"It was the moment thousands had waited a year to see: New Zealand's new Maori 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 Maori to come together and walk a new path. Nga wai hono i te po, the only daughter and youngest child of the former Maori 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 Maori language on Friday."
The new Maori queen emerged from a customary one-year period of mourning to address thousands at Koroneihana, urging Maori to come together and walk a new path. She acknowledged deep personal grief after her father's peaceful death and described moments of emotional and spiritual bereavement during the past year. She thanked attendees, including visiting Pacific royals and many young Maori, and called for renewal and vitality. The coronation celebrations were held at Turangawaeware marae in New Zealand's central North Island amid heightened tensions between Maori and the government over policy issues.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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