New Maori Queen Anointed Amid Race Relations Struggles

A new Maori Queen was anointed, taking on the role at a time when New Zealand is facing some of the biggest challenges to race relations in two decades.

A statement released by representatives said Nga Wai Hono i te Po had been chosen by Maori elders to replace her father, King Tuheitia Pootatau Te Wherowhero VII, who died aged 69 last week following surgery.

Thousands gathered at Turangawaewae, the meeting place of the King movement, to bid farewell to the King in a traditional funeral. King Tuheitia was buried following the anointment of his daughter in an elaborate ceremony which saw him taken to the Waikato River by a hearse before being paddled in a flotilla of traditional Maori waka or canoe to Taupiri Mountain where he will be buried alongside other royals and high-profile Maori.

Kiingi Tuheitea’s body was flanked by a guard of honor including local tribe Ngaati Maahanga and the New Zealand defense force to the Waikato river, where a flotilla of waka was taking him to the sacred Taupiri mountain for burial.

The Maori King or Queen is considered the paramount chief of several tribes, or iwi, but is not affiliated with all of them. The monarch's role has no judicial or legal authority in New Zealand and is largely ceremonial.

The Kiingitanga was founded in 1858 as a force to resist colonization and try to preserve Māori culture and land. It has no legal mandate and while the monarch role is largely ceremonial, it is also considered to be the paramount chief of several tribes.

Since the election of New Zealand’s conservative National party-led government in October, the Kiingitanga has played an increasingly prominent role in bringing Māori together in opposition to proposed policies considered by many to be a rollback of Māori rights. Kiingi Tuheitea called a series of nationwide meetings to protest these and proposed changes to the principles of the Treaty, and was considered to be a beacon of hope.