Maori chiefs crown queen for only second time in history

New Zealand’s Maori chiefs have anointed Nga Wai hono i te po as their new queen and eighth monarch, to succeed her father King Tuheitia Potatau Te Wherowhero VII who passed away at 69 after a heart surgery .

Ms Nga Wai, 27, is only the second Maori queen after her grandmother Te Arikinui Dame Te Atairangikaahu.

She was chosen as Kuini by a council of Maori chiefs at Turangawaewae Marae on North Island on Thursday, and hailed as a “new dawn”.

King Tuheitia was laid to rest at Mount Taupiri after lying in state for six days.

Ms Nga Wai, a University of Waikato graduate groomed to succeed her father, is set for a potentially lengthy reign.

“This is more than a generational shift,” New Zealand First MP Shane Jones said.

“She’ll be the face of renewal. Given the extent of Maori youth, I suspect she will personify their aspirations.”

The Maori crown is not automatically passed down. The late king leaves two sons behind, Te Ariki Tamaaroa Whatumoana Paki and Te Ariki Turuki Korotangi Paki, but neither was chosen as the successor.

Maori leaders and politicians agreed that Ms Nga Wai’s appointment was essential for the Kiingitanga – or Maori king movement – with her influence expected to be profound across New Zealand for many years to come.

The Kiingitanga was launched in 1858 to unite New Zealand’s indigenous tribes under one leader in a bid to strengthen their resistance against colonialism. The role of the Maori monarch, although largely ceremonial and without legal authority, holds significant influence as they are regarded as the paramount chief of several tribes.

Annette Sykes, a lawyer and Maori rights advocate, said the queen embodied the future she had been striving for. “She’s inspiring, the revitalisation and reclamation of our language has been a 40-year journey for most of us and she epitomises that, it is her first language, she speaks it with ease,” she said.

“Political, economic and social wellbeing for our people is at the heart of what she wants and in many ways she is like her grandmother, who was adored by the nation,” Ms Sykes was quoted as saying by The Guardian .

“We have all watched her grow up, she’s very humble, I have watched her mature into this woman who has this thirst for authentic knowledge and brings this into the modern world. She’s someone who wears Gucci and she wears moko kauae ,” Ms Sykes added, referring to a traditional Maori chin tattoo.

“She is leading us into uncharted and turbulent waters, and she will do it with aplomb.”

Ms Nga Wai was enthroned at a ceremony on Thursday morning in the small town of Ngaruawahia. She was escorted to the throne by the Kiingitanga advisory council of 12 elders from various tribes who chose her as the queen.

“The Maori world has been yearning for younger leadership to guide us in the new world of AI, genetic modification, global warming and in a time of other social changes that question and threaten us and Indigenous Peoples of New Zealand,” Maori cultural advisor Karaitiana Taiuru told AFP news agency.

“It is certainly a break from traditional Maori leadership appointments which tend to succeed to the eldest child, usually a male.”

Ms Nga Wai, draped in a wreath of leaves, a cloak and a whalebone necklace, sat next to her father’s coffin as ceremonial rites were performed.

Since the new conservative government led by the National Party took over last October, the Kiingitanga has become more active in uniting the Maori against proposed policies seen as a setback for their rights.

The Maori are about 17 per cent of New Zealand’s population.

Ms Nga Wai, who has a Master’s degree in Maori cultural practices and traditions, began teaching kapa haka during her second and third years at the University of Waikato, New Zealand Herald reported. Kapa haka is a ceremonial dance of the Maori tribe.

In a university interview, she said kapa haka was a central part of her life. “I go home to my parents’ house and my little nephew is there and he’s trying to do the haka . So it is just everywhere. I’ve been brought up in it, I am it. A lot of people are kapa haka . It’s the embodiment of Maoritanga,” she said.