Would I do a Haka at a Funeral?
One of the consequences that comes with being involved in funerals is that whenever a funeral is mentioned, or something appears in the news that is related to funerals, I am drawn to listening or reading about it.
I read a lovely piece in today’s paper; the funeral took place yesterday, of Police Sergeant Matt Ratana. It followed an awful incident in which a dedicated police officer was killed in his own police station by an arrested suspect. Not surprisingly, it hit the headlines and created a lot of interest.
In the report of his funeral, there was a picture and description of how some of his colleagues and rugby club members performed a haka, outside the crematorium. It was a lovely gesture and entirely appropriate for Matt Ratana, who moved from New Zealand to Britain and who had once performed a haka whilst on duty to defuse a tense police stand off. The account in the Guardian is worth reading and probably appeared in other papers too.
My only brush with the sport of rugby was when I was at school and I have few positive memories of that. I don’t imagine that a haka is likely to be planned for my funeral. However, in the context of someone associated with the sport and also with New Zealand, it made an excellent add-on to a funeral and I would love to see something like that performed at a funeral that I take.
There is always room for different ways of expressing grief and love at a funeral, especially when it is closely linked to the person. The short time slots at many crematoria and the restrictions on numbers allowed to attend during the Covid restrictions make it difficult to be really creative but outside of those problems, there are possibilities.
So, as for the question of would I perform a haka?’; well, no, I wouldn’t, but for Matt Ratana, it was a perfect expression of the regard that others had for him.
