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New Zealand’s Maori anoint new queen as they lay King Tuheitia Pootatau Te Wherowhero VII to rest

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New Zealand’s Maori have a new sovereign, 27-year-old Queen Nga Wai Hono i te Po, who ascended to the throne after accompanying her father and the late king to his final resting place.

Thousands of people flocked to the North Island town of Ngaruawahia to witness the anointment of the youngest child and only daughter of King Tuheitia Pootatau Te Wherowhero VII.

As she was escorted onto Turangawaewae marae – an ancestral meeting place, where her father’s casket lay draped in feathered cloaks – cheers rang out among thousands crowded around TV screens outside and waiting along the banks of the Waikato River to glimpse the funeral procession.

The funeral was attended not only by Maori tribes but by leaders of all political parties, past prime ministers, leaders of Pacific Island nations, diplomats and representatives of the British crown.

The new queen is not crowned and instead a bible that has been used since 1858 was placed upon her head and Archbishop Don Tamihere used sacred oils to bestow prestige, sacredness, power and spiritual essence upon her.

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Queen Nga Wai Hono i te Po. Pic: AP

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A waka is paddled by warriors as part of the funeral of New Zealand’s Maori king. Pic: AP

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The late king’s coffin is carried up Taupiri Mountain for burial in Ngaruawahia. Pic: AP

After her ascension, Queen Nga Wai accompanied her father, who died on 30 August aged 69, in a flotilla of traditional canoes along the river as he was guided by Maori warriors to his final resting place.

The late king, a former truck driver who became monarch after his mother’s death in 2006, has been buried alongside her in an unmarked grave on Taupiri Maunga, a mountain of spiritual significance to his iwi, or tribe.

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The Kingitanga, or Maori royalty movement, has a ceremonial mandate rather than a legal one and was formed after the British colonisation of New Zealand to unite tribes in resistance to forced sales of indigenous land and the loss of the Maori language and culture.

How the Maori monarch is chosen and their role

Kiingi Tuheitia succeeded his mother, Queen Dame Te Atairangikaahu, in 2006.

But the role of Maori monarch is not necessarily hereditary as it is voted on by representatives of tribes, or iwi, across the country.

Radio New Zealand reported at the time of the late king’s death his successor would be appointed on the day of his funeral but ahead of his burial.

The Maori sovereign is considered the paramount chief of several tribes 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 Kingitanga, or Maori royalty movement, was formed after the British colonisation of New Zealand to unite tribes in resistance to forced sales of indigenous land and the loss of the Maori language and culture.

New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said the country would mourn the loss of the late king.

“His unwavering commitment to his people and his tireless efforts to uphold the values and traditions of Kingitanga have left an indelible mark on our nation,” he said.

The prime minister said the government welcomed the anointment of the new queen, the Maori’s eighth sovereign and second female leader.

Her anointment comes at a time, however, when New Zealand’s ruling coalition has started undoing policies of previous governments, like promoting the official use of the Maori language and the enhancement of indigenous people’s living standards and rights. It remains to be seen whether the new queen’s approach to these issues will have an impact on New Zealand’s future.

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Pic: AP

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Warriors wait to receive the body of the king. Pic: AP

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After a centre-right government took power in New Zealand last November and began to enact policies reversing recognition of the Maori language, people and customs, the late monarch took the unusual step in January of calling a national meeting of tribes which was attended by 10,000 people.

“The best protest we can make right now is being Maori. Be who we are. Live our values. Speak our reo,” he told them, using the Maori word for language.

“Just be Maori. Be Maori all day, every day. We are here. We are strong.”

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