Maori King Movement
Encyclopedia
The Māori King Movement or Kīngitanga is a movement that arose among some of the Māori tribe
s of New Zealand
in the central North Island ,in the 1850s, to establish a role similar in status to that of the monarch
of the colonising people, the British
, as a way of halting the alienation of Māori land. Today, the Māori monarch is a non-constitutional role with no legal power.
The position of Māori monarch was constituted in 1858 by chiefs (rangatira) from many tribes, predominantly in the central North Island
. Since the 1850s the role has been vested in the Tainui
tribe (iwi
) who pledged through the first Māori king, Pōtatau Te Wherowhero, to guard the position. The current Māori monarch, Tuheitia Paki
was elected
in 2006. His official residence is Tūrongo House at Tūrangawaewae marae in the town of Ngaruawahia.
) after having met Queen Victoria in the United Kingdom 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 Maori lore and order. However a large number of powerful iwi chose to align themselves with the crown, such as Te Arawa, and others took no interest,such as Nga Puhi or were not invited, such as Ngai Tapu ,due to the history of inter iwi hostilities during the musket wars.
Te Rauparaha's cousin, Matene Te Whiwhi of the Ngāti Raukawa
and Ngāti Toa
iwi, attempted unsuccessfully to persuade nine 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 rebel King Movement had some influence over about a quarter 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 but even in its Waikato heart land many christian Maori sided with the government when conflict broke out.
After the end of the First Taranki war which saw a defeat for the Ngati Maniapoto rebel Kingites in 1861, the British government under Governor
Thomas Gore-Browne began making arrangements to attack the Kingites in Waikato to assert British authority over the interior of the North Island
.
Pōtatau who at this time lived at Mangere near Auckland, wished to continue to work in co-operation with the British Government, but many of his followers adopted an opposing position. The issue came to a head when kingites in Taranaki attacked a British military patrol escorting a soldier for trial were ambushed. Following this Rewi Maniapoto, the most warlike of the kingites, tried to kill a missionary and his family at Te Awamutu. The mission station was attacked and burnt down after being looted. Warned by the governor that setting up an alternative system of government would be viewed as rebellion, kingities armed themselves in prepartion for attacks in Auckland. Kingities set up a self declared boundary at Mangatawhiri stream . This culminated 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 inquiry into land confiscations. His request to meet with the Queen was rejected and he was instead introduced 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.
During World War 1 kingite aligned iwi refused to serve in the New Zealand army. The Maori pioneer corps which fought at Gallipoli were volunteers from loyal or kupapa tribes such as Arawa.
Their closeness to the government and their sacrifice for the nation meant they gained mana with the crown whereas kingite tribes were viewed as disloyal to the democratic principles of government.
, 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 is 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.
Iwi
In New Zealand society, iwi form the largest everyday social units in Māori culture. The word iwi means "'peoples' or 'nations'. In "the work of European writers which treat iwi and hapū as parts of a hierarchical structure", it has been used to mean "tribe" , or confederation of tribes,...
s of New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
in the central North Island ,in the 1850s, to establish a role similar in status to that of the monarch
Monarch
A monarch is the person who heads a monarchy. This is a form of government in which a state or polity is ruled or controlled by an individual who typically inherits the throne by birth and occasionally rules for life or until abdication...
of the colonising people, the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, as a way of halting the alienation of Māori land. Today, the Māori monarch is a non-constitutional role with no legal power.
The position of Māori monarch was constituted in 1858 by chiefs (rangatira) from many tribes, predominantly in the central North Island
North Island
The North Island is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the much less populous South Island by Cook Strait. The island is in area, making it the world's 14th-largest island...
. Since the 1850s the role has been vested in the Tainui
Tainui
Tainui is a tribal waka confederation of New Zealand Māori iwi. The Tainui confederation comprises four principal related Māori iwi of the central North Island of New Zealand: Hauraki, Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāti Raukawa and Waikato...
tribe (iwi
Iwi
In New Zealand society, iwi form the largest everyday social units in Māori culture. The word iwi means "'peoples' or 'nations'. In "the work of European writers which treat iwi and hapū as parts of a hierarchical structure", it has been used to mean "tribe" , or confederation of tribes,...
) who pledged through the first Māori king, Pōtatau Te Wherowhero, to guard the position. The current Māori monarch, Tuheitia Paki
Tuheitia Paki
Tuheitia Paki, KStJ is the current Māori King in New Zealand. He is the eldest son of the previous Māori monarch, Dame Te Atairangikaahu, and was announced as her successor and crowned on the same day as her tangihanga took place, on 21 August 2006...
was elected
Elective monarchy
An elective monarchy is a monarchy ruled by an elected rather than hereditary monarch. The manner of election, the nature of the candidacy and the electors vary from case to case...
in 2006. His official residence is Tūrongo House at Tūrangawaewae marae in the town of Ngaruawahia.
History
In the early 1850s, a movement to establish a Māori king developed in response to the selling of Māori land to the Colonial government. Selling was frequently an act that challeged the status quo of political power within iwi. The movement was instigated by Tamihana Te Rauparaha (son of Te RauparahaTe Rauparaha
Te Rauparaha was a Māori rangatira and war leader of the Ngāti Toa tribe who took a leading part in the Musket Wars. He was influential in the original sale of conquered Rangitane land to the New Zealand Company and was a participant in the Wairau Incident in Marlborough...
) after having met Queen Victoria in the United Kingdom 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
Pakeha
Pākehā is a Māori language word for New Zealanders who are "of European descent". They are mostly descended from British and to a lesser extent Irish settlers of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, although some Pākehā have Dutch, Scandinavian, German, Yugoslav or other ancestry...
(Europeans) on equal footing. The establishment of the monarchy
Monarchy
A monarchy is a form of government in which the office of head of state is usually held until death or abdication and is often hereditary and includes a royal house. In some cases, the monarch is elected...
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 Maori lore and order. However a large number of powerful iwi chose to align themselves with the crown, such as Te Arawa, and others took no interest,such as Nga Puhi or were not invited, such as Ngai Tapu ,due to the history of inter iwi hostilities during the musket wars.
Te Rauparaha's cousin, Matene Te Whiwhi of the Ngāti Raukawa
Ngati Raukawa
Ngāti Raukawa is a Māori iwi with traditional bases in the Waikato, Taupo and Manawatū/Horowhenua regions of New Zealand. In 2006, 29,418 Māori registered their affiliation with Ngāti Raukawa.- Early History :...
and Ngāti Toa
Ngati Toa
Ngāti Toa , an iwi , traces its descent from the eponymous ancestor Toarangatira. The Ngāti Toa region extends from Miria-te-kakara at Rangitikei to Wellington, and across Cook Strait to Wairau and Nelson....
iwi, attempted unsuccessfully to persuade nine 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
Ngati Mahuta
Ngāti Mahuta is a sub-tribe of the Waikato tribe of Māori in the North Island of New Zealand ....
. Te Wherowhero was formally selected as king by a meeting of chiefs of the Māori tribes held at Pūkawa
Pukawa
Pūkawa / Pūkawa Bay is a bay and a small township on the western shores of Lake Taupo in New Zealand. It is off State Highway 41 between Turangi and Taumarunui. It is home of the Ngati Manunui hapu of Ngāti Tūwharetoa and the newly-opened Manunui-a-Ruakapanga marae, which was opened on 18 November...
, Lake Taupo, in April 1857 and was crowned during elaborate ceremonies held at his marae in Ngāruawāhia
Ngaruawahia
Ngāruawāhia is a town in the Waikato region of the North Island of New Zealand. It is located 20 km north-west of Hamilton at the confluence of the Waikato and Waipa Rivers...
in 1858. He became known as Pōtatau te Wherowhero or simply Pōtatau.
The rebel King Movement had some influence over about a quarter of New Zealand’s North Island
North Island
The North Island is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the much less populous South Island by Cook Strait. The island is in area, making it the world's 14th-largest island...
—in particular, the lands of the Ngati Tuwharetoa
Ngati Tuwharetoa
Ngāti Tūwharetoa is an iwi descended from Ngātoro-i-rangi, the priest who navigated the Arawa canoe to New Zealand. The Tūwharetoa region extends from Te Awa o te Atua at Matata across the central plateau of the North Island to the lands around Mount Tongariro and Lake Taupo.The iwi is identified...
, Taranaki, Whanganui
Wanganui
Whanganui , also spelled Wanganui, is an urban area and district on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is part of the Manawatu-Wanganui region....
and Tainui
Tainui
Tainui is a tribal waka confederation of New Zealand Māori iwi. The Tainui confederation comprises four principal related Māori iwi of the central North Island of New Zealand: Hauraki, Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāti Raukawa and Waikato...
iwi that were involved in the movement’s establishment but even in its Waikato heart land many christian Maori sided with the government when conflict broke out.
Dealings with the Crown
After the end of the First Taranki war which saw a defeat for the Ngati Maniapoto rebel Kingites in 1861, the British government under Governor
Governor-General of New Zealand
The Governor-General of New Zealand is the representative of the monarch of New Zealand . The Governor-General acts as the Queen's vice-regal representative in New Zealand and is often viewed as the de facto head of state....
Thomas Gore-Browne began making arrangements to attack the Kingites in Waikato to assert British authority over the interior of the North Island
North Island
The North Island is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the much less populous South Island by Cook Strait. The island is in area, making it the world's 14th-largest island...
.
Pōtatau who at this time lived at Mangere near Auckland, wished to continue to work in co-operation with the British Government, but many of his followers adopted an opposing position. The issue came to a head when kingites in Taranaki attacked a British military patrol escorting a soldier for trial were ambushed. Following this Rewi Maniapoto, the most warlike of the kingites, tried to kill a missionary and his family at Te Awamutu. The mission station was attacked and burnt down after being looted. Warned by the governor that setting up an alternative system of government would be viewed as rebellion, kingities armed themselves in prepartion for attacks in Auckland. Kingities set up a self declared boundary at Mangatawhiri stream . This culminated 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
Treaty of Waitangi
The Treaty of Waitangi is a treaty first signed on 6 February 1840 by representatives of the British Crown and various Māori chiefs from the North Island of New Zealand....
in 1840, King Tāwhiao travelled to England to petition Queen Victoria in 1884 for an independent Māori parliament
Parliament
A parliament is a legislature, especially in those countries whose system of government is based on the Westminster system modeled after that of the United Kingdom. The name is derived from the French , the action of parler : a parlement is a discussion. The term came to mean a meeting at which...
and an independent inquiry into land confiscations. His request to meet with the Queen was rejected and he was instead introduced to Lord Derby
Edward Stanley, 15th Earl of Derby
Edward Henry Stanley, 15th Earl of Derby KG, PC, FRS , known as Lord Stanley from 1844 to 1869, was a British statesman...
at the Colonial Office
Colonial Office
Colonial Office is the government agency which serves to oversee and supervise their colony* Colonial Office - The British Government department* Office of Insular Affairs - the American government agency* Reichskolonialamt - the German 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.
During World War 1 kingite aligned iwi refused to serve in the New Zealand army. The Maori pioneer corps which fought at Gallipoli were volunteers from loyal or kupapa tribes such as Arawa.
Their closeness to the government and their sacrifice for the nation meant they gained mana with the crown whereas kingite tribes were viewed as disloyal to the democratic principles of government.
Succession
The position of Māori monarch is not 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 WherowheroPotatau Te Wherowhero
Pōtatau I, Māori King was a Māori warrior, leader of the Waikato tribes, the first Māori King and founder of the Te Wherowhero royal dynasty. He was first known as simply Te Wherowhero and took the name Pōtatau after he became king...
, 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 is 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 monarchs
- Pōtatau, Māori KingPotatau Te WherowheroPōtatau I, Māori King was a Māori warrior, leader of the Waikato tribes, the first Māori King and founder of the Te Wherowhero royal dynasty. He was first known as simply Te Wherowhero and took the name Pōtatau after he became king...
1858–1860 - Tāwhiao, Māori KingTawhiaoTāwhiao I, Māori King , was leader of the Waikato tribes, the second Māori King and a religious visionary. He was a member of the Ngāti Mahuta iwi of Waikato....
1860–1894 - Mahuta, Māori KingMahuta TawhiaoMahuta Tāwhiao I, Māori King was the third Māori King, reigning from 1894 to 1912, and member of the New Zealand Legislative Council from 1903 to 1910.-Early life:...
1894–1912 - Te Rata, Māori King 1912–1933
- Korokī, Māori KingKoroki MahutaKorokī I, Māori King was the fifth Māori King. He was born to parents Te Rata Mahuta and Te Uranga Matai and was a descendant of the first Māori King, Pōtatau Te Wherowhero. In 1954 he received Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II when Her Majesty called at his official residence during the coronation...
1933–1966 - Dame Te Atairangikaahu, Māori QueenTe AtairangikaahuDame Te Atairangikaahu, ONZ, DBE, OStJ was the Māori queen for 40 years, the longest reign of any Māori monarch. Her full name and title was Te Arikinui Te Atairangikaahu...
1966–2006 - Tuheitia Paki, Māori KingTuheitia PakiTuheitia Paki, KStJ is the current Māori King in New Zealand. He is the eldest son of the previous Māori monarch, Dame Te Atairangikaahu, and was announced as her successor and crowned on the same day as her tangihanga took place, on 21 August 2006...
2006 – present
External links
- Kīngitanga - The Maori King Movement (NZHistory.net.nz)
- University of Queensland site on the Maori Kīngitanga's genealogy
- Tangata Whenua: Waikato episode on NZ On ScreenNZ On ScreenNZ On Screen is an online showcase of archival New Zealand television and film. The website is fully funded by NZ On Air and provides free worldwide access to NZ-produced television, film and music videos. Content is streamed and the webpages provide authoritative background information.The site...
which explores the Kingitanga movement and the history of the Waikato people. Requires Adobe FlashAdobe FlashAdobe Flash is a multimedia platform used to add animation, video, and interactivity to web pages. Flash is frequently used for advertisements, games and flash animations for broadcast...
.