Crowds watch the waka transporting Kiingi Tuheitia's body Photo: RNZ/Marika Khabazi
Tears of joy mingled with those shed in sorrow as thousands of people at Tuurangawaewae - and across Aotearoa - farewelled one Māori monarch and welcomed another.
Kuini Nga wai hono i te po, the youngest child and only daughter of Kiingi Tuheitia Pootatau Te Wherowhero VII, was raised up as her father's successor on the final day of a week-long tangihanga.
Kiingi Tuheitia died early last Friday, aged 69.
Since then, more than 100,000 Māori and tauiwi have travelled from around the country and the Pacific to Ngaaruawaahia in the Waikato, the seat of the Kiingitanga movement, to pay their last respects.
People arrived in the early morning mist to fill the ātea and surrounding grounds at Tuurangawaewae marae, with a livestream broadcast on large screens near the Waikato River for those who could not make it inside.
Thousands more had already lined the banks of the awa and roadsides in anticipation of Kiingi Tuheitia's journey later in the day from Turangawaewae to his resting place alongside his tūpuna at the top of Taupiri maunga.
Hundreds of people were already making their way to Tuurangawaewae as the sun rose on a beautiful misty morning, 5 September 2024. Photo: Layla Bailey-McDowell / RNZ
Karakia began at 7am and kapa haka groups performed ahead of Te Whakawahinga, the ceremony to announce the Kiingi's successor.
A group of 12 rangatira - known as Tekau-maa-rua - have conferred over the course of the tangihanga to decide who that would be.
While all previous leaders of the Kiingitanga have been direct descendants, there is no requirement for a successor to be a child or even a relative of the monarch.
The anticipation was therefore heightened as the crowd waited for the new monarch to be ushered to their throne on the paepae.
Then, amid karanga, the call of a pūtātara and a haka pōwhiri, Kuini Nga wai i te po emerged through the waharoa, flanked by Tekau-maa-rua and other supporters.
Applause rang out as the crowd realised who it was, and those watching on screens outside cheered, with many hugging and wiping away tears.
The Kuini herself appeared emotional, seated next to her father's kahu kiwi-covered casket.
She is the eighth Māori monarch and the second woman to hold the position - the first woman was her grandmother, Te Arikinui Te Atairangikaahu, who died in 2006.
Ngāti Kahungunu chairperson Bayden Barber told Midday Report Kuini Nga wai hono i te po would be a fantastic monarch.
He said that at just 27, she would be the face of rangatahi for Māori, which was important as most of te ao Māori were under the age of 40.
Barber said she also knew and understood tikanga.
The official portrait of Kuini Nga wai i te po. Photo: Supplied
After a karakia whakawahinga, Tumuaki Hone Taamihana placed a bible on the head of Nga wai hono i te po, using the same bible that Tumuaki Wiremu Taamihana used to raise up the first Māori King, King Pootatau Te Wherowhero, in 1858.
Her head was then annointed with sacred oils before waiata and a sermon from Bishop Don Tamihere.
In a callback to the Kiingi's message of Māori kotahitanga (unity), Bishop Tamihere quoted activist and lawyer Moana Jackson.
"If we focus too long on tearing down, we forget how to build up, we forget how to stand together, we forget how to be united."
Following the final karakia of Te Whakawahinga, Kiingi Tuheitia's casket was then lifted and carried to a hearse outside the marae, which travelled slowly to an embarkation point at the river.
A fleet of six waka - Taatahi Ora, Waikura, Taakitumu,Te Tiimatanga, Te Ika a Maui, and Te Rau o te Aroha - was waiting, with the casket taken on board Taatahi Ora, which was specially crafted for the Kiingi, as kaikaranga continued to call from both sides of the river.
Bright sunlight sparkled on the Waikato as kaihoe (paddlers) took the fleet the 10 kilometres downstream to Taupiri maunga, chanting to keep time as they paddled.
Kuini Nga wai i te po accompanied her father on board the flotilla, protected from the sun by a bower covered in foliage and raranga (weaving).
Onlookers performed haka from the riverbanks, and there was no room left on the bridge to Ngaaruawaahia as people packed it to view the flotilla pass.
Waka transporting Kiingi Tuheitia's body to Taupiri Maunga. Photo: RNZ / Calvin Samuel
Kiingitanga chief of staff Ngira Simmonds said the river journey was a special honour reserved for the royal family, and particularly important in this case.
A special train ferried hundreds of kaumatua from Ngaaruawaahia to Taupiri so they could witness the final stages of the procession.
Kiingi Tuheitia's widow, Te Makau Ariki Atawhai, was escorted to the maunga by the Defence Force and a motorcade of 100 bikes.
At the base of Taupiri, the waka fleet was met by members of the Tuurangawaewae and Taniwharau rugby league clubs, and rope handlers from Raungaiti Rugby Club, who carried Kiingi Tuheitia up the steep, winding, bushclad path through the urupā to the summit.
Kiingi Tuheitia is laid to rest at Taupiri maunga Photo: RNZ/Nick Monro
There, he was laid in an unmarked grave - a decision made by his whānau because they did not want to confer a greater humanity on him than others who occupy the urupā.
Following the internment, the funeral procession returned to Tuurangawaewae Marae, where Tekau-maa-rua will lead whare ariki (members of the royal house) onto the marae, followed by a haakari (feast) to conclude the tangihanga.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, who is overseas on a trade visit, was among those to pay tribute to Kiingi Tuheitia and welcome the new monarch.
"We welcome the Upoko Ariki, Nga wai hono i te po, who carries forward the mantle of leadership left by her father. The path ahead is illuminated by the great legacy of Kiingi Tuheitia."
