Everything about M Ori King Movement totally explained
The
Māori King Movement or
Kīngitanga is a movement that arose among some of the
Māori tribes of
New Zealand in the
1850s to establish a symbolic role similar in status to that of the
monarch of the colonising people, the British.
The position of Māori monarch is a non-constitutional role with no legal power in New Zealand, but it's a symbolic role invested with a high degree of
mana (prestige). Since the 1850s the role has been vested in the
Tainui iwi (tribe) who agreed to guard the position when it was created. The current Māori monarch,
Tuheitia Paki, is descended from the first Māori king,
Pōtatau Te Wherowhero, and was
elected in
2006. His official residence is Tūrongo House at
Tūrangawaewae marae in the town of
Ngaruawahia.
The
Kīngitanga movement and its influence has expanded since its establishment and it's widely recognised and respected by Māori in many parts of New Zealand today.
Origins of the movement
In the early 1850s, a movement to establish a Māori king developed in response to the rapid loss of Māori land to the British government and colonists. The movement was instigated by Tamihana Te Rauparaha (son of
Te Rauparaha) after having met
Queen Victoria in England in
1852. It was believed that by having a monarch who could claim status similar to that of Queen Victoria, Māori would be able to deal with
Pākehā (Europeans) on equal footing. The establishment of the
monarchy was also designed to achieve unity among
iwi of all regions of the islands and thus weaken the potential on the part of the British to “divide and rule”; and, in addition, it was seen as a step towards establishing law and order.
Te Rauparaha's cousin, Matene Te Whiwhi of the
Ngāti Raukawa and
Ngāti Toa iwi, attempted unsuccessfully to persuade many chiefs from various
iwi to put themselves forward for the position. The elderly chief
Pōtatau Te Wherowhero also expressed his reluctance, but was persuaded to accept the mantle of king at the wish of his own tribe
Ngati Mahuta. Te Wherowhero was formally selected as king by a meeting of chiefs of the Māori tribes held at
Pūkawa, Lake Taupo, in April
1857 and was crowned during elaborate ceremonies held at his marae in
Ngāruawāhia in
1858. He became known as Pōtatau te Wherowhero or simply Pōtatau.
The King Movement had influence over large parts of New Zealand’s
North Island – in particular, the lands of the
Ngati Tuwharetoa,
Taranaki,
Whanganui and
Tainui iwi that were involved in the movement’s establishment.
Dealings with the Crown
Following the stalemate of the
First Taranaki War in
1861, the British government under
Governor Thomas Gore-Browne began making arrangements to invade the Waikato to assert British authority over the interior of the
North Island.
Pōtatau wished to continue to work in co-operation with the British Government, but many of his followers adopted an opposing position. Gradually the two sides grew polarised, culminating in warfare in the Waikato region in 1863-64, by which time Pōtatau had died (in
1860) and been succeeded by his son,
Matutaera Tāwhiao, or King Tāwhiao.
In light of the signing of the
Treaty of Waitangi in
1840, King Tāwhiao travelled to England to petition
Queen Victoria in
1884 for an independent Māori
parliament and an independent enquiry into land confiscations. His request to meet with the Queen was rejected and he was instead shown to
Lord Derby at the
Colonial Office. He referred the petition to the New Zealand Government on the grounds that the Imperial government no longer had responsibility for such matters, but the New Zealand government dismissed it. All subsequent petitions taken to Britain were referred back to the New Zealand Government on the same grounds.
Succession
The position of Māori monarch isn't hereditary in principle. The monarch is appointed by the leaders of the tribes involved in the
Kīngitanga movement on the day of the previous monarch’s funeral and before the burial. To date, however, all Māori monarchs have been direct descendants of
Pōtatau Te Wherowhero, the first Māori king, and each monarch has been succeeded by a son or daughter. With each successive monarch, the role of Pōtatau's family has been entrenched, although after any reign ends there's the potential for the mantle to be passed to someone from another family or tribe if the chiefs of the various tribes are in agreement. Thus far, though, the monarchy has been hereditary in effect.
List of Māori kings and queens
Further Information
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