By: Aliya Koshalieva

Media Editor 

On Sept. 6, Ngā Wai hono i te pō became the new Queen of the Māori People. Her anointment as Queen came six days after her father, King Kiingi Tuheitia Pōtatau Te Wherowhero VII, passed away at 69 years old while recovering from heart surgery, days after his 18th coronation celebration. Rahui Papa, a spokesperson for the Kiingitanga, or Māori king movement, announced the King’s death, saying, “The death of Kiingi Tuheitia is a moment of great sadness for followers of Te Kiingitanga, Maaoridom, and the entire nation. A chief who has passed to the great beyond. Rest in love.” 

A council of Māori Chiefs chose the King’s youngest daughter, 27-year-old Ngā Wai hono i te pō, to be Kuini, the Māori word for Queen. This decision made history, as she is the second Māori queen in New Zealand’s North Island history, with the first being her grandmother, Te Arikinui Dame Te Atairangikaahu. Ngā Wai hono I te pō has a Master of Arts in Societal Lore, known as Tikanga, of Māori. She is a part of multiple Māori cultural organizations and currently serves on the board of the E Kohanga Reo National Trust, an organization determined to revitalize the Māori language. The King’s gathering site, Turangawaewae, hosted the Te Whakawahinga, the coronation ceremony. The ceremony celebrated Ngā Wai hono i te pō’s ascent to the throne, with Archbishop Don Tamihere placing a Bible that Māori have used since 1858 for royalty upon her head and using sacred oils to bless her with spiritual essence, sacredness, power, and prestige. A funeral and burial, known as a tangihanga, honored Kiingi Tuheitia, with thousands of people gathering for the event. The ceremony consisted of the Māori placing Kiingi Tuheitia in a waka flotilla, paddling him down the Waikato River, and burying him on Taupiri Mountain. 

The Māori people consider Ngā Wai hono I te pō to be the paramount chief of various Māori tribes, called Iwis. However, not all tribes affiliate with Ngā Wai hono I te pō. Any Māori King or Queen’s role is largely ceremonial since they hold no judicial or legal authority in New Zealand. In Māori culture, royal succession is not hereditary, but representatives from tribes all over the country vote on the subject. Due to this, Māori Chiefs picked Ngā Wai hono I te pō over her two older brothers. 

Various world leaders celebrated Ngā Wai hono I te pō’s ascent to the throne, with Christopher Luxon, the Prime Minister of New Zealand, welcoming her anointment as she follows in her father’s footsteps and carries his legacy forward, praising her “commitment to Māori and all New Zealanders [that] has been felt across the country.”

(Sources: BBC, CNN, The Guardian)