funeral. The way he projects this point is by using negatives, such as “I did not meet her on the bordered path nor detect her fragrance in the frolic of violets and carnations.” The two negatives “not” and “nor” are later replaced with more positive words that express how he can properly relate to the tangi. These more positive words are introduced in the lines “but I heard her with the wind crooning in the hung wires” and “caught her beauty by the coffin…” These quotes help the reader understand the main idea by showing his more positive side when he is in a familiar place, unlike when he feels alienated from the European funeral. He feels lost and dislocated until he can express his feelings in a familiar way.

Another important idea in this poem is comfort. The second technique the author uses in the poem is the contrasts between the European funeral and the tangi. At the start of the poem he uses “bordered path” and “in the frolics of violets and carnations” to relate to a European type setting. Near the end of the poem the writer uses sentences like “calm vigil of hands” and “green-leaved anguish” to show hoe Maori women sit at a Tangi and the green leaves that they wear. These two quotes create a contrast between the two different types of funerals. This helps the reader understand the two funerals and shows the reader how different cultures can express there selves. This supports the main idea.

By describing his feelings when at a European funeral and when attending a tangi. The two techniques, contrast and negatives, helps support this idea. The idea of unfamiliarity and detachment are greatly supported by the techniques the author uses.