Kīngitanga

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tāwhiao, second Maori king (1860-1894)

As Kingitanga ( māori ) or Māori King Movement ( English ) - in everyday speech usually only King Movement  - is the political and social movement of the indigenous inhabitants of New Zealand , the Maori , called that led to the formation of a representative monarchy. The main goal of the movement, which dates back to the 1850s, focuses on the symbolic representation of all Māori tribes by a single monarch in order to negotiate on an equal footing with the United Kingdom .

At the state level, the Māori king has no power, but rather embodies a symbolic role of unity among the indigenous people of the country and possesses a high level of mana . From the introduction of the first Māori king ( Pōtatau Te Wherowhero ) in 1859 to 2006, a total of six people held this symbolic office. After the death of Queen Te Atairangikaahu , her eldest son Tuheitia Paki was appointed as her successor. The seat of the monarchs is the Tūrangawaewae - Marae in Ngaruawahia near Hamilton in the Waikato region .

History of movement

The movement originated in the early 1850s. At that time, the movement tried to prevent or at least limit the continuous loss of land to the British government and the colonists. Te Rauparaha's son gave the impetus for the establishment of a monarchy after a meeting with Queen Victoria in 1852. It was believed that one could negotiate with the English on an equal footing if one had a common leader who represented all Māori. In addition, a monarchy should help to establish law in what was then New Zealand and for the first time to create unity among the Māori tribes on all islands.

Te Rauparaha's cousin then tried in vain to convince numerous Māori leaders to proclaim him their king. The somewhat older Pōtatau Te Wherowhero , leader of the Ngāti Maniapoto tribe, spoke out against a king at the beginning, but was subsequently persuaded - especially because of the support from his own tribe - to take over the office and became one of them Meeting of numerous Māori leaders in April 1857 in Pukawa on Lake Taupo, declared king. The official inauguration celebrations took place in Ngaruawahia a year later. In the following years, the influence of the royal movement expanded to large parts of the North Island of the Pacific state.

After the stalemate that arose after the First Taranaki War of 1861, then Governor Thomas Gore-Browne made preparations for an invasion of the "breakaway" area around Waikato. Potatau tried to cooperate with the British government, but the opponents within his own ranks grew steadily. The two groups soon became enemies and between 1863 and 1864 fighting flared up among the Māori. At that time Potatau was already dead and in 1860 his son Tawhiao took over the office of king. Citing the Treaty of Waitangi , signed in 1840, he tried in 1884 to petition Queen Victoria to create a Māori parliament in New Zealand. His request to meet the Queen was rejected and he instead faced then-Chairman of the Colonial Office , Edward Henry Stanley, 15th Earl of Derby . However, the latter passed the request to the New Zealand parliament, where it was rejected.

Succession

The office of Māori king is de iure not hereditary. On the day of the previous monarch's funeral celebrations , the leaders of the tribes involved in the Kīngitanga movement choose a new king. Until now (2006), however, all monarchs were descendants of the first Māori king and son or daughter of the late ruler.

List of chiefs

Web links