Liam Rātana and Lyric Waiwiri-Smith report on the ground from the nehu of Kīngi Tuheitia in Waikato.

Liam

I wake up and check my phone. It’s 7am and a livestream has already started, broadcasting the morning karakia from Tūrangawaewae Marae. Lyric and I jump in the car and start making the 20-minute journey from Hamilton to the marae. As we hit the expressway, I look up and see a lone cloud lazily floating across the sea of baby blue that is the sky.

The empty grass paddocks along River Rd are soon replaced with houses, indicating we’ve reached the small settlement of Ngāruawāhia. For the last two weeks, more than 100,000 people have travelled through this usually sleepy town. Today, the kerbsides are littered with vehicles and the footpaths are lined with people dressed in black, all heading towards the marae. From above, I imagine it looks like an ant colony flocking towards its queen.

The marae grounds are full from the waharoa to the awa. The crowd is a microcosm of Aotearoa, illustrating the respect Tuheitia and the institution of the Kīngitanga holds among the people. There are gang members, police, the armed forces, iwi executives, labourers, tamariki, pakeke Māori, non-Māori, and everything in between. Those who can’t see the action with their own eyes are fixated on one of the big screens around the grounds.

A raising up

The ātea is packed, with waiata ringing out and kapa singing local iwi anthems. As the clock strikes 10am everyone in attendance suddenly stands. The moment so many had been anticipating is finally here. A group of Tainui toa, adorned with pare kawakawa, signals that the new monarch is about to be revealed. Karanga and haka begin as Ngā Wai Hono i te Pō appears at the waharoa, flanked by her brother Korotangi Te Hokinga Mai Douglas Paki and Tekau-mā-rua, the group of rangatira from around Aotearoa who have chosen her as the new queen.

Draped in the same cloak that has adorned every previous monarch during their own coronations, Nga Wai Hono i te Pō slowly makes her way to the front of the marae. On her head is a crown of leaves and around her neck is the same rei niho her father was so often seen wearing. As the camera zooms in and people finally see who the new leader of this important movement is, some in the crowd begin clapping, nodding in approval, and even shedding tears. A loud cheer reverberates around Tūrangawaewae as Ngā Wai Hono i te Pō sits on the throne previously held by her father Tuheitia.

Lyric

Meanwhile, down by the riverbank, I’m watching the scene from a supersized screen in a crowd of thousands. Nearly every square of Tūrangawaewae is taken up with bodies, but a walk down to the river provides a little more breathing space. To avoid taking up space, the soldiers who have prepared around 200kg of meat every day since Sunday for the wharekai sit on the top of their trucks to take the scene in.

The stream is a bit patchy, cutting to shots of broadcasters Julian Wilcox and Tini Molyneux who are hosting the coverage, yesterday’s schedule and drone shots of the Waikato while tributes are paid to the kīngi. But the crowd is still getting amongst it, and a hush falls when a figure appears to accept the throne. You can’t quite make out who it is, until Ngā Wai Hono i te Pō steps further into the marae, and an applause erupts among the onlookers. There are calls of “Ngā Wai! It’s Ngā Wai!” from the kids in the crowd.

There is a moment of silence as the ātea is cleared, before the usual formalities of the coronation begin. “Hei Kuīni!” exclaims Doug Ruki. “Āe!” the crowd responds. This is repeated three times, before Hone Tāmihana anoints Ngā Wai Hono i te Pō with the same bible used to anoint every monarch since Kīngi Tāwhiao, the second Māori King. The usual formalities then begin, with a sermon taking place, before the coronation ceremony wraps. Ngā Wai Hono i te Pō is looking down throughout the proceedings, clearly overcome by the gravity of the situation.

The final journey of a king

With the conclusion of the coronation, the final service for Tuheitia begins. Several karakia, waiata and haka take place, before the fallen king begins his final journey to Taupiri maunga. The coffin of Tuheitia, cloaked in kahu kiwi and flowers, is carried on the shoulders of several pallbearers to the flotilla of six waka awaiting him at the Waikato awa, flowing past Tūrangawaewae marae at the bottom of the grounds.

Tuheitia is loaded onto a carved wooden waka named Tātahi Ora, where the new queen joins him in the middle under a shelter covered in hundreds of flowers weaved out of harakeke. Thousands of admirers are lined along the banks and bridges of the Waikato River. When Tuheitia’s body travels on the waka below the overpasses, the crowds part to the sides so as not to stand over his head. Parallel to the king’s journey on the awa, a line of rumbling motorcycles takes off alongside the monarch. “They stole the show,” one onlooker remarks.

The flotilla slowly makes its way down the awa, with the new queen waving to the huge crowds gathered on the banks as she passes. Now the crowd on the marae packs into buses and trains to Taupiri. Forget taking a car – many of the neighbouring streets are closed, although one man does have his horse.

Members of Tainui line the maunga, and a voice over the speakers reminds onlookers of protocol. No kai before karakia, and don’t make too much noise. “We had to do a karakia after the motorcycles passed,” the voice says. “They nearly woke up the tupuna.” He had shared some sage advice earlier – turn to the person beside you and say “I’m proud to be Māori.”

The crowd performs haka, which greets the kīngi as he enters the maunga for the last time. A group of men from local rugby league clubs are there to shoulder some of the weight from Tuheitia’s casket, as they carry him up Taupiri to his final resting place. As the crowd departs to wait in long lines to catch the train or bus back to the marae, or to watch John Campbell doing his live cross, some stay on the maunga to sit with the gravestones of their whānau.

New normal

Liam

Back at the marae, final preparations are under way for the hākari, the final formality to bring the crowds back to a state of noa, or free from the extensions of tapu following the nehu. The army has begun its packdown, marquees are coming down, chairs are being stacked, and the reality of a return to normality is starting to sink in.

The whānau pani eventually return from the maunga with thousands of mourners in tow. They are welcomed back to the marae with karanga. Kuīni Ngā Wai is seated on the mahau of her wharenui Māhina-a-rangi, surrounded by whānau. There are concluding speeches and karakia, before the masses begin filing into Kimiora for a feast fit for a king.

Ngā Wai Hono i te Pō’s reign has already been met with happiness and hopefulness from supporters of the Kīngitanga, wider Māoridom and tauiwi alike. There were signs of joy and relief from some on the ground, who were unsure of who would take the throne. The new monarch was clearly the people’s choice.

Time will be needed for Kuīni Ngā Wai to settle into her role and begin carving out a legacy of her own, as the Kīngitanga looks towards its new normal. The machinery of the Kīngitanga will no doubt ensure that her reign is a successful one.