|
|
|
Te Atairangikaahu was
buried at Taupiri Mountain on Monday. Early in the morning,
close family members said their goodbyes to Te Arikinui Dame Te
Atairangikaahu in a private ceremony where her casket was closed. She was then be brought
back out on to Turangawaewae Marae in Ngaruawahia for the ceremony to
name her successor, her son Tuheitia Paki, at 8.30am. Around 10.30am the
funeral
procession began and Dame Te Ata's coffin was placed in a waka for
an hour-long journey along the Waikato River to Taupiri Mountain, the
sacred burial site of Waikato ancestry and Maori royalty.
| The
new Maori monarch was announced Monday morning. The new leader of
the kingitangi movement will be Dame Te Ata's son and second oldest
child, Tuheitia Paki. He was crowned on Monday morning, at Turangawaewae marae. He is a cultural adviser for Te Wananga o Aotearoa, aged 51, and married to Te Atawhai, with three children, Whatumoana, Korotangi and Naumai. He is described as very hard working and humble. |
 |
..........
The coffin was lifted on to the lead waka, Tumanako, which was flanked by Taheretikitiki and Rangatahi for Dame Te Ata's final journey down the Waikato River, followed by support boats.
 |
More
than 20,000 people made their way to Ngaruawahia
and line the Waikato riverbank from the marae to Taupiri Mountain. People in the greater Waikato area are giving either daffodils or jonquils, or any other white or yellow flowers to the marae. White means love, and yellow is for remembrance. The flowers were given to people lining the street route from the marae to the Waikato River as well as those lining the riverbanks. |