Though Kiingi Tuheitia was struggling with his health for a while, one of his closest advisors, Rahui Papa, said the king “got the wairua wind” in the final year of his life.
The Kiingitanga spokesperson sat down with Moana Maniapoto to talk about the late Kiingi Tuheitia, recalling key moments of his life as a king.
“After the 160-year celebration of the Kiingitanga last year, it was actually the motu’s request to know how we come together in this sort of day and age where we’re facing attacks.”
The king called for a national hui earlier this year to unify the nation in response to growing concerns over the government’s policies affecting Māori.
More than 12,000 people attended Hui-ā-motu at Tūrangawaewae Marae in January, with thousands more across the world following the event online, and both the late king and Papa didn’t expect it to “be that successful”.
Papa reflected on the success of these gatherings, saying, “It’s been absolutely fantastic. [It has] been the air of kotahitanga and the wairua of kotahitanga. Who cares about the government, let’s just focus on us”.
What the Kiingitanga stands for
The Kiingitanga, established with three core principles— Pupuri e te whenua (to hold fast in the land) Pupuri e te mana motuhake (to maintain our autonomy) Pupuri o te toto (to cease internal conflict) was created in response to issues such as crooked land sales, Papa noted.
Papa said “Pupuri e te whenua, to hold fast in the land means in today’s context we have to blanket our mana and hapu mana over the various lands that we have.
“Pupuri e te mana motuhake, to do things in our way and let in the way we want to determine... It’s had different challenges and different faces over the generations but the principle hasn’t changed.
“Pupuri o te toto, to cease infighting amongst Māori. We know that has caused difficulties over the generations but part and parcel of the kiingitanga mantra is to bring people together.”
The Kiingitanga legacy
Kiingi Tuheitia stressed the importance of including rangatahi in the movement’s future.
Papa highlighted their growing presence in various areas, such as media and marae activities.
“We have rangatahi in the kitchen, rangatahi in the dungeon buttering the bread and we have rangatahi all over the place in the media for example.
“All over the marae at this tangihanga there is a rangatahi focus, not to push away the kaumātua but to be there and support them.”
Where to next
Looking ahead, the Kiingitanga plans to uphold the Māori king’s kōrero from January of “letting the four winds speak” and will attend the upcoming Ngāi Tahu hui in October.
“There’s been some wonderful kōrero at Ngaaruawahia, at Ratana, at Waitangi, at Ōmahu in Kahungunu, and different places and now with Ngāi Tahu.
“We just now need to find a way to bring those together and create a strategy of mana motuhake or a pathway to mana motuhake that everyone can embrace.”
Tekaumaarua chair Che Wilson confirmed a few days ago he would be facilitating a wānanga for the rangatira of the motu today to decide who would succeed the king.