So many people have criticized and mocked the ritual calling it “weird” and “disgusting.” This post explains the traditional Maori custom of burying the placenta.
An image of a newborn baby next to his placenta draws attention to the sacred link between the organ and the land.
In the image, the baby boy is still attached to his placenta- the organ which nourishes a fetus in utero.
A photograph of a Maori baby, with his placenta and the umbilical cord spelling out the word ‘love’.
Whenua to Whenua (Placenta will now be returned to the land):
“The word ‘whenua’ relates to the placenta and to the land. Whenua (placenta) is returned to the whenua (land) with the pito (umbilical cord) the link between the newborn and the mother.