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Māori Party mourns with Te Arawa
5 June 2015
Māori Party mourns with Te Arawa
He aha rā kei tōku ate e haehae tū nei? Kua wahangū te manu matare o Tuhourangi, o Te Arawa, o Ngāti Raukawa. Kua auē ōu iwi, te iwi Māori, ka auē hoki tea o katoa. E te matanga reo, e te matanga tikanga Māori, haere atu rā! Haere ki te kāinga tūturu mō te tangata. Auē! Te Pōuri! Te Tangi e! Haere, haere, haere!
The Māori Party are shocked and saddened by the unexpected loss of Mauriora Kingi (Te Arawa, Ngāti Raukawa) just days after he was made a member of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the Queen’s Birthday Honours.
Māori Party Co-leader and Waiariki MP Te Ururoa Flavell says “The eight beating hearts of Te Arawa are broken today with the loss of one of our favourite sons. Mauriora Kingi epitomised the proverb ‘Te Arawa Māngai Nui’ and today his unforgettable voice is silenced.
“Mauriora’s passing leaves a deep hole in our hearts and he will be hugely missed by many people, Māori and Pākehā, but especially his people of Tuhourangi and Ngāti Wahiao,” says Mr Flavell.
Mr Kingi was one of the chosen few that was raised by kaumātua and versed in te reo Māori, history and tikanga Māori from an early age.
Because of his exceptional cultural knowledge, he was called upon by his whānau, hapū, iwi, governor-generals, prime ministers and various ministers of the Crown for support.
He was the current kaupapa Māori director for the Rotorua Lakes Council, a member of the advisory board of Te Puia (the New Zealand Māori Arts and Crafts Institute), and a member of the Māori Advisory Board for Intellectual Property Rights New Zealand and the Ngā Kaitūhono Advisory Board.
Māori Party Co-leader Marama Fox says, “Our people who hold that deep knowledge of tikanga and whakapapa Māori are so precious, and today not only Te Arawa lost a taonga, but our nation.”
“We join with his iwi in mourning the irreplaceable person that Mauriora was – a passionate, dedicated and selfless servant of the people and we extend our heartfelt aroha to the many lives he touched.”
ends
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