tangi

Definition

A Maori dirge, or song for the dead.

Etymology

Borrowed from Māori tangi (“lament, mourning, funeral ceremony”).

Example Sentences

• "He goes on to say that the Government, The Maori Sanitary Councils, and the Native Land Court have endeavoured to prevent Maori tangis lasting for more than three or four days […]."
• "Late in the nineteenth century Māori women began to adopt the Victorian mourning costume of black clothes for tangi, and the practice continued long after Pākehā New Zealanders had dropped the custom."