Kiingitanga deeply concerned for Tongan relatives
The Kiingitanga is sharing ‘‘deep concern and aroha’’ for whā nau in Tonga following last week’s eruption and are rallying to set up aid to help those in need.
The Mā ori King- Kiingi Tuheitia Potatau Te Wherowhero VII called for their followers to hold karakia on the night of the eruption to pray for the Tongan people.
Ngira Simmonds chief of staff and private secretary to the Mā ori King said the Tongan and Mā ori communities have a very close relationship.
This was established through a bond between the Mā ori and Tongan monarchies who were the leading royal houses among the nations of the Pacific, he said.
‘‘The connection is through the two royal houses and began many generations ago.
‘‘It was particularly strengthened in the time of princess Te Puea Herangi and Queen Te Atairangikaahu and now of course in the time of King Tuheitia.
‘‘There is a very strong reciprocal relationship where the King, before the pandemic, would travel to Tonga every year for their King’s birthday . . . equally their King and Queen would return every year to Aotearoa for Koroneihana,’’ he said.
The day after the eruption, the Kiingitanga hosted an online karakia-a-motu event to encourage more people to come together and pray.
Members of the Kiingitanga have been anxiously awaiting word from those in Tonga who they haven’t been able to reach due to the islands’ main communication cable being destroyed in the aftermath of the eruption.
Ngira said in the meantime the rō pū wants to set up ship containers packed with essential supplies, in particular clean water.
They will then look to send those across to Tonga Tapu when conditions are safe.
‘‘Of course Mā ori and Tongan people have a similar response, our first reaction was to call the iwi and people of the Kiingitanga to karakia.
‘‘We’re now looking to coordinate other ways in which we can support, through our iwi networks and all the iwi across the Kiingitanga.
‘‘We’re standing up containers, one in South Auckland, one in Waikato, one further south in the Tainui rohe, and potentially one across in Mataatua,’’ Simmonds said.
The Kiingitanga also hopes to set up an online fundraising campaign where they can raise pū tea to send across to those affected.
For now, Simmonds said, whā nau are awaiting further news from relatives in Tonga.
‘‘It’s a really tough time, you know you see the pictures online, you see the videos and then there’s just nothing, just stark silence.
‘‘We’ve had some messages come via government channels, but we are still waiting for some of the more personal whā nau to whā nau connections’’.