I te Rātapu rua tekau mā tahi o Akuhata, i haere ahau ki te Rā Koroneihana o Kīngi Tūheitia Pōtatau Te Wherowhero Te Tuawhitu, kei Turangawaewae marae, i Ngaruawahia. “Waikato taniwha rau, he piko he taniwha, he piko he taniwha.” I ngā tau e rua ki muri, kāhore te iwi i tae a tinana mai ki te whakanui i tō tātou Kīngi Māori. Nā te Kowheori-19 te take.

Ēngari e hui ana te katoa ā ipurangi, mā te hui topa. Tino hari te iwi ka taea te kawe ngā mate o te iwi ki runga i te Kīngi i a Turangawaewae. Mangu pai te marae i te rā kawe mate o Tainui me te rā kawe mate o te Motu.

I tēnei tau e tū ana ngā wāhi haumaru kia whakamahia e te manuhiri e tā rātou ake Whakamātautau Ākipaturopi Tere (RATS). Mēnā horekau he raru ka pōwhiritia a Mahinarangi. Mēnā ka kore mē hoki koe ki te kainga. Ko te tino take, “Amohia ake te ora o te iwi, ka puta ki te whei ao”. Koina te tongikura a te Kīngi. Ko te tino kōrero a te iwi puta noa, ko te kōtahitanga. Anō hoki e toru ngā take e wero atu ki te Pirimia, mā tōna kāwanatanga e whakatika mō mātou te Iwi Māori. Ko te hauora o te iwi Māori, ko te matauranga a te Māori, ko te kāinga haumaru.

I te rāhoroi hoki, kua rewatia ētahi pukapuka hōu hei ako te kaipanui te hītoria me te whanaketanga o te Kīngitanga. Kei roto i ngā reo e rua ēnei pukapuka, tā te mea, ko te nuinga ō ā tātou tamariki e kuraina i ngā Kura Auraki.

I te Rātapu he hui nui kia whakanui ai te Kīngi i tōna rā Koroneihana. Ko te karakia o te rā i whakahaeretia e ngā hāhi katoa o te motu; Weteriana, Katorika, Mihinare, Perehipitiriana, Ratana, me te Ringatu. Nā Rev. Dr. Wayne Te Kawa nō te Hāhi Perehipiteriana o Aotearoa – Te Aka Puaho te kaikauwhau o te rā. Tōna aronga nui kei te pukapuka a Matiu 5: 1 -12. Hei tāna, he aha ngā tirotiro mai te maunga o Taupiri hei akoranga mō tātou i ēnei rā.

Nā reira, he mihi kau atu tēnei ki a Waikato Tainui mō tō rātou manaakitanga ki te iwi i tae ki te tautoko i tēnei kaupapa o te Koroneihana. Pai Mārire.

Hei whakakapi i ēnei kōrero ka tukuna e au te inoi mai te ‘Tikanga Karakia Mō Te Rā Koroneihana Tuangahuru mā ono’.

He Inoi manaaki mō Kīngi Tūheitia Potatau Te Wherowhero VII

E Ihowā, e tō mātou Matua i te rangi, kei runga noa atu, he nui noa atu koe, ko koe te kīngi o ngā kīngi, te Ariki o ngā ariki, me te tino Kāwana o ngā rangatira, e titiro iho ana koe i runga i tō torona ki ngā iwi katoa o te whenua; Tēnei mātou te tohe atu nei, kia tirohia atawhaitia mai tō mātou Kīngi pai, a Kīngi Tūheitia Pōtatau Te Wherowhero VII; whakakiia ia ki te kaha o tōu Wairua Tapu, kia anga tonu ai ia ki tāu e pai ai, kia haere ai i tō huarahi: Whakaūngia ngā mea papai o te rangi, o te Paipera hoki, ki roto ki a ia; hōmai ki a ia he pai, he oranga roa i tēnei ao; whakakahangia ia, kia kore ai ōna hoa riri katoa i a ia; a, a te mutunga o te noho i kōnei, kia whiwhi ia ki te haringa mutungakore; ko Ihu Karaiti nei hoki tō mātou Ariki. Āmine.

The celebrations of the 16th anniversary of Kīngi Tūheitia Potatau Te Wherowhero’s Coronation took place at Tūrangawaewae, Ngāruawahia from 18 - 21 August. Covid has prevented a face-to-face gathering since 2019. In 2020 and 2021 these celebrations were conducted via online forums, and so it was a welcome return for everyone to come and return to this space. The remembrance of those lost in these intervening years was brought and placed before the King in this special way that Koroneihana, the Coronation celebrations allows.

Entrance to the marae was permitted only to those who had been RAT tested that day. Tents were set up for arrivals each day to undertake tests and once cleared, a coloured wristband was worn, a different colour for each day. Compliance was absolute. This process endorsed the King’s message regarding caring for the people during Covid. “Amohia ake te ora o te iwi, ka puta ki te whei ao” “We must find ways to look after the wellbeing of the people, and we will get through this”

On Saturday the Prime Minister was charged with delivering on three major concerns for the people: good health services, education and safe housing. Alongside that was a launch of a series of books bringing the narrative of the Kingitanga from the perspectives of the people, not outsiders. It is a bilingual resource, an acknowledgement that the majority of our children are in mainstream schools, but still deserve access to their own history and identity.

Sunday was Coronation Day and the ecumenical service held that day included Methodist, Catholic, Anglican, Presbyterian, Ratana and Ringatu faiths. Rev Dr Wayne Te Kawa of Te Aka Puaho, Presbyterian Church, delivered the Sermon on Mathew 5, the Beattitudes. He spoke of the view from the mount, and perhaps Taupiri, and asked what learnings we can take from a Māori perspective of that vista from the hilltop?

Lastly, we thank and acknowledge Waikato Tainui for their graciousness and hospitality to all who arrive at Turangawaewae to support this occasion. I close with this prayer of Blessing for Kingi Tūheitia Potatau Te Wherowhero VII.