More education on rāhui is being suggested after two people died swimming in breach of one on the Manawatū River yesterday.
Manawatū River Photo: 123RF
The rāhui was placed on the section of river in Palmerston North on Wednesday, when an 11-year-old girl and 25-year-old woman went missing.
The body of the 11-year-old was recovered on 31 December and last night police recovered another body, believed to be of the woman who went missing with her.
Police said formal identification has yet to take place.
But yesterday, two men drowned in the river after swimming near Awapuni.
In a statement, police said emergency services received reports from the public just after 5.30pm on Sunday that two men swimming in the river near Awapuni were missing.
A search was launched, and the men's bodies were recovered "a short time later at a nearby location", police said.
Water Safety New Zealand's Rob Hewitt said a national system of signage, such as bright red or green markers, could help prevent further water-related deaths.
"It's just about educating our whānau. It's just about making sure that there are clear, precise signs in and around the place at pivotal positions of the riverway.
"And it might just be a traffic light system, you know, red and green. Yes, you can [swim], no you can't [swim]."
Hewitt said it was clear that relying on word of mouth for rāhui information was no longer enough to keep whānau safe.
He said it could be difficult to understand what a rāhui is if people are unfamiliar.
"A rāhui is a space of sacredness where the river is out of bounds, or the river is tapu at this point in time. And that word 'tapu' is because the river holds the deceased.
"The length of rāhui varies iwi to iwi, though it is normally between seven to 10 days or until the dead is found."