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{{Short description|Shared monarchy of numerous Māori iwi of New Zealand}}
{{Use New Zealand English|date=August 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2020}}
{{Infobox monarchy
| royal_title        = Queen
| native_name        = {{lang|mi|Kuīni}}
| realm              = the Kīngitanga
| coatofarms         = File:Kiingitanga crest with motto.svg
| coatofarms_size    = 150px
| coa_alt            =
| coatofarms_article = 
| coatofarmscaption  = [[Crest (heraldry)|Crest]] and [[motto]] of the Kīngitanga
| image              = File:Ngawaihonoitepo Paki 2019 (cropped).jpg
| incumbent          = [[Nga wai hono i te po]]
| incumbentsince     = 5 September 2024 
| style              = {{lang|mi|[[Paramount chief#New Zealand|Te Arikinui]]}}<br/> and then {{lang|mi|Te Kuīni}}
| image2             = Kiingitanga flag.svg
| caption2           = Flag of the Kīngitanga
| heir_apparent      = None; [[Elective monarchy|elective]]
| first_monarch      = [[Pōtatau Te Wherowhero]]
| date               = 1858
| residence          = Tūrongo House, [[Tūrangawaewae]]
| appointer          = [[List of iwi|Iwi]] of the Kīngitanga
}}

The '''Māori King movement''', called the '''{{lang|mi|Kīngitanga}}'''{{efn|{{IPA|mi|ˈkiːŋitaŋa}}. Alternatively spelled {{lang|mi|Kiingitanga}}, preferred by the [[Waikato-Tainui]] iwi.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Te Wiki o Te Reo Maaori Discovery Trail |url=https://waikatomuseum.co.nz/exhibitions-and-events/view/2145882619 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220703090710/https://waikatomuseum.co.nz/exhibitions-and-events/view/2145882619 |archive-date=3 July 2022 |access-date=15 May 2022 |website=Waikato Museum Te Whare Taonga o Waikato}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Governance |url=https://waikatotainui.com/learn-post/governance/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220527050311/https://waikatotainui.com/learn-post/governance/ |archive-date=27 May 2022 |access-date=15 May 2022 |website=Waikato-Tainui}}</ref>}} in [[Māori language|Māori]], is a [[Māori people|Māori]] [[political movement|movement]] that arose among some of the Māori {{lang|mi|[[iwi]]|italic=no}} (tribes) of [[New Zealand]] in the central [[North Island]] in the 1850s, to establish a role similar in status to that of the [[monarchy of the United Kingdom]] as a way of halting the [[Alienation (property law)|alienation]] of Māori land.<ref name="nzha">{{Cite book |title=Bateman New Zealand Historical Atlas |year=1997 |isbn=1-86953-335-6 |at=plate 36 |chapter=Mana Whenua}}</ref> The first Māori king, [[Pōtatau Te Wherowhero]], was crowned in 1858. The monarchy is non-hereditary in principle, although every monarch since Pōtatau Te Wherowhero has been a child of the previous monarch. The eighth monarch is [[Nga wai hono i te po]], who was [[Election of the VIII Māori monarch|elected]] and crowned in September 2024.

The Māori monarch operates in a non-constitutional capacity outside the [[New Zealand Government|New Zealand government]], without explicit legal or judicial power. Reigning monarchs retain the position of [[paramount chief]] of several {{lang|mi|iwi|italic=no}},<ref name="Foster">{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Māori King – Election and Coronation |encyclopedia=[[An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand]] |url=https://teara.govt.nz/en/1966/maori-king-election-and-coronation |access-date=11 August 2019 |last=Foster |first=Bernard |date=1966 |editor-last=McLintock |editor-first=A.H. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190810235220/https://teara.govt.nz/en/1966/maori-king-election-and-coronation |archive-date=10 August 2019 |via=[[Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand]] |url-status=live}}</ref> and wield some power over these, especially within [[Tainui]]. The influence of the Māori monarch is widespread in Māoridom despite the movement not being adhered to by several major iwi, notably [[Ngāi Tūhoe|Tūhoe]], [[Ngāti Porou]], and the largest of all, [[Ngāpuhi]]. The headquarters for the King movement is [[Tūrangawaewae|Tūrangawaewae Marae]] in the town of [[Ngāruawāhia]].

The movement arose among a group of central North Island iwi in the 1850s as a means of attaining Māori unity to halt the alienation of land at a time of rapid population growth by European colonists.<ref name="nzha" /> The movement sought to establish a monarch who could claim status similar to that of [[Queen Victoria]] and thus provide a way for Māori to deal with {{lang|mi|[[Pākehā]]}} (Europeans) on equal footing. It took on the appearance of an alternative government with its own flag, newspaper, bank, councillors, magistrates and law enforcement. It was viewed by the colonial government as a challenge to the supremacy of the [[monarchy of the United Kingdom]], leading in turn to the 1863 [[invasion of the Waikato]], which was partly motivated by a drive to neutralise the Kīngitanga's power and influence. Following their defeat at Ōrākau in 1864, the Kingites withdrew into the Ngāti Maniapoto tribal region of the North Island that became known as the [[King Country]].{{sfn|Walker|1990|p=126}}<ref name="DaltonWarPolitics">{{Cite book |last=Dalton |first=B.J. |title=War and Politics in New Zealand 1855–1870 |publisher=Sydney University Press |year=1967 |location=Sydney}}</ref>{{Page needed|date=August 2021}}

== History ==

===Background===
[[File:Flag of the Māori King, 1863.jpg|thumb|175px|The flag hoisted at [[Ngāruawāhia]] on the proclamation of [[Pōtatau Te Wherowhero]] as Māori King, drawn in 1863]]From the early 1850s, North Island Māori came under increasing pressure to satisfy the demand of European settler farmers for arable land. While Māori cultivated small areas, relying on extensive forests for berry, birds and roots, settlers expanded their production capacity by burning forest and fern and planting grass seed in the ashes. Some influential chiefs including [[Te Rauparaha]] opposed land sales in the 1840s (culminating in the 1843 [[Wairau Affray]]), and the view became more widespread in the following decade, when the [[Pākehā]] (European) population grew to outnumber Māori and the colonial government's Native Land Purchase Department adopted unscrupulous methods to take ownership, which included offers to chiefs or small groups of owners. Deals with individual Māori or groups that did not represent majority interests also dragged Māori into disputes with one another. As the white frontier encroached further on their land, many became concerned that their land, and race, would soon be overrun.<ref name="sinclair">{{Cite book |last=Sinclair |first=Keith |title=A History of New Zealand |publisher=Penguin |year=2000 |isbn=0-14-029875-4 |edition=2000 |location=Auckland |pages=115–119}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=20 December 2012 |title=Māori King movement origins: The land issue |url=https://nzhistory.govt.nz/politics/the-maori-king-movement/the-land-issue |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190607202327/https://nzhistory.govt.nz/politics/the-maori-king-movement/the-land-issue |archive-date=7 June 2019 |access-date=11 August 2019 |website=New Zealand History Online |publisher=History Group of the New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage}}</ref>

Around 1853 Māori revived the ancient tribal ''runanga'' or chiefly war councils where land issues were raised and in May 1854 a large meeting—attracting as many as 2000 Māori leaders—was held at Manawapou in south Taranaki where speakers urged concerted opposition to selling land.<ref name="DaltonWarPolitics" />{{rp|62–63}} 
The meetings provided an important forum for Te Rauparaha's son, Christian convert [[Tamihana Te Rauparaha]], who in 1851 had visited England where he was presented to [[Queen Victoria]]. Tamihana Te Rauparaha had returned to New Zealand with the idea of forming a Māori kingdom, with one king ruling over all {{lang|mi|iwi|italic=no}} (tribes), and used the {{lang|mi|[[rūnanga]]|italic=no}} to secure the agreement of influential North Island chiefs to his idea.<ref name="sinclair" /> The {{lang|mi|kotahitanga}} or unity movement was aimed at bringing to Māori the unity that was an obvious strength among the Europeans.<ref name="sinclair" /><ref name="DaltonWarPolitics" />{{Page needed|date=August 2021}} It was believed that by having a monarch who could claim status similar to that of Queen Victoria, Māori would be able to deal with Pākehā on equal footing. It was also intended to establish a system of law and order in Māori communities to which the Auckland government had so far shown little interest.{{sfn|Walker|1990|p=112}}

===Pōtatau Te Wherowhero===
{{Main|Pōtatau Te Wherowhero}}
[[File:Pōtatau Te Wherowhero by George French Angas.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Pōtatau Te Wherowhero]], the first Māori King]]

Several North Island candidates who were asked to put themselves forward declined;<ref>{{Cite web |date=20 December 2012 |title=Māori King movement origins: In search of a king |url=https://nzhistory.govt.nz/politics/the-maori-king-movement/in-search-of-a-king |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190607202231/https://nzhistory.govt.nz/politics/the-maori-king-movement/in-search-of-a-king |archive-date=7 June 2019 |access-date=11 August 2019 |website=New Zealand History Online |publisher=History Group of the New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage}}</ref> in February 1857, a few weeks after a key intertribal meeting in [[Taupō]], [[Wiremu Tamihana]], a chief of the [[Ngāti Hauā]] iwi in eastern Waikato, circulated a proposal to appoint as king the elderly and high-ranking Waikato chief Te Wherowhero, and a major meeting to deal with it was organised to be held at [[Rangiriri]] in April.{{efn|group=notes|name=KingTePueaChronology|Michael King's account in ''Te Puea'' (1977, p. 24) contains a slightly different chronology: He says the meeting at Pukawa beside Lake Taupō took place in November 1856 and it was there that chiefs agreed on Te Wherowhero. King says chiefs who were party to the Pukawa decision represented [[Ngāpuhi]], Te Arawa, [[Ngāti Porou]], [[Ngāti Kahungunu]], [[Taranaki (iwi)|Taranaki]], Whanganui and [[Ngāi Tahu]] as well as the "first circle" of supporters, [[Waikato Tainui|Waikato]], [[Ngāti Maniapoto|Maniapoto]] and Hauraki. Te Wherowhero, then aged in his mid-80s, was a descendant of Hoturoa, captain of the [[Tainui (canoe)|Tainui canoe]]; he had connections with other iwi and came from a line of successful fighting chiefs. He had been an outstanding combatant himself in the days of tribal warfare, had become a friend of Governor Grey and regarded himself as a friend of the Pākehā. He was also well resourced: he was able to call on the assistance of 5000 immediate followers and his Waikato territory had a wealth of food in its rivers and lakes and vast areas of potato and wheat cultivations.<ref name="KingTePuea" />{{rp|23–34}}}}

After initially declining—he was unwilling to undertake new ventures at his age and was described by a European visitor as blind and decrepit, "on the very brink of his grave"<ref>German geologist [[Ferdinand von Hochstetter]] in ''Neuseeland'' (Stuttgart: 1867); pg. 456, cited in King.</ref><ref name="KingTePuea" />{{rp|23–34}}—Te Wherowhero agreed in September 1857 to accept the kingship and in June 1858 he was crowned at [[Ngāruawāhia]], later adopting the name Pōtatau Te Wherowhero or simply Pōtatau.<ref name="potatau">{{Cite web |date=20 December 2012 |title=Māori King movement origins: Pōtatau Te Wherowhero |url=https://nzhistory.govt.nz/politics/the-maori-king-movement/potatau-te-wherowhero |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190607202012/https://nzhistory.govt.nz/politics/the-maori-king-movement/potatau-te-wherowhero |archive-date=7 June 2019 |access-date=11 August 2019 |website=New Zealand History Online |publisher=History Group of the New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage}}</ref><ref name="DaltonWarPolitics" />{{rp|68–72; 83}}

In his acceptance speech Pōtatau stressed the spirit of unity symbolised by the kingship and called on his people to "hold fast to love, to the law, and to faith in God."<ref name="potatau" /> Over time the King movement came to have a flag, a council of state, a code of laws, a "King's Resident Magistrate", police, a surveyor and a newspaper, ''Te Hokioi'', all of which gave the movement the appearance of an alternative government. The lives of his followers were given new purpose with the lawmaking, trials, and lengthy meetings and debates.<ref name="sinclair" /><ref name="independence">{{Cite web |date=20 December 2012 |title=Māori King movement origins: A challenge to European authority? |url=https://nzhistory.govt.nz/politics/the-maori-king-movement/challenge-to-european-authority |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190607202339/https://nzhistory.govt.nz/politics/the-maori-king-movement/challenge-to-european-authority |archive-date=7 June 2019 |access-date=11 August 2019 |website=New Zealand History Online |publisher=History Group of the New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage}}</ref> Historian [[Michael King (historian)|Michael King]] noted: "In the eyes of his supporters, the chiefs who had raised him up had made him a repository for their own mana and tapu and for that of their lands. Pōtatau was now a man of intensified prestige and sacredness. This belief was to impel people to go to heroic lengths to uphold the kingship and, subsequently, to fight for it."<ref name="KingTePuea" />

Pōtatau proclaimed the boundary separating his authority from that of the Governor, saying: "Let [[Maungatautari]] be our boundary. Do not encroach on this side. Likewise I am not to set foot on that side." The King envisaged a conjoint administration in which he ruled in territory still under Māori customary title while the Governor ruled in areas acquired by the [[The Crown|Crown]].{{sfn|Walker|1990|pp=112–113}}

Governor [[Thomas Gore Browne]] had been watching developments with concern. In June 1857 he wrote to London that "I apprehend no sort of danger from the present movement, but it is evident that the establishment of a separate nationality by the Māoris in any form or shape if persevered in would end sooner or later in collision." Though there were still no signs the movement was developing an aggressive spirit, Browne soon began expressing his fear that "it will resolve into a conflict of race and become the greatest political difficulty we have had to contend with".<ref name="DaltonWarPolitics" />{{rp|71}}

Recognition of the new King, however, was not immediate: though there was widespread respect for the movement's efforts in establishing a "land league" to slow land sales, Pōtatau's role was strongly embraced only by Waikato Māori, with iwi of North Auckland and south of Waikato showing him scant recognition.<ref name="DaltonWarPolitics" />{{rp|72}} Some opponents dismissed the Kīngitanga as a solely Waikato movement.<ref name="independence" /> Throughout 1859 emissaries of the King movement travelled through the North Island, including Taranaki, Wanganui and Hawkes Bay, seeking further adherents, with iwi sometimes divided in their support. Even within the movement there was said to be deep division: historian Keith Sinclair claimed "moderates" aligned themselves with Wiremu Tamihana, and "anti-European extremists" followed [[Ngāti Maniapoto]] chief and warlord [[Rewi Maniapoto]], although Belich and historian Vincent O'Malley dispute this, saying both factions were driven by shared objectives and concerns and that divisions had been exaggerated by historians. Tribal rivalries may also have weakened unity.<ref name="sinclair" /><ref>{{Cite web |first=Vincent |last=O'Malley |title=Te Rohe Potae Political Engagement, 1840–1863: A Report Commissioned by the Waitangi Tribunal |date=December 2010 |pages=358–367 |url=http://motiti-marae.yolasite.com/resources/Wai%20898,%20A023.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170203170326/http://motiti-marae.yolasite.com/resources/Wai%20898,%20A023.pdf |archive-date=3 February 2017 |access-date=3 February 2016}}</ref> Historian B.J. Dalton observed: "Outside the Waikato, the King Movement appealed most to the younger generation who could see no other way of gaining the ''mana'' their fathers had won in battle."<ref name="DaltonWarPolitics" />{{rp|83}}

On 10 April 1860, three weeks after the start of the [[First Taranaki War|Taranaki wars]], deputations from west coast iwi [[Te Āti Awa]] and [[Ngā Ruanui]] attended a gathering of Waikato Māori at Ngāruawāhia and tendered their formal allegiance to the king. Discussions at that meeting, and at a second meeting at Peria six weeks later that attracted a large group of supporters from the lower Waikato, centered on hostilities in Taranaki and the question of whether the King movement should intervene. A faction of moderates within the movement swung the decision against direct involvement, but news of the meetings led to panic in Auckland over the possibility of a Māori attack on the capital, in turn prompting what Dalton described as "a mood of savage vindictiveness towards all Māori".<ref name="DaltonWarPolitics" />{{rp|110–112}} In late June 1860 large numbers of Waikato Māori travelled to Taranaki to reinforce Te Āti Awa chief [[Wiremu Kīngi Te Rangitāke]]'s forces and joined in the plunder of abandoned farms, but the intervention was unorganised and on a limited scale, relieving Taranaki settlers of some fear of full-scale Kingite involvement.<ref name="DaltonWarPolitics" />{{Page needed|date=August 2021}}

Pōtatau died of influenza on 25 June 1860 and was succeeded by his son [[Tāwhiao|Matutaera Tāwhiao]].

===Matutaera Tāwhiao===
{{Main|Tāwhiao}}

[[File:TawhiaoNLA.jpg|thumb|[[King Tawhiao|Tāwhiao]], the second Māori king (1860–1894)]]

Tāwhiao's succession to the position of King coincided with a period of increasing friction between Māori and the Auckland-based settler government over issues of land ownership and sovereignty. Hostilities surrounding land purchases in Taranaki spread, erupting into a series of conflicts that became known as the [[New Zealand Wars]].

Tamihana, a strategist revered as the "kingmaker", expressed the Kīngitanga movement's key concern in a letter to Browne at the close of the [[First Taranaki War]] in 1861. He said Waikato iwi had never signed the [[Treaty of Waitangi]] and that Māori were a separate nation. "I do not desire to cast the Queen from this island, but from own piece (of land). I am to be the person to overlook my own piece," he wrote. But Browne regarded the Kīngitanga stance as an act of disloyalty; his plans for the [[invasion of Waikato]] were fuelled in large part by his desire to uphold "the Queen's supremacy" in the face of the Kīngitanga challenge.<ref name="DaltonWarPolitics" />{{rp|128; 131}}<ref>{{Cite book |last=King |first=Michael |author-link=Michael King (historian) |title=The Penguin history of New Zealand |date=2003 |publisher=Penguin Books |isbn=0143018671 |location=Auckland, N.Z. |oclc=54853114}}</ref> Browne's successor, Sir [[George Grey]], told a large Māori gathering at Taupari near the mouth of the [[Waikato River]] in December 1861 that the King movement was bad and should be abandoned.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Dalton |first=B.J. |title=War and Politics in New Zealand 1855–1870 |publisher=Sydney University Press |year=1967 |location=Sydney |pages=148}}</ref> On 9 July 1863 Grey issued an ultimatum that all Māori living between [[Auckland]] and the Waikato take an oath of allegiance to [[Queen Victoria]] or be expelled south of the Waikato River.<ref name="Belich">{{Cite book |last=Belich |first=James |author-link=James Belich (historian) |title=The New Zealand Wars |publisher=Penguin |year=1986 |isbn=0-14-027504-5 |location=Auckland |pages=119–125}}</ref> Troops invaded Waikato territory three days later.

Kīngitanga forces were forced to fight a defensive war based on frustrating and slowing down their enemy but were unable to prevail over a full-time professional army with almost unlimited manpower and firepower.<ref>{{Cite web |date=20 December 2012 |title=Māori King movement 1860–94: Response to war |url=https://nzhistory.govt.nz/politics/maori-king-movement-1860-94/response-to-war |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190811032435/https://nzhistory.govt.nz/politics/maori-king-movement-1860-94/response-to-war |archive-date=11 August 2019 |access-date=11 August 2019 |website=New Zealand History Online |publisher=New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage}}</ref>

Tāwhiao and his close followers fled into the bush and steep limestone valleys of [[Ngāti Maniapoto|Maniapoto]] territory, which was subsequently known as the King Country, declaring that Europeans risked death if they crossed the ''aukati'' or boundary of the confiscated land. Governor Grey, meanwhile, began steering through Parliament legislation for the widespread [[New Zealand land confiscations|seizure]] of the land of "rebel" Māori. The confiscation of 486,500 hectares of land, including fertile areas under cultivation, burial sites and areas that had been inhabited for centuries, was a bitter blow for Waikato Māori. In 1869 and 1870 Tāwhiao was challenged by [[Ringatū]] prophet and guerrilla leader [[Te Kooti]] to resume hostilities against the government to try to wrest back the confiscated land. Tawhiao, however, had renounced war and declared 1867–68 as the "year of the lamb" and "year of peace"; in April 1869 he had issued another proclamation that "the slaying of man by man is to cease".<ref name="binneylamb">{{Cite book |last=Binney |first=Judith |author-link=Judith Binney |title=Redemption Songs |date=1995 |publisher=University of Hawaii Press |isbn=0-8248-1975-6 |location=Honolulu |pages=134}}</ref> Though there were radical elements in the Kīngitanga movement who favoured a resumption of war, including [[Rewi Maniapoto]] and possibly Tāwhiao himself, moderates continued to warn the King that they had little chance of success and risked annihilation by becoming involved in Te Kooti's actions.<ref name="Belich" />{{rp|280–281}}

Tāwhiao remained in exile for 20 years, wandering through Maniapoto and Taranaki settlements, adopting an [[Old Testament]] view of himself as an anointed leader of a chosen people wandering in the wilderness awaiting a deliverance into their inheritance.<ref name="KingTePuea" />

[[File:TePakiOMatariki.jpg|thumb|Masthead from ''Te Paki o Matariki'', newspaper of the Kīngitanga, edition of 8 May 1893. It represents Matariki or the Pleiades as harbingers of good weather and fruitful endeavours.]]

From the 1870s the Government—keen to push a [[North Island Main Trunk|north–south railway link]] through the centre of the North Island and open up the King Country to more settlers—made approaches to Tāwhiao to offer peace terms. Grey, by now Premier of New Zealand, visited the King in May 1878 to offer him "lands on the left bank of the [[Waipā River|Waipa]], 500 acres at Ngāruawāhia, land in all the townships" as well as economic aid and rights over roads and land dealings. Tāwhiao refused the offer. Three years later, in July 1881, he summoned Resident Magistrate William Gilbert Mair to a meeting at Alexandra (today known as [[Pirongia]]) where he and 70 followers laid down their guns, then laid alongside them 70 roasted pigeons and a [[fantail]], explaining, "This means peace."<ref name="KingTePuea" />

He travelled to London in 1884 with [[Western Maori]] MP [[Wiremu Te Wheoro]] to lead a deputation with a petition to the Crown about Māori land grievances but was refused an audience with the Queen. Back in New Zealand in 1886 and seeking Māori solutions to Māori problems through Māori institutions, he petitioned [[Minister of Māori Affairs|Native Minister]] [[John Ballance]] for the establishment of a Māori Council "for all the chiefs of this Island". When this proposal, too, was ignored, he set up his own [[Te Whakakitenga|Kauhanganui]], a Kīngitanga parliament, at [[Maungakawa]] in 1892. Though all North Island iwi were invited to attend, participation was confined mainly to the Waikato, Maniapoto and Hauraki people who were already part of the King movement. The assembly's discussions included proceedings in the national Parliament, interpretations of the Treaty of Waitangi, the confiscation issue and conditions for land sales, but its deliberations and recommendations were either ignored or derided by the Parliament and public servants.<ref name="KingTePuea" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Māori King movement 1860–94: Tensions ease |url=https://nzhistory.govt.nz/politics/the-maori-king-movement-1860-94/tensions-ease |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190811032438/https://nzhistory.govt.nz/politics/the-maori-king-movement-1860-94/tensions-ease |archive-date=11 August 2019 |access-date=11 August 2019 |website=New Zealand History Online |publisher=New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage}}</ref> The establishment of Tāwhiao's Kauhanganui coincided with the formation of a Māori Parliament at Waipatu Marae in [[Heretaunga Plains|Heretaunga]]. This parliament, which consisted of 96 members from the North and South Islands under Prime Minister [[Hāmiora Mangakāhia]], was formed as part of the Kotahitanga (unification) movement, which Tāwhiao refused to join.{{sfn|Walker|1990|pp=165–171}}

From about 1886 until about 1905 it also had a bank, the Bank of Aotearoa, which operated in Parawera, Maungatautari and Maungakawa.<ref name="stuart">{{Cite journal |last=Park |first=Stuart |date=October 1992 |title=Te Peeke o Aotearoa – The Bank of King Tawhiao |url=http://www.nzjh.auckland.ac.nz/docs/1992/NZJH_26_2_04.pdf |url-status=live |journal=New Zealand Journal of History |publisher=Department of History, University of Auckland |volume=26 |pages=161–183 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131021181929/http://www.nzjh.auckland.ac.nz/docs/1992/NZJH_26_2_04.pdf |archive-date=21 October 2013 |access-date=16 October 2013}}</ref>

Tāwhiao also instituted a system of annual poukais—visits by the King to Kīngitanga marae, which he devised as a means of drawing people back to their marae on a fixed day each year. The poukais later evolved into regular consultation meetings between Kīngitanga leadership and its followers where funds were also raised to cover the movement's expenses and the upkeep of local marae.<ref name="KingTePuea" />

Tāwhiao died suddenly on 26 August 1894 and was succeeded by his oldest son, [[Mahuta Tāwhiao]].

===Mahuta Tāwhiao===
{{Main|Mahuta Tāwhiao}}

[[File:King mahuta - page 316.jpg|thumb|upright|Mahuta Tāwhiao, third Māori king, who was crowned in 1894.]]

Mahuta, born about 1854, was raised during the wars of the 1860s and the exile that followed, and received no European education and spoke little English. By the time of his coronation support for the King movement had declined and its followers were limited mainly to the Tainui iwi in Waikato and Ngāti Maniapoto from the King Country.<ref name="historymahuta">{{Cite web |date=8 November 2017 |title=Mahuta Tāwhiao Pōtatau Te Wherowhero |url=https://nzhistory.govt.nz/people/mahuta-tawhiao-potatau-te-wherowhero |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161107032702/http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/people/mahuta-tawhiao-potatau-te-wherowhero |archive-date=7 November 2016 |access-date=11 August 2019 |website=NZ History Online |publisher=History Group of the New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage}}</ref>

From the beginning of his kingship Mahuta took an interest in politics: he pressed the government for compensation for the 1860s land confiscations, sponsored a relative, [[Henare Kaihau]], for the [[Western Maori]] electorate and from the late 1890s made frequent contact with Prime Minister [[Richard Seddon]] and Native Affairs Minister [[James Carroll (New Zealand politician)|James Carroll]], the first Māori to hold a cabinet position. Mahuta was an advocate of conciliation between Māori and Pākehā; according to historian Michael King, Seddon took advantage of his goodwill and naivety to secure the sale of more Māori land. Seddon invited Mahuta to Wellington as a member of the [[New Zealand Legislative Council|Legislative Council]] (Upper House) and to sit on the Executive Council as "Minister representing the Maori race".<ref name="KingTePuea">{{Cite book |last=King |first=Michael |author-link=Michael King (historian) |title=Te Puea: A Biography |publisher=Hodder and Stoughton |year=1977 |isbn=0-340-22482-7 |location=Auckland |pages=31–34}}</ref> Despite widespread opposition from Waikato Māori, who feared it was an attempt to neutralise the King movement, Mahuta accepted and he was sworn in <!-- not a mistake-->in May 1903. He entrusted the kingship to his younger brother Te Wherowhero Tawhiao, but resumed the kingship on 21 May 1910, disillusioned with the political process in dealing with Māori confiscation claims.<ref name="stuart" /><ref name="historymahuta" />

Throughout Mahuta's years as king, Waikato was mired in economic and social depression. Many Māori were landless and destitute because of confiscations, while those who did still own land were unable to make it productive. The area had severe health problems, with constant bouts of [[typhoid]] epidemics, [[influenza]], [[measles]] and [[whooping cough]]. Sanitary conditions were generally poor, unemployment high, drunkenness widespread and child schooling rates very low.<ref name="KingTePuea" />

In 1911 Mahuta withdrew his backing for Kaihau in Western Maori after discovering he had presided over the loss of £50,000 of Kīngitanga moneys and used his niece, [[Te Puea Herangi]], to swing support to doctor and former Health Department medical officer [[Maui Pomare]] in that year's [[1911 New Zealand general election|general election]]. Pomare won the seat by 565 votes. Te Puea's involvement in campaigning for Mahuta's preferred candidate marked her elevation to a position of chief organiser for the King movement, a role she held until her death in 1952.<ref name="KingTePuea" />{{rp|54–63}}

Mahuta's health declined throughout 1912 and he died on 9 November, aged 57.

===Te Rata Mahuta (1912–1933)===
{{Main|Te Rata}}

Mahuta's eldest son [[Te Rata]], then aged between 30 and 33, was crowned on 24 November 1912 by kingmaker [[Tupu Atanatiu Taingakawa Te Waharoa|Tupu Taingakawa]].<ref name="stuart" /> He was shy and physically weak, having long suffered [[rheumatism]], [[arthritis]] and heart disease. With strong support from his cousin and protector Te Puea (later widely referred to as "Princess Te Puea"), he withstood a challenge to his authority by Taingakawa, who established a rival ''kauhanganui'' (assembly) at Rukumoana, near [[Morrinsville]]. Te Puea built up facilities at the Mangatawhiri [[pā]] and revived the recitation of tribal history, the singing of Waikato songs and other cultural traditions.<ref name="KingTePuea" />{{rp|66–71}}

In 1913 Taingakawa convinced Te Rata to head another delegation to England to petition the Crown to revoke the land confiscations as a breach of the Treaty of Waitangi. An intertribal meeting at Raglan decided all King movement adherents would contribute a [[shilling]] a head to cover the cost and the four-man delegation sailed from Auckland on 11 April 1914. After initially being rebuffed, they gained an audience with King [[George V]] and [[Mary of Teck|Queen Mary]] on 4 June on condition that nothing embarrassing would be raised. They departed England on 10 August, having gained nothing but the assurance their claims would be referred back to the New Zealand Government.<ref name="KingTePuea" />{{rp|74–77}}

With New Zealand already involved in [[World War I]] on Te Rata's return, the King discouraged Waikato enlistment—both because of Tawhaio's 1881 declaration that Waikato Māori would never again fight and continued resentment over the injustice of confiscation. Te Puea explained: "They tell us to fight for king and country. We've got a King, but we haven't got a country. That's been taken off us." The war was viewed as a Pākehā fight among Pākehā nations.<ref name="KingTePuea" />{{rp|77–78}} From June 1917 the Military Services Act was amended to apply conscription to all Māori, though the Minister of Defence advised officials it was to apply only to Waikato Māori. On 11 July 1918 police arrived at Te Paina, the King movement's pā at Mangatawhiri, and began arresting males who had failed to report for military duty. The men were transported to Narrow Neck army training camp in Auckland, where they were repeatedly punished for refusing to dress in military uniform. At the end of the war 111 remained in confinement; they were released in May 1919. The anti-conscription stance led to the Kīngitanga movement being widely regarded by Pākehā as seditious traitors and German sympathisers and also drove a wedge between Te Puea and Pomare, who throughout the war urged all Māori to fight for empire forces.<ref name="KingTePuea" />{{rp|80–96}}

Te Puea continued to strengthen her position as an organiser and spiritual leader. She pioneered efforts to care for victims of the [[1918 flu pandemic|1918 influenza epidemic]], helped Waikato Māori turn previously unused land into farms and developed the movement's new spiritual and cultural home, the [[Tūrangawaewae]] [[marae]] at Ngāruawāhia. The first [[Hui (Māori assembly)|hui]] was held there on 25 December 1921.<ref name="KingTePuea" />{{rp|104–108, 113}}

Te Rata died on 1 October 1933. Te Puea rejected a proposal to make her the Māori monarch, believing that 21-year-old [[Korokī Mahuta|Koroki]], Te Rata's eldest son, was the rightful heir to the throne.<ref name="KingTePuea" />{{rp|160}}

===Koroki Mahuta (1933–1966)===
{{Main|Korokī Mahuta}}

[[File:Koroki1930.jpg|thumb|upright|Koroki Mahuta, the fifth Māori king]]

Koroki Te Rata Mahuta Tāwhiao Pōtatau Te Wherowhero was the fifth in the line of Māori kings. Shy and reserved, he was crowned on 8 October 1933 at the age of about 25 and accepted the role reluctantly, protesting that with so many Waikato Māori living in poverty they could not afford a king. Throughout his reign he came under the strong but conflicting influence of several opposing factions which created some controversies; he also notably lost a battle with politicians to keep King Country free of liquor licences. He hosted a brief visit by Queen [[Elizabeth II]] to Tūrangawaewae on 30 December 1953; the government refused him permission to deliver a speech in which he was to make the historic step of declaring loyalty to the British Crown{{clarify|reason=unclear if this means the lawful government or the government under the Māori king|date=June 2022}}, but a copy of the speech was later sent to the Queen. From the late 1950s his health began to deteriorate and he died at Ngāruawāhia on 18 May 1966.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Koroki Te Rata Mahuta Tawhiao Potatau Te Wherowhero |encyclopedia=Te Ara the Encyclopedia of New Zealand |publisher=Manatū Taonga Ministry for Culture and Heritage |url=http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/biographies/4k16/koroki-te-rata-mahuta-tawhiao-potatau-te-wherowhero |access-date=21 October 2013 |last=Ballara |first=Angela |date=30 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131022074600/http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/biographies/4k16/koroki-te-rata-mahuta-tawhiao-potatau-te-wherowhero |archive-date=22 October 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref>

===Te Atairangikaahu (1966–2006)===
{{Main|Te Atairangikaahu}}

[[File:Te_Atairangikaahu_(1975).jpg|thumb|upright|Te Atairangikaahu in 1975]]

Te Atairangikaahu, daughter of Māori King [[Korokī Mahuta]], was elected as the first Māori Queen on 23 May 1966 and served until her death on 15 August 2006. In the [[1970 New Year Honours#Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE)|New Year Honours 1970]] Te Atairangikaahu was the first [[Māori people|Māori]] to be appointed a [[Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire]] for "...outstanding services to Māori people...".<ref>"New Year Honours List" (15 January 1970) 1 ''[[New Zealand Gazette]]'' 1 at 15.</ref><ref>{{London Gazette |issue=45001 |date=30 December 1969 |page=42| supp=1}}</ref> Her 40-year reign was the longest of any Māori monarch.

===Tūheitia (2006–2024)===
{{Main|Tūheitia}}

[[File:Buckingham Palace reception (52873236121).jpg|thumb|[[Tūheitia]] with [[Charles III]], [[King of New Zealand]] in 2023]]

Following the death of his mother, Dame Te Atairangikaahu, [[Tūheitia]] was sworn in as the Māori king on 21 August 2006. In August 2014, Tūheitia created a [[#Honours system|Māori Honours System]]. There are three awards: the Order of King Pootatau Te Wherowhero; the Order of the Taniwhaa; and the Illustrious Order of Te Arikinui Queen Te Atairangikaahu.<ref name="honours">{{Cite news |date=21 August 2014 |title=Maori King creates honours system |url=http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/te-manu-korihi/252719/maori-king-creates-honours-system |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171017093743/http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/te-manu-korihi/252719/maori-king-creates-honours-system |archive-date=17 October 2017 |access-date=2 September 2024 |work=[[Radio New Zealand]] |language=en-nz}}</ref>

On 30 August 2024, just over a week after his eighteenth [[koroneihana]], Tūheitia died while recovering from heart surgery. He was 69.<ref>{{Cite web |date=30 August 2024 |title=Māori King Tūheitia dies aged 69, just days after Koroneihana |url=https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/526561/maori-king-tuheitia-dies-aged-69-just-days-after-koroneihana |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240830065559/https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/526561/maori-king-tuheitia-dies-aged-69-just-days-after-koroneihana |archive-date=30 August 2024 |access-date=5 September 2024 |website=[[RNZ News]]}}</ref>

===Nga wai hono i te po (2024–present)===
{{Main|Nga wai hono i te po}}

King Tuheitia's daughter and youngest child, Nga wai hono i te po, was announced by the Tekau-ma-Rua as the next monarch on 5 September 2024, the last day of his [[Tangihanga|tangi]]. She is the second queen of the Kīngitanga, after her grandmother Te Arikinui Dame Te Atairangikaahu.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Kerr |first=Florence |date=5 September 2024 |title=New Māori monarch named: Queen Ngā Wai hono i te po Paki |url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/350404098/new-maori-monarch-named-queen-nga-wai-hono-i-te-po-paki |access-date=5 September 2024 |work=[[Stuff (website)|Stuff]] }}</ref>

==Succession==
The monarch is appointed by the leaders of the iwi involved in the ''Kīngitanga'' movement on the day of the previous monarch's funeral and before the burial.<ref>{{Cite news |date=16 August 2006 |title=Leaders to debate succession and Kīngitanga's future |url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10396429 |access-date=16 August 2006 |work=[[The New Zealand Herald]] }}</ref><ref name="succession">{{Cite news |last=McConnell |first=Glenn |date=4 September 2024 |title=How the next Māori King or Queen will be chosen |url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/politics/350402184/how-next-maori-king-or-queen-will-be-chosen |access-date=4 September 2024 |work=[[Stuff (website)|Stuff]] }}</ref>

In principle the position of Māori monarch is not hereditary. Thus far however, the monarchy has been hereditary in effect, as every new Māori monarch has been the child of the previous monarch, descending in seven generations from [[Pōtatau Te Wherowhero]] to the present Māori queen.<ref name="succession" /> With each successive monarch, the role of Pōtatau's family has been entrenched, although after any reign ends there is the potential for the mantle to be passed to someone from another [[whanau]] or iwi if the chiefs of the various iwi are in agreement.{{efn|group=notes|name=HolyRomanEmperor|An analogous situation is the position of [[Holy Roman Emperor]], which was technically elective but which passed along the line of the [[House of Habsburg]] for more than three and a half centuries, though with two exceptions: [[Charles VII, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles VII]] ([[House of Wittelsbach]]) and [[Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor|Francis I]] ([[House of Lorraine]]).}}

==Powers==
The Kīngitanga has been a ''parliamentary'' elected monarchy since 1890. Power is divided between the [[Kauhanganui]], the Kīngitanga and [[Waikato Tainui]] parliament, and the standing Māori monarch. The position of the Māori king is mainly a highly respected ceremonial role within the Waikato Tainui iwi with limited powers. Nevertheless, the standing monarch is entitled to appoint one of the 11 members on the [[Te Arataura]], the executive board of the Kauhanganui.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Executive body of Te Kauhanganui |url=http://waikatotainui.com/?id=128 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130206233600/http://waikatotainui.com/?id=128 |archive-date=6 February 2013 |access-date=6 July 2012 |website=Te Arataura |publisher=Waikato Tainui}}</ref>{{primary source inline|date=September 2024}}

Although the monarchs of the Kīngitanga are not recognised by New Zealand law or by many Māori iwi, they hold the distinction of being [[paramount chief]]s of a number of important Māori iwi<ref name="Foster" /> and wield some power on a local level, especially within the [[Tainui]] iwi.

The use of the title of "Māori King" has been challenged by various Māori leaders, namely by those of the north. In his discourse, David Rankin, a leader of the Ngāpuhi [[iwi]] of [[Northland Region|Northland]], explains that the monarch is not the king of all Māori.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2 June 2011 |title=PM not bowing to pressure over Maori King |url=http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/pm-not-bowing-pressure-over-maori-king-4209658 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150518110727/http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/pm-not-bowing-pressure-over-maori-king-4209658 |archive-date=18 May 2015 |access-date=2 October 2013 |work=TVNZ/Fairfax |location=Auckland}}</ref> The argument states that by the kīngitanga claiming ownership of such a title, the rangatiratanga and [[Mana (Oceanian mythology)|mana]] of iwi not associated (or strongly associated) with the movement is thereby diminished, infringing therefore upon their identity and autonomy as Māori and iwi.

==Practices==
A coronation celebration, the [[Koroneihana]], is held annually at [[Tūrangawaewae]] marae at [[Ngāruawāhia]]. A [[Bible]] is traditionally used during the crowning of a monarch.<ref name="NZHnewMK">{{Cite news |date=21 August 2006 |title=Tuheitia new Maori king |url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10397245 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604212906/http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10397245 |archive-date=4 June 2011 |access-date=5 July 2010 |work=[[The New Zealand Herald]]}}</ref>

The ''poukai'' is an annual circuit of visits by the Māori monarch to [[marae]] that support the King movement.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Kīngitanga – the Māori King movement: Te Atairangikaahu, 1966–2006, and Tūheitia, 2006– |encyclopedia=[[Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand]] |url=https://teara.govt.nz/en/kingitanga-the-maori-king-movement/page-7 |access-date=11 August 2019 |date=20 June 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190529083340/https://teara.govt.nz/en/kingitanga-the-maori-king-movement/page-7 |archive-date=29 May 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> The tradition was started in the 1880s by Tāwhiao, the second Māori king. The gatherings include feasting and cultural performances.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Kīngitanga – the Māori King movement: Te Atairangikaahu, 1966–2006, and Tūheitia, 2006–: Poukai marae |encyclopedia=[[Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand]] |url=https://teara.govt.nz/en/map/37884/poukai-marae |access-date=11 August 2019 |date=20 June 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190811061957/https://teara.govt.nz/en/map/37884/poukai-marae |archive-date=11 August 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref>

==Honours system==
[[File:Charles and Tūheitia (52873408774) (cropped).jpg|thumb|Tūheitia presents Charles III the collar and badge of the Order of King Pōtatau Te Wherowhero]]
In 2014, [[Tuheitia|King Tūheitia Pōtatau Te Wherowhero VII]] and the Māori King movement established an independent honours system outside the New Zealand and Commonwealth governments to recognize those individuals who have been strong supporters of Māori and Māori issues.<ref name="taonga">{{cite news |title=Maori King creates honours system |url=https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/te-manu-korihi/252719/maori-king-creates-honours-system |work=Radio New Zealand |date=21 August 2014}}</ref>

Speaking at the closing of the annual [[Koroneihana]] on 21 August 2014, Kīngi Tuheitia acknowledged that while honours were not typically the Māori way, they were necessary to celebrate the efforts of Māori allies and to put the achievements of Māori individuals on equal standing as other sovereign states.<ref name="Taniwha"/>

Three separate orders were created, each with a [[State decoration|badge]] repeating the motto seen on the Kīngitanga coat of arms, ''[[Mana motuhake|Ko te mana motuhake]]'', meaning "The self-determination and control over one’s own destiny". The senior-most honour, ''The Order of King Pootatau Te Wherowhero'', also confers a [[Collar (order)|collar]] upon investiture.<ref name="Taunui">{{cite web |title=Whaiaa ko te mana motuhake |url=https://waikatotainui.com/about-us/kiingitanga/ |website=Tainui}}</ref><ref name="Te Aka">{{cite web |title=mana motuhake |url=https://maoridictionary.co.nz/search?idiom=&keywords=mana+motuhake |website=Te Aka Māori Dictionary}}</ref>

Tuheitia recognized [[Kara Puketapu|Ihakara Porutu "Kara" Puketapu]] and [[Koro Wetere|Koro Tainui Wētere]], both longtime New Zealand public servants and Māori [[Te Puni Kōkiri|community leaders]] as the founding members of the ''Order of the Taniwha''. Dr Puketapu had previously turned down other National and Commonwealth honors, but lent his name to be invested in the Kīngitanga order. Named for the [[Taniwha|mythical beings]] that serve as [[Kaitiakitanga|guardians]] of the people, the award is meant to be an [[order of merit]] dedicated to individuals who have also served as guardians of the Māori people and heritage.<ref name="taonga"/><ref>{{cite news |title=Te Āti Awa mourns death of Taniwha Dr. Ihakara Porutu Puketapu |url=https://wellington.scoop.co.nz/?p=153625 |work=Wellington Scoop |date=7 July 2023}}</ref>

Hawaiian Princess [[Abigail Kinoiki Kekaulike Kawānanakoa|Abigail Kawānanakoa]] and Taini Puahaere Rutene were named as the first recipients of ''The Illustrious Order of Te Arikinui Queen Te Atairangikaahu'' in the first and third grades of the order respectively. The award was named for Tuheitia's mother, [[Te Atairangikaahu]], the first Māori Queen and first Māori to be made a [[Dame]] of the Order of the British Empire.<ref name="taonga"/><ref>{{cite news |title=Trailblazers: Dame Te Ātairangikaahu |url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/trailblazers/trailblazers-dame-te-atairangikaahu/NB2WQYNXMABQQQWHKNZG5AUELI/#:~:text=Greens%20co%2Dleader%20Jeanette%20Fitzsimons,Zealand%2C%20the%20country's%20top%20honour.. |work=New Zealand Herald |date=16 September 2018}}</ref> In 2023, Tuheitia recognized [[Queen Camilla]] as a first grade member of the order, suggesting that this award is dedicated to female individuals of regardless of ethnic origin for their support of indigenous culture and heritage, similar to the Japanese [[Order of the Precious Crown]].<ref name="Wherowhero">{{cite news |last1=Wright |first1=Kereama |title=King Tuheitia presents King Charles with taonga ahead of coronation |url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/kahu/king-tuheitia-presents-king-charles-with-taonga-ahead-of-coronation/PTJHDG3UB5EMDBPBNAQKXN75SI/ |work=New Zealand Herald |date=6 May 2023}}</ref>

Stated to be a [[dynastic order]] reserved exclusively for foreign [[Head of state|heads of state]], as King of the United Kingdom and [[Head of the Commonwealth]], [[Charles III]] became the first recipient and founding member of ''The Order of King Pootatau Te Wherowhero'' in 2023. In doing so, Charles returned the favor Queen Te Atairangikaahu did in validating the [[Order of New Zealand]] as its founding member, and in effect legitimatizes the honour as one given by a monarch to another, much as that of stranger members of the [[Order of the Garter#Supernumerary members|Order of the Garter]]. The award is named for the first Māori King and Tuheitia's 6x grandfather, whose name he and every other Kīngi has adopted as their [[regnal name]].<ref name="Wherowhero"/>

In 2015, Native Hawaiian Ivan Lui-Kwan, who serves as honorary Kīngitanga Ambassador to the United States and Hawaii was invested in the ''Order of the Taniwha'' (first class), and Nita Gregory, longtime aide to Queen Te Atairangikaahu, was honoured as a member of ''The Illustrious Order of Te Arikinui Queen Te Atairangikaahu'' (third class).<ref name="Kwan">{{cite news |last1=Takeya |first1=Paige |title=Leading By Example |url=https://www.midweek.com/ivan-lui-kwan/ |work=MidWeek |publisher=Honolulu Star-Advertiser. |date=3 July 2019}}</ref><ref name="Gregory">{{cite news |title=A Llifetime Of Service |url=https://issuu.com/waikatotainui/docs/issue_56_web_edition_low_res |work=Te Hookioi |issue=56 |publisher=Waikato-Tainui |date=31 August 2015}}</ref>

===Kīngitanga Orders===
{{Table alignment}}
{| class="wikitable sortable col1center col7center"
|-
! Name
! Insignia
! Established
! Founder
! Current Sovereign
! Awarded to/for
! Motto
! Refs
|-
| Order of King Pōtatau Te Wherowhero<br><small>''(Tohu Hōnore o te Kīngi Pōtatau Te Wherowhero)''</small>
| [[File:Order of King Pōtatau Te Wherowhero.jpg|80px]]
| rowspan="3" | 21 August 2014
| rowspan="3" | [[Tuheitia]]
| rowspan="3" | [[Nga wai hono i te po]]
| A dynastic order reserved for foreign heads of state who have rendered special service to the Kīngitanga.{{efn-lr|name=fn3}}
| rowspan="3" | ''Ko te mana motuhake''<br><small>("The self-determination and control over one’s own destiny")</small>
| rowspan="3" | <ref name="Taniwha">{{cite news |title=King bestows Order of the Taniwha |url=https://waateanews.com/2014/08/21/king-bestows-order-of-the-taniwha/ |work=Radio Waatea |date=21 August 2014}}</ref>
|-
| Illustrious Order of Te Arikinui Queen Te Atairangikaahu<br><small>''(Tohu Hōnore Hira o Te Arikinui Te Atairangikaahu)''</small>
| [[File:Order of Te Arikinui Queen Te Atairangikaahu.jpg|80px]]
| Recognizes female individuals for their support of indigenous culture and heritage.{{efn-lr|name=fn4}}
|-
| Order of the Taniwha<br><small>''(Tohu Hōnore o te Taniwha)''</small>
|
| An order of chivalry honouring individuals who have served as guardians of the Māori people.{{efn-lr|name=fn5}}
|}

{{notelist-lr|refs=
{{efn-lr|name=fn3|Has only been conferred in the supreme grade with collar, badge, and breast star. Decorations of additional grades currently unknown.}}
{{efn-lr|name=fn4|Has been conferred in the first and third grade. The first grade confers a badge suspended from a yellow ribbon, and a breast star.}}
{{efn-lr|name=fn5|Has only been conferred in the first grade. The first grade confers a badge suspended from a blue ribbon.}}
}}

==List of Māori monarchs==
{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%;"
! rowspan="2" style="width: 8%;"  | {{Abbr|No.|Number}}
! rowspan="2" style="width: 8%;"  | Portrait
! rowspan="2" style="width: 15%;" | {{nowrap|[[Regnal name]]}}
! colspan="2" style="width: 30%;" | Reign
! rowspan="2" style="width: 20%;" | Birth name
! rowspan="2" style="width: 20%;" | Spouse(s)
! rowspan="2"                     | [[Dynasty|House]]
|-
!Start
!End
|-
! 1
|[[File:Pōtatau Te Wherowhero by George French Angas (cropped).jpg|160x160px]]
|[[Pōtatau Te Wherowhero]]<br/><small>died 1860</small>
|June 1858
|25 June 1860
|Te Wherowhero
|[[Whakaawi]], Waiata, Raharaha, Ngāwaero
| rowspan="8" |Te Wherowhero
|-
! 2
|[[File:Framed studio portrait of King Tawhiao 1884 (cropped).jpg|160x160px]]
|[[Tāwhiao|Tūkaroto Matutaera Pōtatau Te Wherowhero Tāwhiao]]<br/><small>c. 1822–1894</small>
|25 June 1860
|26 August 1894
|Tūkaroto Pōtatau Te Wherowhero
|Hera Ngāpora, Rangiaho Taimana, Aotea Te Paratene
|-
! 3
|[[File:Kiingi Mahuta (cropped).jpg|160x160px]]
|[[Mahuta Tāwhiao|Mahuta Tāwhiao Pōtatau Te Wherowhero]]<br/><small>c. 1854/55–1912</small>
|26 August 1894
|9 November 1912
|Whatiwhatihoe
|Te Marae
|-
! 4
|[[File:Te Rata Mahuta, Tupu Taingakawa, Mita Karaka and Geo G Paul (higher quality) (further crop).jpg|159x159px]]
|[[Te Rata|Te Rata Mahuta Tāwhiao Pōtatau Te Wherowhero]]<br/><small>c. 1878–1933</small>
|24 November 1912
|1 October 1933
|Te Rata Mahuta
|Te Uranga
|-
! 5
|[[File:King Koroki (further crop).jpg|159x159px]]
|[[Korokī Mahuta|Korokī Te Rata Mahuta Tāwhiao Pōtatau Te Wherowhero]]<br/><small>1906–1966</small>
|8 October 1933
|18 May 1966
|Korokī Te Rata Mahuta Tāwhiao Pōtatau Te Wherowhero
|Te Atairangikaahu Hērangi
|-
! 6
|[[File:Dame Te-Atairangikaahu 1975 (cropped).jpg|160x160px]]
|[[Te Atairangikaahu]]<br/><small>1931–2006</small>
|23 May 1966
|15 August 2006
|Pikimene Korokī Mahuta
|[[Whatumoana Paki]]
|-
! 7
|[[File:Kiingi Tuheitia Potatau Te Wherowhero (cropped).jpg|120px]]
|[[Tūheitia|Tūheitia Pōtatau Te Wherowhero]]<br/><small>1955–2024</small>
|21 August 2006
|30 August 2024
|Tūheitia Paki
|Te Atawhai
|-
! 8
|[[File:Ngawaihonoitepo Paki 2019 (cropped).jpg|120px]]
|[[Nga wai hono i te po|Nga wai hono i te po Pōtatau Te Wherowhero]]<br/><small>1997–present</small>
|5 September 2024
|present
|Nga wai hono i te po Paki
|
|}

{{Timeline of Kīngitanga sovereigns}}

==Symbols==
===Coat of arms===
{{Emblem table
| name = the Kīngitanga – Te Paki-o-Matariki
| image = File:Te Paki-o-Matariki (Kiingitanga coat of arms) (vectorised).svg
| imagesize = 
| notes = The coat of arms of the Kīngitanga was designed by Tīwai Parāone of Hauraki and Te Aokatoa of Waikato and [[Ngāti Raukawa]] during the reign of King [[Tāwhiao]], and has been given the name {{lang|mi|Te Paki-o-Matariki}} meaning "the fine weather of [[Matariki]]".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kiingitanga |author-link=Kīngitanga |date=14 July 2020 |title=TE PAKI O MATARIKI The Coat of Arms of the Maaori King |url=https://www.facebook.com/Kiingitanga/photos/te-paki-o-matariki-the-coat-of-arms-of-the-maaori-king-kia-rite-ooku-uri-ki-ngaa/3165788843509148/?paipv=0&eav=AfbCbApjkAdencyO6CGgAFeUs8Y0O2EHP3VVaoEaux5fQTOuvkGwxUBCzci6wCDq-SQ&_rdr |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240902011913/https://www.facebook.com/Kiingitanga/photos/te-paki-o-matariki-the-coat-of-arms-of-the-maaori-king-kia-rite-ooku-uri-ki-ngaa/3165788843509148/?paipv=0&eav=AfbCbApjkAdencyO6CGgAFeUs8Y0O2EHP3VVaoEaux5fQTOuvkGwxUBCzci6wCDq-SQ&_rdr |archive-date=2 September 2024 |access-date=29 June 2024 |website=www.facebook.com |publisher=Facebook |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Royal |first=Te Ahukaramū Charles |date=1 March 2017 |title=Te Paki-o-Matariki |url=https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/1736/te-paki-o-matariki |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240629131245/https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/1736/te-paki-o-matariki |archive-date=29 June 2024 |access-date=29 June 2024 |website=[[Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand]] |publisher=[[Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Paki o Matariki, Te |url=https://maoridictionary.co.nz/word/5023 |access-date=5 September 2024 |website=maoridictionary.co.nz |publisher=Te Aka Māori Dictionary |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?ref=watch_permalink&v=3717732028350562 |title=Te Paki-o-Matariki Lecture by Rahui Papa |language=English |publisher=[[University of Waikato]] |access-date=7 September 2024 |people=Rahui Papa}}</ref>
| year_adopted = 
| crest = A figure, Manawa ("the pulsating heart"), holding its tongue with both hands, and with a [[Crosses in heraldry|cross]] on its head. Above Manawa are seven stars representing {{lang|mi|Matariki}} (the [[Pleiades]]).<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kiingitanga |author-link=Kīngitanga |date=27 June 2016 |title=Ngā mihi manahau o te tau hou Māori |url=https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1048669475221106&id=675275669227157&set=a.870441239710598&locale=lt_LT |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240703172754/https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1048669475221106&id=675275669227157&set=a.870441239710598&locale=lt_LT |archive-date=3 July 2024 |access-date=29 June 2024 |website=www.facebook.com |publisher=Facebook |language=en}}</ref>
| escutcheon = The [[Escutcheon (heraldry)|shield]] is a double spiral, Kōpū, representing the [[Māori mythology#Creation|creation of the world]] with the strokes between the double lines marking various stages of creation.
| supporters = On the [[Dexter and sinister|dexter]] side is [[Aitu]]ā, who looks after the dead and is the personification of misfortune, and on the [[Dexter and sinister|sinister]] side is Te Atuatanga, who represents the good and is the personification of spirituality. Together they symbolise the balance of life.<ref>{{Cite news |date=21 June 2022 |title=Matariki 2022: Celebrating through the eyes of a Kīngitanga kura |url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/kahu/waikato-kura-tells-the-matariki-story-interpreting-the-kingitanga-version/7HHWLIQS7E72XEAA6OSNBJITLY/ |access-date=6 September 2024 |work=[[The New Zealand Herald]] |language=en-NZ}}</ref>
| compartment = On the dexter side are a [[Sphaeropteris medullaris|mamaku]] and a {{lang|mi|para}} ([[Gastrodia|orchid tuber]]), representing traditional Māori foods, and on the sinister side are a [[Rhopalostylis sapida|nīkau palm]] and [[Phormium tenax|harakeke flax]], representing housing and clothing.
| motto = {{lang|mi|Ko te [[Mana motuhake|Mana Motuhake]]}} ("[[Mana (Oceanian cultures)#Māori (New Zealand) culture|spiritual prestige]] set apart")
| orders = 
| other_elements = 
| symbolism = 
| previous_versions = 
| other_versions = 
}}

===Flags===
{{main|Flags of the Kīngitanga}}
[[File:Kiingitanga flag.svg|thumb|A flag used by the Kīngitanga during the reign of Tūheitia<ref>{{cite news |last1=Gifford |first1=Adam |title=Flag raised for Koroneihana |url=https://waateanews.com/2023/08/18/flag-raised-for-koroneihana/ |access-date=17 February 2025 |work=Waatea News |date=18 August 2023 |language=en-NZ}}</ref>]]
Each successive Māori monarch has had their own flag,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Papa |first1=Rahui |last2=Meredith |first2=Paul |title=Kīngitanga flags: Mahuta's flag |url=https://teara.govt.nz/en/artwork/37844/kingitanga-flags-mahutas-flag |website=[[Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand]] |publisher=[[Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand]] |access-date=17 February 2025 |language=en |date=1 September 2024}}</ref> with the personal flag of the current monarch also acting as the flag of the Kīngitanga movement. A new flag is made for each monarch and is interred with them when they die. Each new flag is considered to be [[Tapu (Polynesian culture)|tapu]] and is kept by a hereditary custodian.<ref name="flag">{{cite web |last1=Papa |first1=Rahui |last2=Meredith |first2=Paul |title=Kīngitanga flags: Dame Te Atairangikaahu's flag |url=https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/37847/kingitanga-flags-dame-te-atairangikaahus-flag |website=[[Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand]] |publisher=[[Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand]] |access-date=17 February 2025 |language=en |date=1 September 2024}}</ref>

The flag is flown at the monarch's official residence at [[Tūrangawaewae]], and precedes them when they visit marae which recognise the Kīngitanga's authority.<ref name="flag"/>

===Tartan===
[[File:Greenstone mere on King Pootatau Te Wherowhero tartan blanket.jpg|thumb|A "King Pootatau Te Wherowhero" tartan blanket presented by [[Tūheitia]] to [[Charles III]] prior to his coronation.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Wright |first1=Kereama |last2=Trafford |first2=Will |title=King Charles presented with taonga by King Tuheitia |url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/kahu/king-tuheitia-presents-king-charles-with-taonga-ahead-of-coronation/PTJHDG3UB5EMDBPBNAQKXN75SI/ |access-date=17 February 2025 |work=[[The New Zealand Herald]] |date=16 February 2025 |language=en-NZ}}</ref>]]
The Kīngitanga has its own tartan which was registered with the [[Scottish Register of Tartans]] on 16 September 2015: the "King Pootatau Te Wherowhero" tartan, which was designed in homage to [[Pōtatau Te Wherowhero]]. The tartan is blue with gold stripes representing the [[Māori migration canoes|seven waka]] (blue and gold also being the Kīngitanga colours), and red, white and black threads representing a quote attributed to Pōtatau: “{{lang|mi|Kotahi te kōhao o te ngira e kuhuna ai te miro mā, te miro pango, te miro whero}}" ("There is but one eye of the needle, through which the white, red and black threads must pass.”)<ref>{{cite web |title=Tartan Details - King Pootatau Te Wherowhero |url=https://www.tartanregister.gov.uk/tartanDetails?ref=11366 |website=www.tartanregister.gov.uk |publisher=[[The Scottish Register of Tartans]] |access-date=17 February 2025}}</ref>

The Kīngitanga is also associated with the [[Clan Mackay#Tartans|Clan Mackay tartan]], having adopted it after the marriage of Pōtatau's daughter Irihapeti to John Horton MacKay of [[Strathnaver]], Scotland.<ref>{{cite web |title=Kīngitanga |url=https://my.christchurchcitylibraries.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/10/Kingitanga-Oct2024.pdf |website=my.christchurchcitylibraries.com |publisher=[[Christchurch City Libraries]] |access-date=17 February 2025}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Invasion of the Waikato]]
* [[New Zealand land confiscations]]
* [[Pei te Hurinui Jones]]
* [[Te Whakakitenga]] (the Kīngitanga's parliament)

==Notes==
{{notelist|group=notes}}

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==Bibliography==
* {{Cite book |last=Walker |first=Ranginui |author-link=Ranginui Walker |year=1990 |title=Ka Whawhai Tonu Matou: Struggle Without End |location=Auckland |publisher=Penguin |isbn=0-14-013240-6}}

==External links==
* [http://www.nzonscreen.com/title/tangata-whenua-waikato-1974 Tangata Whenua: Waikato episode] on [[NZ On Screen]] which explores the Kīngitanga movement and the history of the Waikato people. Requires [[Adobe Flash]].

{{MaoriMonarchs}}
{{Māori}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maori King Movement}}
[[Category:1850s establishments in New Zealand]]
[[Category:Māori history]]
[[Category:Māori politics|King Movement]]
[[Category:Māori monarchs| ]]
[[Category:Monarchy of New Zealand]]
[[Category:1850s in New Zealand]]
[[Category:Ngāruawāhia]]
[[Category:Māori King movement| ]]
[[Category:Titles of national or ethnic leadership]]