Explainer: Pacific leaders among those mourning the late Māori king

Flags around Aotearoa New Zealand flew at half-mast following the news of Māori King Tuheitia Pootatau Te Wherowhero VII peaceful passing, aged 69, on August 30, 2024.

In Ngaaruawaahia – the seat of the Māori king movement – local mourners began to pay their respects as Kiingi Tuheitia’s body arrived in preparation for his five-day tangihanga, and the tens of thousands expected to attend.

Meanwhile, in Hamilton, tears flowed when his name was revealed on Hamilton’s newest bridge.

Hamilton’s connection with the Kiingitanga was especially poignant and grief was heavy in the air as officials gathered for the blessing.

The latest infrastructure was named Te Ara Pekapeka Bridge and blessed by mana whenua including Tainui representatives as the sun rose, shortly after the news of Kiingi Tuheitia’s death.

Tributes have come in from around the world, to a “man of the people” whose perspective and humility resonated deeply with many

Kiingi Tuheitia’s death comes just months after he issued a rare royal proclamation for Māori to urgently rally in unity against crown policies, reigniting hope in a tumultuous time for indigenous rights.

And in the week prior to his death, he had marked 18 years on the throne during Koroneihana celebrations.

Tens of thousands of mourners from throughout the country have been at Tuurangawaewae for the tangihanga of the Māori King, Tuheitia Paki. Photo/ RNZ

What is the Kiingitanga movement?

One of New Zealand’s most enduring political institutions, the Kiingitanga (Māori King movement) was founded in 1858 with the aim of having someone of equal status and hierarchy to Queen Victoria in order to resolve issues relating to the pākeha settler population.

And since its inception, Waikato has been the seat of the Kiingitanga.

The longest-serving Māori monarch was the beloved Queen Dame Te Atairangikaahu, who reigned for 40 years until her death in 2006.

Her successor was her eldest son, Tuheitia Pootatau Te Wherowhero VII, crowned King on 21 August 2006, the day her funeral rites took place.

For close to two decades, Kiingi Tuheitia involved himself in politics, as does the Kiingitanga as an institution.

In January 2024, he held a national hui of Māori unity to respond to the policies of the Sixth National Government towards Māori and the Treaty of Waitangi, which the Kiingitanga believed were regressive and would reverse "decades of hard-fought justice".

Kiingi Tuheitia was patron to Te Matatini, the largest Māori cultural festival, and also of Kirikiriroa Marae in Hamilton.

He made numerous state visits and met with other monarchs, the most recent being Charles III at his coronation last year.

Kiingi Tuheitia also advocated for Māori survivors of climate change in the aftermath of Cyclone Gabrielle.

After struggling with poor health throughout his life, Kiingi Tuheitia died peacefully in hospital after undergoing an unsuccessful cardiac surgery.

Crowds at the gate of Tuurangawaewae Marae. Photo/ RNZ / Nick Monro

Tangihanga and paying respects

A tangihanga is the enduring Māori ceremony for mourning someone who has died, which in this case, will last for six nights, before Kiingi Tuheitia’s burial at the urupā (cemetery).

While lying in state at Tuurangawaewae Marae, tens of thousands of people - including iwi, politicians and leaders from around Aotearoa, and delegates from across Te Moana nui ā kiwa - have visited to pay their respects to Kiingi Tuheitia.

Among the Pacific contingent visiting, representatives from the Pacific Leadership Forum, and the Pacific General Assembly are set to visit on Wednesday morning and afternoon respectively.

On Thursday, Kiingi Tuheitia will be laid to rest alongside his mother Dame Te Atairangikaahu and previous Māori kings on the sacred Taupiri maunga.

Known as, Taupiri-Kuao – the embracing mountain, the mountain is sacred to Waikato-Tainui and their tribal identity.

The mountain is the final resting place for the Māori Royal Family and many prominent Māori have been laid to rest there.

It has been a sacred tapu burial ground for the Waikato Tainui iwi since the death of Chief Te Putu, who built Taupiri paa on the summit of a spur of Mt Taupiri in the 1600s.

Crowds at the gate of Tuurangawaewae Marae. Photo/ RNZ / Nick Monro

Succession

The King's Council has started discussions with iwi leaders in private this week to discuss who will be Kiingi Tuheitia’s successor.

Tekaumaarua chair Che Wilson has been confirmed to facilitate the wānanga for the rangatira of the motu.

He says it is a wānanga to work out what the key components are to help te iwi Māori move into the future.

The successor to the throne is not necessarily a foregone conclusion.

While the position of Māori monarch is not hereditary, every king or queen has so far been a direct descendant of a previous monarch, from Pōtatau Te Wherowhero, the first king, to Tuheitia.

However, after any reign ends, it is possible the role could be handed to someone from another whānau or even iwi.

The people deciding who will take the place of Tuheitia have been chosen especially by him to serve as representatives of all Māori.

The group, known as Tekau-mā-rua (12 – the number of members), is currently made up of iwi representatives from around Aotearoa.

Who is likely to be the successor?

Although not always the case, there has been a general expectation that the first-born child of the previous monarch will succeed to the throne.

Tuheitia and his wife Te Atawhai had three children together, sons Whatumoana and Korotangi and daughter Ngā Wai hono i te po.

Initially, it was expected that eldest child Whatumoana would be the successor, but the Kiingitanga publicly voiced its disapproval of his marriage to Rangimarie Tahana-Morgan King-Te Wherowhero, a former assistant of the Kiingitanga.

The disapproval allegedly stemmed from the couple’s choice to adopt the name Te Wherowhero, which would usually be reserved for Tūheitia.

Claims have also been made that Whatumoana and Rangimarie had been misrepresenting the Kiingitanga, among other activities that brought the name of the Kiingitanga into disrepute.

Meanwhile, younger brother Korotangi has appeared in court in 2014 on charges of drink driving, two counts of burglary and one of theft.

Aged 19 at the time, he faced further backlash over derogatory comments he made about the Asian community and for using the Nazi slogan “Sieg Heil” on his Facebook page.

In 2020, Korotangi was sentenced to 100 hours’ community work and 18 months of intensive supervision after earlier pleading guilty to one charge of assault with intent to injure in relation to an assault on his partner.

The only daughter and youngest child of Kiingi Tuheitia, Ngā Wai hono i te po is favoured to ascend to the throne.

She holds a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts in tikanga Māori and te reo Māori from the University of Waikato and also sits on the University of Waikato Council.

In recent years, Ngā Wai hono i te po accompanied her father on various official engagements.

On Tuesday evening, Tekau-mā-rua was expected to wānanga until a decision on who will succeed Kiingi Tūheitia has been reached.

The monarch elect will then be informed of the decision in private, before a public announcement is made either on Wednesday or the day of the burial of Kiingi Tuheitia.

It is not known if the late king had indicated who he wished to take his place.