Tweet
A woman drowned by too much love
The Dominion Post (NZ)
Last updated 10:38 13/06/2009
No-one disputed that Janet Moses' whanau loved her. Perhaps not wisely, but too well. Perhaps they loved her to death.
Intense heat, floors pooled with water and a determined whanau, chanting and stamping, marked their attempts to rid Janet, 22, of the demon within.
What began as family members gathering to support their sick - perhaps mentally ill - relative at a house in Wainuiomata, ended with possession and death.
The flat, the home of Ms Moses' maternal grandparents, was awash with water used to flush out evil spirits and cool the dozens of people surrounding her in the small room. Water rose up from the carpet around the shoes of police called to the scene. A hole had been poked into the kitchen floor to let the water drain.
In a series of statements that police began collecting from the accused later the same night the picture emerged of an intensely close, large family unit which, although not generally having formal close links to their Maori heritage or an organised religion, nevertheless had strong cultural and spiritual beliefs.
But the death of the whanau matriarch, Gwendoline Rawiri, about six weeks before, had left a vacuum. She had lifted makutu in the past and would have known what to do.
Her grieving family tried to summon her advice.
When Ms Moses' condition did not respond to love, prayers and the ritual blessing with a mere sprinkling of water, water became the instrument to "cleanse" or flush out the demon the family saw in her and others.
Over what was probably hours, water was poured into her mouth and eyes. She was held down when she resisted and her mouth and eyelids held open.
But in the intense heat and emotion her family said they were not seeing her fighting - they saw the struggle against the demon that possessed her.
A 14-year-old was also alleged to have fought them as fingers picked at her eyes and water was used to flush out the evil spirits they thought they could see there.
The possessed were urged and squeezed to encourage vomiting, and the result joined the slosh on the floor and was stomped on as if to kill any demons it contained.
A fan was swung around the room to cool the crowd in the sealed flat, but they also poured water over themselves and each other to ease the heat.
Ad Feedback
Earlier in the ceremony vomit-stained towels were put in a laundry. Their presence seemed to lead to the ban on passing them to reach the toilet beyond so the dozens of people in that tiny space could only wet their pants.
The noise of rhythmic stamping kept neighbours awake - one likened it to a haka - and men outside the flat motioned with the dead grandmother's walking crutches as if they were taiaha.
By morning, Ms Moses was dead.
NUMBERS AND THE BEAST
2 alleged victims - Janet Moses and a 14-year- old girl.
9 members of Janet Moses' extended family charged with her manslaughter.
5 found guilty, 1 discharged during the trial and 3 acquitted by the jury last night.
2 people charged with cruelty to a 14-year-old girl in their care and found not guilty. The girl spent 5 days in hospital.
About 9 hours passed before police were called after Ms Moses died.
The trial went on for 29 days.
The jury deliberated for 20 hours.
101 people on the witness list.
10 defence lawyers.
3 prosecution lawyers.
1 concrete lion.
The Dominion Post (NZ)
Last updated 10:38 13/06/2009
No-one disputed that Janet Moses' whanau loved her. Perhaps not wisely, but too well. Perhaps they loved her to death.
Intense heat, floors pooled with water and a determined whanau, chanting and stamping, marked their attempts to rid Janet, 22, of the demon within.
What began as family members gathering to support their sick - perhaps mentally ill - relative at a house in Wainuiomata, ended with possession and death.
The flat, the home of Ms Moses' maternal grandparents, was awash with water used to flush out evil spirits and cool the dozens of people surrounding her in the small room. Water rose up from the carpet around the shoes of police called to the scene. A hole had been poked into the kitchen floor to let the water drain.
In a series of statements that police began collecting from the accused later the same night the picture emerged of an intensely close, large family unit which, although not generally having formal close links to their Maori heritage or an organised religion, nevertheless had strong cultural and spiritual beliefs.
But the death of the whanau matriarch, Gwendoline Rawiri, about six weeks before, had left a vacuum. She had lifted makutu in the past and would have known what to do.
Her grieving family tried to summon her advice.
When Ms Moses' condition did not respond to love, prayers and the ritual blessing with a mere sprinkling of water, water became the instrument to "cleanse" or flush out the demon the family saw in her and others.
Over what was probably hours, water was poured into her mouth and eyes. She was held down when she resisted and her mouth and eyelids held open.
But in the intense heat and emotion her family said they were not seeing her fighting - they saw the struggle against the demon that possessed her.
A 14-year-old was also alleged to have fought them as fingers picked at her eyes and water was used to flush out the evil spirits they thought they could see there.
The possessed were urged and squeezed to encourage vomiting, and the result joined the slosh on the floor and was stomped on as if to kill any demons it contained.
A fan was swung around the room to cool the crowd in the sealed flat, but they also poured water over themselves and each other to ease the heat.
Ad Feedback
Earlier in the ceremony vomit-stained towels were put in a laundry. Their presence seemed to lead to the ban on passing them to reach the toilet beyond so the dozens of people in that tiny space could only wet their pants.
The noise of rhythmic stamping kept neighbours awake - one likened it to a haka - and men outside the flat motioned with the dead grandmother's walking crutches as if they were taiaha.
By morning, Ms Moses was dead.
NUMBERS AND THE BEAST
2 alleged victims - Janet Moses and a 14-year- old girl.
9 members of Janet Moses' extended family charged with her manslaughter.
5 found guilty, 1 discharged during the trial and 3 acquitted by the jury last night.
2 people charged with cruelty to a 14-year-old girl in their care and found not guilty. The girl spent 5 days in hospital.
About 9 hours passed before police were called after Ms Moses died.
The trial went on for 29 days.
The jury deliberated for 20 hours.
101 people on the witness list.
10 defence lawyers.
3 prosecution lawyers.
1 concrete lion.
