The new Maori Queen Kuini Nga wai hono i te po — who is Catholic — leaves the waka (canoe) following her father, Maori king Tuheitia Pootatau Te Wherowhero VII, on September 5, 2024, in Hamilton, New Zealand. Photo: Phil Walter/Getty Images The Maori people, the Indigenous population of mainland New Zealand, have crowned a new queen after the death of their king — and she’s Catholic.
King Tuheitia Potatau Te Wherowhero VII died on August 30 at the age of 69. His death came days after his 18th anniversary as king of the Kingitanga, also known as the Maori King Movement, founded in 1858 to unite the Maori under one sovereign. It is one of the longest-running political organisations in New Zealand.
The late king’s youngest daughter, Nga Wai hono i te po, was named his successor at the age of 27. She made her first appearance as queen on September 5 and took her place on the throne near her father’s coffin.
Queen Nga Wai hono i te po is the second Maori queen. The first was her grandmother Queen Te Arikinui Dame Te Atairangikaahu.
According to CathNews New Zealand, it was Queen Te Arikinui Dame Te Atairangikaahu who asked that her granddaughter be baptised by the late Auxiliary Bishop Max Takuira Matthew Mariu of Hamilton, the first Maori Catholic bishop.
The late queen’s intention behind having her granddaughter baptised was not only to unite Maori tribes near the Waikato and Whanganui rivers but also to be a unification of faiths, bridging the Kingitanga movement and the Catholic Church.
The new queen’s name, Ngawai Hono ki Parakino, which translates to “Joining of the Rivers” in Maori, was inspired by the symbolism of her baptism.
Queen Ngawai Hono ki Parakino becomes the eighth Maori monarch and continues the direct lineage from the first Maori king.