Whenua ki te whenua: a taonga for your whānau - English - HE3325
The full resource:
tō tātou reo | advance care planning
Whenua ki te whenua
A taonga for your whānau
This document is to support your kōrero before completing an advance care plan.
We are connected to the land from the first breath of life to the last. Our spirit is carried within the belly of the wind to the resting place of the ancestors.
At birth, our pito* and whenua** go to the earth. On our life journey we draw on nurturing care – and this continues for transitioning towards the end of life too.
Identifying whānau, carers and support is important for our final return to the whenua once more – practically, physically and spiritually.
This document will help you think and talk through your advance care plan.
*pito: end of umbilical cord closest to the belly button
**whenua: placenta
Our tohu and its meaning was created by Len Hetet (Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Ngāti Maniapoto, Te Atiawa, Ngāti Apa).
The bird used in this resource is the kuaka (godwit).
The godwits are said to accompany the spirits of the departed back to Hawaiki.
E ai ki te kōrero, ka hoki tahi atu te kuaka me ngā wairua ki Hawaiki.
A taonga for your whānau
Why do an advance care plan?
- So your whānau know what’s important to you if your health changes
- So your health professionals know what is important to you in your health care and treatment
- It tells people how you want your last days to be
- To share your tangihanga/funeral wishes
- Doing what you would like at that time can bring peace to your whānau and friends when you are gone.
When should you start?
- When you are well
- When you are unwell or have a chronic condition
- When you are having planned treatment or surgery
- When you believe you are close to your last days.
Now is always the best time to start an advance care plan.
If well, you may think about:
- Do you have values, beliefs and customs that are important to you?
- What makes your day meaningful?
- Who do you like spending time with?
- Are there illnesses like cancer, heart disease or diabetes in your family that might affect you later?
- Do you know someone who is great with detail and will follow things through? What could they do for you?
- Who is gentle and nurturing, and someone that you would like to care for you when you are unwell?
- Exploring costs and payment for future care and/or tangihanga/funerals
- Who else in your whānau might need extra care and support?
If unwell, you might talk about:
- How you feel about facing the future
- How your health might change in the future
- How your health might affect you and your whānau
- Who else can support you and your whānau
- If things become really hard at home, how you would feel about being cared for in other homes or in a public hospital, private hospital, aged residential care or hospice service
- If there are different values or beliefs within your whānau, what will they need?
- If time was short, what would your priorities be?
- How your plans may change or be paused due to a pandemic or national emergency. Can you change or complete your customs at a later time?
If your last days are close, you may talk about:
- What quality of life means to you and your whānau now
- What a comfortable death would look like for you
- How you feel about medicines and treatments to manage pain and breathing
- Exploring spiritual matters with someone
- Sharing stories and taonga with your whānau or transferring wisdom and cultural practices with specific people
- Where you want to die and who may be with you.
See how other people have approached advance care planning with these pūrākau*
*pūrākau: stories
Watch their stories of advance care planning here: Advance care planning
Kia kōrero I Let’s talk advance care planning
Start your plan today
Get an advance care plan to complete
- Download it from Advance care planning
- Ask for a copy from your doctor or nurse.
To complete your plan:
- You don’t have to do it all at once – take your time
- Speak to your whānau and friends
- Talk to your doctor or nurse
- Be open – you might surprise yourself
- You can always go back and update it anytime
- Your advance care plan will help strengthen whānau and friends when the time comes.
When your plan is finished:
- Share it with your whānau
- Share it with your GP and specialists
- Tell people you have an advance care plan and where to find it.
Your advance care plan will bring peace of mind for you and others.
We are connected to the land from the first breath of life to the last. Our spirit is carried within the belly of the wind to the resting place of the ancestors.
Tihei mauri ora!
Kua tipu ngā rākau
Kua pūāwai ngā hua
Kua waiata ngā manu
Kua tau te wao
Kua tau, kua tau, kua tau e
Haere mai te āiotanga
Haumi e, hui e, tāiki e
Hail the breath of life!
The trees have grown
The flowers have bloomed
The birds have sung
The forest has settled
It is settled, it is settled, it is settled
Let the peace be amongst us
Let us all be one.
For more information go to Advance care planning or your local contact