M9: Casketeers star says one of the best places to learn and hear te reo is at Tangihanga

M9 is a ground-breaking hybrid of 'Ted Talks', a theatre show and a ‘micro’ conference, and designed to be accessible to all Aotearoa, M9 presents nine unique Māori voices in celebration of Te Wiki o te Reo Māori through Whakaaturanga, Whakaari, Whakawhiti Kōrero - Presentation Performance , Conversation.

To celebrate Te Wiki o te reo Māori M9 presented Whiua ki te ao! - Cast the Māori language to the world!

Francis and Kaiora Tipene (Te Rarawa, Te Aupōuri, Ngāi Takoto, Ngāti Kahu) are the proprietors of Tipene Funerals, an Aotearoa funeral business based in Onehunga and Henderson, Auckland and now in Porirua serving the Pōneke rohe.

Both hail from Northland, Aotearoa - Francis from Pawarenga, Kaiora from Kaitaia. The now married couple met at Te Wānanga Takiura o ngā Kura Kaupapa Māori o Aotearoa, a Māori teachers training college before embarking on a life devoted to their passion for helping people at times of great need. In 2018 they starred in the first season of The Casketeers. A NZ hit show and regarded by The Spinoff as 'the greatest local comedy of 2018', The show currently in its 6th Season, went on to winning New Zealand Television Awards and hitting international streaming beast - Netflix.

Francis and Kaiora are graduates of the WelTec Funeral Directors course. The duo have 25+ years combined experience in the funeral industry and pride themselves around the focus of ‘tiaki tūpāpaku me te manaaki whānau pani.’