When I first heard the news, my heart sank and I felt an immense amount of pōuri (sadness) for te iwi Māori.
Today is the fifth day of the Māori King's tangi.
Each day thousands of people have walked through the gates of Tuurangawaewae Marae.
Thousands of people have been fed, cared for and looked after by the iwi of Tainui.
Kiingi Tuheitia Pootatau Te Wherowhero VII was known for his message of kotahitanga (unity).
Kiingi Tuheitia Pootatau Te Wherowhero VII
He initiated the hui-ā-motu which in January this year saw over 10,000 people gathered at Tuurangawaewae Marae.
"Let's keep pushing forward while we are currently facing a storm, there's no need to worry. In this storm we are strong. Together. The wind in our sails is kotahitanga, and with that, we will reach our destination,” he said.
He urged Māori not to focus on "fighting against the Government" but instead work on building a way of life together - Māori and non-Māori.
His ability to bring people together was so powerful, that Prime Minister Christopher Luxon was visibly emotional while speaking on the paepae (speakers’ bench) at his tangi on Saturday.
And now, although he has died he is still bringing thousands of people together, continuing his word of kotahitanga.
Although it’s such a heavy kaupapa, I have seen te iwi Māori come together.
From all the kaimahi (workers) in the kitchen to the Māori wardens directing traffic. Everyone is doing something and working so hard.
I feel pōuri for the whānau, and for the Kiingitanga movement.
Yesterday, my whānau and I headed down to Tuurangawaewae together to attend the tangi. I put work aside for the day so I could be there, physically but most importantly, spiritually.
I ran into a whanaunga (relative) of mine, Turei Wiremu Peeke (Marutūahu, Ngātii Paoa, Ngāti Tamaterā, Pare Hauraki, Te Mahurehure, Ngāpuhi) who said, the Kiingitanga represents kotahitanga.
Turei said he came down to the tangihanga to show support for the mahi that the Kiingitanga has done and to celebrate the life of Kiingi Tuheitia and the mahi he had done to bring the motu together.
He hopes for the future of the Kiingitanga to continue to uphold their unity for the betterment of te iwi Māori.
“It’s quite warming to see all the people who have come along, I’ve been checking the weather forecast every day and it’s supposed to be stormy and rainy, but for the unity of mana Māori motuhake, our tūpuna have brought us good weather for the last couple of days.”
Turei reflected on the night the King died and spoke to me about the thunder and the lightning that was heard and seen around the motu and how it was a tohu from our tūpuna that this was going to be a big kaupapa.
I too felt the wairua from our tūpuna when the thunder and lightning were stomping down on my bedroom window.
I hope we as Māori, tangata whenua, tanga tiriti, can hold on to the values and visions of Kiingi Tuheitia.
I hope we can continue to come together to wānanga and uphold his legacy.
Note: The use of double vowels in this article reflects the dialect used by the Kiingitanga/Kīngitanga which uses double vowels (aa, ee, ii, oo, uu) in place of macronised vowels (ā, ē, ī, ō, ū).
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