Te Atairangikaahu

Te Atairangikaahu (1975)

Dame Te Arikinui Te Atairangikaahu (short: Dame Te ; in German about bird that flies in the sky just before sunset ; actually Piki Mahuta ; * July 23, 1931 ; † August 15, 2006 in Ngāruawāhia , Waikato District ) was the sixth queen of the Māori .

Life

Te Atairangikaahu , born as Piki Mahuta, was the daughter of King Koroki V , who had earmarked her for a leadership role at an early age. Accordingly, Te Atairangikaahu was prepared and trained for this role. Soon she had strengthened her personality to such an extent that she was able to successfully defend herself against an arranged wedding and in 1952 marry Whatumoana Paki, the man of her choice. The marriage had five daughters and two sons.

On May 23, 1966, Te Atairangikaahu was the first woman to ascend the Māori throne . As a monarch without a land of her own and without political power, the focus of her government was on representing her people and on safeguarding and defending the rights of the Māori . She motivated her people to preserve their culture and, above all, the Māori women to actively participate and to take charge of shaping their lives.

At the same time, Te Atairangikaahu was chairman of the Kīngitanga , the political movement of the Māori . Here she put emphasis on the reconciliation and rapprochement of her people to the Pākehā , the New Zealanders of European descent and other non- Māori . Her work not only earned her the recognition and respect of her own people. In 1970 she was the first Māori ever to be made a lady by Queen Elizabeth II and in 1987 was also the first Māori to receive the Order of New Zealand .

2005 caused a diabetes , a kidney failure , the Te Atairangikaahu from now on dialysis forced. In July 2006, she was hospitalized for a heart attack , but was able to leave before her birthday. Three weeks later, Te Atairangikaahu passed away with her family. She ruled the Māori people for the longest time at over 40 . According to tradition, seven days later, on August 21, 2006, she was driven in a waka , a Māori canoe, on the Waikato River to the Taupiri , the sacred mountain of the Māori on the North Island, and buried on the summit. The graves of numerous chiefs and all previous monarchs are located there.

Her eldest son, Tuheitia Paki , was appointed successor on the same day.

Awards

• 1970: Elevation to the nobility by Queen Elizabeth II as Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire
• 1979: Honorary Doctorate from the University of Waikato
• 1987: Order of New Zealand , the highest civil order in New Zealand
• 1999: Honorary Doctorate from Victoria University of Wellington

Web links

• Biography of Te Atairangikaahu