Te Kingitanga - The Maori King Movement

On 23rd May 2006, crowds gathered at Turangawaewae Marae at Ngaruawahia to celebrate the 40th year of the coronation of the Maori Queen, Dame Te Atairangikaahu as monarch of the Maori people.

Sadly however, three months later the crowds gathered again, this time in record breaking numbers to pay respects to the Queen who had passed away on the 15th August 2006. She was succeeded by her eldest son, Te Arikinui Tuheitia Paki. She was the 6th and longest serving monarch of the Maori people, and many looked up to her as their Queen and mentor.

Te Kingitanga, or the Maori King Movement can be traced back to the mid 1800s at a time when wars between the Maori and British were an often occurence. The Maori people sought for a political and spiritual leader to guide and protect them, as a result, a hui (meeting) was held and Potatau Te Wherowhero was crowned as the First Maori King on the 2nd May 1858. The King Movement was not set up to challenge or defy the British monarchy, but to provide authority over the lands in which the Maori King would rule. However, the British saw this as a threat to their power and authority and sought at any cost to pull it down.
Resulting in the land wars of the 1800s.

Nowadays, the King Movement is a representation of the bonds of peace, love and unity that exist amongst the Maori people. The Maori Sovereign has become recognised by the New Zealand Government as the spiritual and moral leader of the Maori people. And in my opinion is critical in the future development of New Zealand as a country.