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https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/sep/05/new-zealand-maori-queen-first-speech>
"It was the moment thousands had waited a year to see: New Zealand’s new Māori
Queen speaking to her people for the first time since being crowned. As a light
rain fell, Nga wai hono i te po, the 28-year-old monarch, urged Māori to come
together and “walk a new path”.
Nga wai hono i te po, the only daughter and youngest child of the former Māori
King, ascended the throne a year ago after her father died peacefully in his
sleep. A one-year period of mourning ensued, with custom requiring the queen to
withhold speaking publicly.
“This past year, at times, you have seen a physical figure amongst you, bereft
emotionally and spiritually – escaping the realities of a new life, fleeing in
search of the warm chest of comfort that once allayed a daughter’s worries, my
father’s chest,” Nga wai hono i te po told a crowd of thousands in her native
Māori language on Friday.
“I don’t share this in search of pity, rather, it’s a reminder that I am human,
just like everyone else.”
“Let the sunshine of a new day bring light and vitality,” she said.
Over the past week, thousands have descended upon Tūrangawaeware marae in New
Zealand’s central North Island to celebrate the Koroneihana – an annual event
to mark the coronation of the Māori monarch – and to hear the 28-year-old queen
deliver her much-anticipated speech."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
