New Zealand Has a New Maori Monarch
Monday August 21, 2006
Tuheitia Paki, son of Maori Queen Te Arikinui Dame Te Atairangikaahu, has become Maori King in ceremonies before the casket containing his mother's body was taken to the Waikato River on New Zealand's North Island, ferried by ceremonial Maori canoes, then taken up the sacred mountain to be buried.
As the canoes pushed into the water, Maori who had gathered on the banks of the river performed the haka.
The Maori Queen died on August 15. She was buried on August 21 after a week-long funeral period of tangihunga.
The Maori monarch carries the royal title which stretches back to 1858 when the Kingitanga movement, a unifying force aimed at helping the Maori hold on to their lands, was formed.
The Kingitanga survives as Maoridom's hopes that the issue of sovereignty which was a part of the 1840 Treaty of Waitangi will not go away.
As the canoes pushed into the water, Maori who had gathered on the banks of the river performed the haka.
The Maori Queen died on August 15. She was buried on August 21 after a week-long funeral period of tangihunga.
The Maori monarch carries the royal title which stretches back to 1858 when the Kingitanga movement, a unifying force aimed at helping the Maori hold on to their lands, was formed.
The Kingitanga survives as Maoridom's hopes that the issue of sovereignty which was a part of the 1840 Treaty of Waitangi will not go away.
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