December Funeral Care Magazine

By James Gardiner

Whakatane funeral director Larni Hepi was among tens of thousands of mourners who attended the 10-day tangi for Kīngi Tuheitia, who died on August 30 and was buried at Taupiri Maunga, Ngaruawahia, on September 5.

Larni, of Tūhoe, Ngāti Awa and Ngāti Wai, has been working as a cultural adviser to the Funeral Directors Association in addition to his role at Gateway Funeral Services.

Having attended the tangi of the previous monarch, Dame Te Atairangikaahu, in August 2006 as an eight-year-old, Larni was among an estimated 50,000 from the Mātaatua tribal grouping welcomed onto Turangawaewae Marae on September 2, the Monday of the tangi.

“The entire tangi was a a significant show of Māoridom on the international stage,” he says. “The scale was fit for a king. We had tribes from throughout New Zealand and the Pacific present to celebrate the incredible ritual of tangihanga over 10 days.”

The logistics of the funeral were immense. With so many mourners there to pay their respects, every group’s welcome had to be managed. Larni says it took close to two hours for his own people – probably the largest single grouping of manuhiri (visitors) to attend – just to get onto the marae.

“We consulted with other iwi near to us to allow Tainui to orchestrate it all in terms of the transport and timings.” Unusually, he says, Tainui had two entry points and separate kaikaranga at each to call the manuhiri onto the marae, simply to cope with the mass attendance.

While it was very similar in all cultural aspects to the previous Queen’s tangi, “the adaption of tikanga was definitely on show”, with live streaming and big screens across the marae and extra spaces found to accommodate the numbers. “That allowed everyone to be part of the experience. Everyone had a seat.”

Each iwi had designated kaikōrero (speakers), which meant six for Mātaatua, with each speaker supported with a waiata.

Larni praised the organisation of Tainui. There were 400 volunteers responsible just for feeding the guests, “and it was amazing food. You felt looked after on an exceptionally huge scale.”

The Mātaatua contingent left at day’s end but returned the following Thursdayfor the evening concert to acknowledge Kingi Tuheitia. Larnie says the concert, featuring top Māori entertainers, many of them personal favourites, was exceptional and a fitting tribute. The next day the new Queen, Tuheitia’s third child and only daughter Ngā Wai Hono i te Pō, aged 27, was raised to the throne. Larni says although the naming was kept secret and not revealed until the day, “I don’t think anyone was necessarily surprised given her involvement in the Kīngitanga movement.”

She is a direct descendant of Pōtatau Te Wherowhero, the first Māori King, and now bears the titles Te Arikinui (Paramount Chief) and Kuīni (Queen), making her the eighth monarch and the second woman, after her grandmother.

Her accession was not automatic, as the Māori monarchy is not strictly hereditary. Her father’s death triggered the succession process involving a wānanga (forum) of tribal leaders convened by the Tekau-mā-rua (the Kīngitanga advisory council), a diverse group of prominent Māori iwi leaders, academics, executives, and politicians from across many iwi. The announcement of her selection and her installation took place in a ceremony known as Te Whakawahinga, with the Tekau-mā-rua escorting her to the throne, where a Bible was placed on her head, a tradition that dates back to the establishment of the role.

Live footage of the tangi was shared around the world on news and social media, and the final day of the formalities was screened live on New Zealand television close to its entirety.