WelCom October 2024

The Māori King, Tuheitia Paki, crowned Te Arikinui Kiingi Tuheitia, died on 30 August 2024, at age 69. His death came just nine days after he celebrated his 18th anniversary as king of the Kiingitanga, or Māori king movement, established in 1858 to unite the Māori tribes.

Thousands gathered in Turangawaewae marae, south of Auckland, to pay their respects to the late king following a week-long period of mourning.

Kiingi Tuheitia Pootatau Te Wherowhero VII was farewelled as the new Māori monarch was ushered in, on 5 September.

The Te Whakawahinga (raising up) ceremony for Kiingi Tuheitia Pootatau Te Wherowhero VII’s successor and for the funeral service, took place on the last day of the tangi.

The formal ceremony began at 10am, when the Tekau-maa-rua (the Kiingitanga advisory council) ushered the new Māori monarch to the throne.

Te Whakawahinga ceremony was followed by the funeral service for Kiingi Tuheitia.

A special waka carried the king along Waikato River before his burial alongside his tupuna at the top of his ancestral at Taupiri Maunga.

Kiingi Tūheitia is survived by his wife Te Atawhai and their two sons Whatumoana and Korotangi and daughter, Ngā Wai hono i te po Paki.

King Tuheitia’s daughter and youngest child, Ngā Wai Hono i te Pō, was announced by the Tekau-ma-Rua as the next monarch. She is the second queen of the Kīngitanga, after her grandmother Te Arikinui Dame Te Atairangikaahu, and is a baptised Catholic.

Hamilton bishop Richard Laurenson expressed his sadness over the passing of King Tuheitia.

On behalf of the Catholic bishops of Aotearoa, New Zealand, Bishop Laurenson extended his sympathies to the king’s family and assured the family of the bishops’ prayers for the repose of the King’s soul.

Bishop Laurenson was invited to attend the celebrations for the Maori King’s 18th anniversary as king of the Kiingitanga held in August.

He described that occasion as one of ‘great joy and celebration’.

‘I was privileged to be asked to lead off the day of prayer for Kingi Tuheitia and the Kingitanga,’ Bishop Laurenson stated, as reported by the NZCBC.

Sources: NZCBC; CathNewsNZ; RNZ

E te Ariki, Ka inoi nei mātou tukua mai ki tāu pononga ki a Kingi Tuheitia, kia whiti atu ai ia ki te Kāinga o te māramatanga me te rangimarie. Ma te Karaiti to mātou Ariki. Amene

O Lord, we pray, grant that your Servant King Tuheitia may pass over to a dwelling place of light and peace, Through Christ our Lord. Amen

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