Casketeer Kaiora Tipene and Anika talk about life, death, and some of the weirder burial requests Kaiora has received.
The final season of the popular reality TV show The Casketeers, which follows the staff of Tipene Funerals as they go about their important mahi, played out late last year. Star of the show, Kaiora Tipene, talks to Anika about life in the funeral industry.
Watch the video version of the episode here
Becoming TV stars
"When we realised that that was the finale for The Casketeers there was so much that came back to me. I'm always thinking of the grieving whanau that we cared for, who shared their journey with us, the kaimahi of Tipene Funerals and also with the show. I'm just blessed that they were willing to share those vulnerable moments with the motu and also with the world."
"When we were asked if a camera could follow us my husband disagreed with the whole thing, in the beginning. It took him a while to come round. What we noticed was social media was evolving and whanau were sharing certain moments of huimate. And so we knew that if we were going to do this, we had to do this our way and we had to show them how we manāki the tūpāpaku. So it's definitely something that we were a little bit iffy about at first, but we had to trust those who created that format to ensure that the loved ones were always dignified and whanau were always still having their moment with their loved one."
"I look back now, and when you're sitting with a new group of people, introducing yourselves. I'm a lawyer. I'm a doctor and then you come round to yourself and you say, well, I'm a funeral director. There was always some type of awkwardness there when you did inform people of your profession. I like to believe now, over time, since the show has aired, it's demystified. People have come up to me and said, 'I just want to thank you for what you do. You've helped me through my grief. I can now talk openly with my whanau about what I want for my tangi'."
How they got into the business…