The Koroneihana programme invites the gathering of tribes to bring their dead, mourning those who have left us in the past 12 months, and includes formal pōwhiri for dignitaries.
This year the focus wasn’t on political parties; instead it was on the hereditary leadership of the Pacific with representation from the Kingdom of Tonga, Fiji, Rarotonga, Hawaii, plus leadership from Samoa, Niue, Solomon Islands, Tahiti and more.
They all gathered to celebrate the Māori Queen’s first Koroneihana.
Koroneihana 2025 was different, different in the vibe, in the colour, the visibility of youth throughout the programme and the cultural entertainment from across te iwi Māori and the Pacific. But what was particularly special was the vision on offer from the new figurehead.
On September 5, Kuini Nga wai hono i te po stood to address her people and Aotearoa New Zealand for the first time in front of her ancestral house Mahinaarangi. The marae was packed, with a feeling of excitement and anticipation.
The queen spoke entirely in te reo Māori, representing a whānau and tribal investment in cultural capacity, through Māori medium education to post-graduate studies focused on Māori language culture and heritage – tēnei te tira hou, this is the new generation.
In 1867, the Native Schools Act established an education system whereby English was to be the only language spoken and written, seeing the alienation of generations of Māori from their mother tongue. For 43 years, since the first kohanga reo was established in Wainuiomata, te iwi Māori have had to fight to rebuild our language and culture – Kuini Nga wai hono i te po represents our language hopes and dreams coming to fruition.
Her speech to the nation was defining:
“Taku Māoritanga kei roto i taku kōrero Māori, taku Māoritanga kei roto i taku tiaki i te taiao, taku Māoritanga kei roto i te pānui me te ako i taku hītori, taku Māoritanga hoki, ahakoa iti, kei roto i taku kōwhiri kē i taku ingoa Māori tēnā i taku ingoa Pākehā, he nui ngā momo whakatinanatanga o te Māoritanga, kaua kau noa i ngā wā o te porotū.”
Being Māori is speaking our language. It is taking care of the environment. It is reading and learning about our history. It is the choice to be called by our Māori name. There are many ways to manifest being Māori, not just in times of protest.
Her words speak to the centrality of care for our environment, ko au te taiao ko te taiao ko au (I am the environment and the environment is me), a recognition that the health and wellbeing of our peoples and communities are interconnected through these shared values.
The queen also looked to the future, to prosperity for the future, something that as Māori we can lead on by working together.
In launching her Ōhanga Ki Te Ao – Māori Economic Summit, she seeks to provide a platform to examine the challenges faced and resilience and strength we can offer to our peoples and communities through working together we can pursue our economic aspirations not always being reliant on the Government.
This refreshing call for action was quickly followed by the announcement of her capital initiative. The Kotahitanga Fund with seed funding from iwi Māori entities.
The fund will help Māori to unlock investment opportunities, given the disestablishment of many Māori initiatives by the current Government.
Echoing the catch-cry “not one more acre”, there is decreasing tolerance of the ongoing disestablishment of Māori initiatives.
Kuini Nga wai hono i te po represents a legacy of renewal and positivity for te iwi Māori and all New Zealand. The challenge for those of us in Parliament is – are we listening? Are we ready to genuinely work with Māori and support tino rangatiratanga?
