Home at last

This is good.

"A repatriation ceremony for his tupuna (ancestors) yesterday sent a shiver up the spine of Rangitane iwi member Jeffrey Hynes.
"It was hard not to get emotionally charged in a setting like this. Even the strongest man would be tempted to cry."
Mr Hynes and 100 other iwi members retrieved the bones of their ancestors yesterday at a ceremony at Canterbury Museum.
It was a day for the people of Rangitane to be proud of who they are, said several iwi members.
The iwi, many of whom had travelled from Marlborough, went to the museum to reclaim their ancestors' bones, believed to be about 700 years old. The tupuna were excavated up to 70 years ago by the museum from the Wairau Bar for study and display purposes. About 60 tupuna will be brought back to Marlborough today for reburial at the Bar tomorrow."

This is a proud day for Rangitane and all maori, especially those who whakapapa to the first peoples of Te Wai Pounamu.