Potiki

Roimata finds little comfort in the fact that the construction work has stopped because its termination has been brought about by Toko’s death. It is “the manner of his death,” in particular, that causes her pain, along with the “brokenness and suffering” it has caused Manu, whom Roimata refers to as “the little bird” (159). Following Toko’s death, Tangi returns to the whanau. On the first day of mourning, she goes “up to the workplace in the hills” (159) to tell the construction workers that their bosses are responsible for her brother’s death, causing the workers, including Matiu and Timoti, to quit their jobs immediately and spend the three days of mourning dedicated to Toko assisting with his funeral. On the final day of mourning, the Maori community and the hundreds of visitors who have come to attend the karakia accompany Toko’s casket up the hill to the urupa, where they bury it. They then return to the wharekai for hot food, where Roimata and her family have to “turn to the living” (162), although their grief makes this very difficult.

Roimata then recounts the events of the night of Toko’s death: one night, she awakes to the sound of Toko wheeling himself to the meeting house, to where Manu has ventured in his sleep.