Tainui-Waikato will spend the next two days paying their respects to Kingi Tūheitia.
By RNZ
Thousands of people from across Waikato-Tainui will descend on Tūrangawaewae Marae today as tributes continue to pour in for Kīngi Tūheitia Pootatau Te Wherowhero VII.
The Māori King had been in hospital recovering from heart surgery but died yesterday at the age of 69, just days after celebrating the anniversary of his 18th koroneihana.
Che Wilson, the chair of tekaumaarua (the King’s advisory council), was at the hospital when King Tūheitia died and was devastated.
“He had had such a great coronation and went in for planned surgery; sadly, we lost him. He had done so much in the 18 years to not only get comfortable in his position but then to get to a space where he was able to bring our people [together], during adverse times. But not just Māori and not just people that live in Aotearoa but through Te Moana-Nui-A-Kiwa,” Wilson said.
Over the next few days, the tangihanga would showcase all of te ao Māori and the King’s legacy, Wilson said.
“You’ll see the best of Māori pageantry, you’ll see our people come to express their grief, to share their thoughts about the King, his deeds in his 18 years and also connect to what’s happening right now in our country and how he tried to encourage us to keep our heads up when being put down by the current Government and others.”
Wilson recalls having a great relationship with Kīngi Tūheitia, saying he was a humble man.
“He’d wear his heart on his sleeve and so you got to know the real person. He took a while to get used to his role but over the last few years he’s been able to take us as a people to a different place and to a different level. He was great to talk to and really down to earth.”
For the next six days, there will be two pōwhiri a day – at 8am and 2pm – to welcome guests onto the marae.
Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori (Māori Language Commission) chief executive Ngahiwi Apanui said he was caught off-guard by the King’s death.
The King would be missed, especially around his work and support to help lift te reo Māori, he said.
“Particularly in the last year, where he’s encouraged the Government and everybody else, all New Zealanders, [to] perceive te reo as part of our Aotearoatanga, our New Zealand-hood, our national identity, which aligns really well with what we’re trying to do at Te Taura Whiri, saying to all New Zealanders that te reo Māori is our unique identifier out in [the] international world.
“It’s not just been last year, he’s been vocal from the time he took to the throne, so for us it means he set a legacy for the kīngitanga of speaking up and supporting te reo Māori. And it means that New Zealanders here... the head of the kīngitanga supporting te reo Māori and you can’t underestimate the weight of his word.”
The King’s tangihanga was a good opportunity for the coalition Government to show contributions towards mending the breach between the Māori-Crown relationship, Apanui said.
“That’s what he was advocating for ... that the Government come together with Māori and act in the spirit of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and to give voice and to give effect to that. Because for a lot of us that has taken a bit of a battering over the last nine months, so I think it’s time to mend the bridge and build a new relationship.”
From Sunday, the rest of the motu would be invited onto Tūrangawaewae Marae including other iwi, delegations, Pacific leaders and other international dignitaries.
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