New Māori monarch announced ahead of funeral proceedings for Kīngi Tūheiti

[별고을]

Taupiri mai anoo e te Kuiini hou ki too iwi. Kuiini Nga Wai Hono i te Po.

Welcome the new Queen to your people. Queen of the Waters at Night.

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Kīngi Tūheitia tangi live updates:

New Māori monarch announced this morning ahead of funeral proceedings for Kīngi Tūheitia

By Julia Gabel

Multimedia Journalist·NZ Herald·

5 Sep, 2024 11:47 AM

The youngest child of Kīngi Tūheitia has been anointed the new leader of the Kīngitanga, hours before Kīngi Tūheitia Pōtatau Te Wherowhero VII is carried to Taupiri maunga for burial.

Ngā Wai hono i te pō will take over a legacy of her loved father and her much loved grandmother Te Arikinui Dame Te Atairangikaahu, the sixth and seventh Māori monarchs.

The Queen is 27 years old. She is the youngest child of Tūheitia Pōtatau Te Wherowhero VII.

KEY POINTS

• Tūheitia Pōtatau Te Wherowhero VII, the seventh Māori king, passed away at age 69.
• Tūheitia promoted unity and Māori causes, becoming a respected leader and diplomat.
• Thousands of mourners from across the country have since gathered at Tūrangawaewae Marae.
  
• New Zealand politicians have paid their respects.
• Today marks the seventh and final day of formal tangihanga proceedings.
  
• The youngest child of Kīngi Tūheitia – Ngā Wai hono i te pō – has been anointed the new leader of the Kīngitanga.

'The face of renewal': New Māori Queen to continue lineage

01:20 pm

What you need to know about the new Māori monarch Te Kuini Nga Wai hono I te po

Photo / TVNZ

Kuini Nga wai hono i te po was born on 13 January 1997 and is the only daughter and youngest child of the late Kiingi Tuheitia Pootatau Te Wherowhero VII and Makau Ariki Atawhai. She was named successor to her father on 5 September 2024 following his death on 30 August 2024 and is the eighth monarch of the Kiingitanga (King Movement).

Te Kuini received her moko kauae in 2016 to support and acknowledge her father and describes it as her gift to him. Kapa haka is her passion and one that has been nurtured within her by her parents and whaanau since the age of three. She has previously performed with several kapa haka groups at the Te Matatini national kapa haka festival.

Te Kuini was educated at Te Whare Kura o Rakaumanga in Huntly and received a Sir Edmund Hillary Scholarship in 2016, completing a Bachelor of Arts followed by a Master of Arts Degree with First Class Honours at Te Whare Waananga o Waikato (University of Waikato) in 2022.

Prior to her succession Te Kuini served in several governance roles as representative of the Kiingitanga, including the Te Kohanga Reo National Trust and the Waitangi National Trust.

01:18 pm

The guard of honour is in place at Taupiri maunga.

Photo / Julia Gabel

01:16 pm

Mourners on horseback on Great South Road.

Photos / Michael Craig

01:15 pm

People are being invited on to the maunga if they wish to view proceedings from there, being told “your presence is important”.

01:15 pm

Photos / Michael Craig

01:10 pm

Buck Shelford standing in the guard of honour

Among the people standing in the guard of honour is rugby legend Sir Wayne "Buck" Shelford.

Photo / Julia Gabel

01:09 pm

The waka carrying Kīngi Tūheitia is expected to take two hours to travel down the awa, accompanied by a flotilla of six other waka.

He will be buried at Taupiri maunga at about 3pm.

Rugby league teams will carry him about 300 steps up the steep maunga.

01:07 pm

Hundreds of people are also sitting within the urupā space of Taupiri maunga.

They have been invited to do so but given rules around where they can go when the King’s casket is carried up.

01:07 pm

The atmosphere is a mix of solemnity and loving, as mourners grapple with farewelling a beloved monarch and ushering in a new one.

01:04 pm

Two boats – one carrying a large bouquet of flowers – are currently docking at the river bank. 

01:03 pm

Members of the public who are on the bottom of Taupiri Maunga are being reminded of Māori protocol – no food or drink is allowed on the maunga.

People are being told to keep their phones in their pockets and to be mindful of the respect needed at this occasion.

“Let’s not mix tapu and noa [the ordinary],” the speaker said.

01:02 pm

Guard of honour forming at Taupiri maunga

Hundreds of mourners have arrived at the urupā (burial ground) on motorcycles.

Members of the army and the Royal New Zealand Air Force have also arrived.

Photo / Julia Gabel

Numbers are really starting to grow now as carpets are rolled out and a guard of honour - made up of Māori wardens and police - is formed.

No photography or video recording is allowed on the mountain either, the man said.

va

@sannyoppa

what a beautiful tangi and send off for Kīngi Tuheitia. tino ātaahua

11:50 AM · Sep 5, 2024

Shorty3 

@Shorty368550310

I'm watching the final journey of our Maori King, Tuuheitia. On the mighty Waikato river. 1000s line the river bank. Each paddle in time. He will be carried on the shoulders, to the top of the mountain for burial. Laid to rest We welcome a new Queen. Photo credit - Marika Khabazi

12:50 PM · Sep 5, 2024

12:49 pm

Kīngi Tūheitia is being carried to his final resting place in a waka crafted specifically to honour him.

Photo / Carson Bluck

Today marks the seventh and final day of formal tangihanga proceedings for the King at Tūrangawaewae Marae in Ngāruawāhia as he will be taken to his maunga, Taupiri, to be laid to rest among his ancestors, including his mother, Te Arikinui Dame Te Atairangikaahu.

Taupiri, rising above the Waikato River, is considered an ancestor of Waikato-Tainui iwi. Photo / Mike Scott

Today’s proceedings began with the new Māori monarch, Kuini Ngā Wai hono i te po, being ushered to the throne followed by a ceremony to anoint her. As Kīngitanga chief of staff Ngira Simmonds says, today’s funeral represents the “last moment when Kīngi Tūheitia the person becomes Kīngi Tūheitia the ancestor”.

”It’s a transition from the physical realm to the spiritual realm. It is not too dissimilar from most Māori funerals, but there are a few unique moments reserved [for the king]. The King will... head to Taupiri maunga by waka, no one else here goes to Taupiri on a waka.”

Once the new monarch had been raised to the throne, the funeral service for Kīngi Tūheitia began with a karakia Māori and karaitiana (Māori and Christian prayers).

Once this has concluded, the hearse carrying Kīngi Tūheitia begins a slow procession toward the Waikato River before he is transferred to a waka.

Thousands travelled to Tūrangawaewae Marae to mourn the loss of Kīngi Tūheitia Pōtatau Te Wherowhero VII. Photo / Mike Scott

King Tūhietia's chief advisor Ngira Simmonds speaks to media at Tūrangawaewae Marae in Ngāruawāhia to mourn the passing of Māori King Tūheitia. Photo / Adam Pearse

Four waka will feature in the procession, including Tātahi Ora, Waikura, Tākitimu and Te Tīmatanga.

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Thousands of people have congregated at Tūrangawaewae Marae over the past seven days – which many say is a strong testament to the impact the seventh Māori monarch had in New Zealand – and the world.

Among the speakers at the marae on Wednesday was Gerry Brownlee, Parliament’s Speaker, who compared the king’s passing to the falling of a “great totara”. Brownlee said he hoped a new waka would be built from that totara that had enough room for all of us.

“No waka moves forward without all the paddles moving in the same direction.”

The manuhiri (guests) on Wednesday also included Pacific rangatira King Pōmare of Tahiti, and New Zealand political leaders such as Labour leader Chris Hipkins, Act leader David Seymour, NZ First leader Winston Peters, and Government ministers Nicola Willis, Tama Potaka and Shane Jones.

Former Prime Minister Helen Clark and Labour leader Chris Hipkins were among the people who visited Tūrangawaewae Marae to mourn the passing of Māori King Tūheitia. Photo / Mike Scott

Speaking toward the end of the pōwhiri, Kīngitanga spokesman Rahui Papa spoke directly to Seymour, saying they honoured Seymour for coming and hoped he had learned “we are not that scary”.

Seymour had not attended the King’s recent coronation, Koroneihana, while other Government representatives, including Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, had.

”There was some consternation about Koroneihana, but your arrival here today has allayed all of that. We honour you for fronting up at a very, very important time in the life span of the Kīngitanga and we hope that you have taken something away from today: that we are not that scary, and we can have the discussions face to face because we will look after you.”

Mourners at the tangi of Kīngi Tūheitia Pōtatau Te Wherowhero VII. Photo / Mike Scott

He said Seymour had come to “show your aroha and your words to Kīngi Tūheitia today, and we respect that”.

Luxon also spoke at the king’s tangi earlier in the week. Papa – on behalf of the Kīngatanga – replied to the Prime Minister (as is custom during the whaikōrero of a tangi), saying it was just over a week ago that Luxon had “suffered the cannon fodder” of Kīngi Tūheitia during Koroneihana.

Today, the bullets are filled with aroha and we respect and honour you for fronting up again.”

Julia Gabel is a Wellington-based political reporter. She joined the Herald in 2020 and has most recently focused on data journalism.