A new Māori queen named Nga Wai Hono i te po Paki has been crowned for the Kiingitanga movement in New Zealand today, on September 5.
Hailed as the one who will bring a “new dawn,” she is the second ever queen to have ascended the throne in the reign which has seen eight monarchs so far.
Thousands of Turangawaewae marae seemed emotional as they attended the ceremony held to honor her this morning.
Nga Wai Hono i te po Paki happens to be the only daughter as well as the youngest child of the previous Māori King, Tuheitia Pootatau Te Wherowhero VII, who died in his sleep last Friday.
She had been announced as the reign’s new queen when people showed up for commemorating the final of the six-day funeral that was held for her father.
According to The Guardian, this is the beginning of a new generation in New Zealand’s resistance movement.
At the “raising up” ceremony, Nga Wai Hono i te po Paki was ushered to the throne by a group of 12 elders taken from different tribes to form an advisory council.
They together chose her as the new queen as “the role is not automatically inherited, and the late Tuheitia Pootatau Te Wherowhero VII also has two songs” who could’ve been picked.
