Te Arikinui Kuini Nga wai hono i te po delivered her first royal address on day four of Koroneihana, ending a year of public silence observed in keeping with tikanga following the death of Kīngi Tūheitia.
Maori Queen to make first royal address at Koroneihana
Te Arikinui Kuini Nga wai hono i te po delivered her first royal address on day four of Koroneihana, ending a year of public silence observed in keeping with tikanga following the death of Kīngi Tūheitia.
Anticipation had built across the week at Tūrangawaewae Marae, with iwi leaders and thousands of manuhiri travelling to hear the young Queen speak in her own voice for the first time since her accession.
Ngātiwai leader Aperahama Edwards said the mood was best captured by rangatahi in his iwi, who describe Te Arikinui as a pillar of hope, and who came to demonstrate aroha and long-term commitment as much as to listen.
The address was widely read as a generational moment: a leader in her late twenties setting the tone for a movement that has spent the past year in mourning and reflection.
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