Indigenous Maori elders in New Zealand have named a new king. Fifty-one-year-old Tuheitia Paki is the eldest son of the previous monarch, Dame Te Atairangikaahu, who died last week at the age of seventy-five, after a reign of forty years. This report from Ben Lowings:

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Some North Island Maori sought to reach a common position on the use of their land. To help this goal, the first Maori King was created -- he was Potatau Te Wherowhero of the Tainui tribe in the central North Island region of Waikato. Governing members of the modern-day Tainui tribe have been saying other Maori tribes would have a say on who would become the new sovereign after the death of Te Arikinui Dame Te Atairangikaahu.

In recent years what's been described as a Maori renaissance has flourished in New Zealand, promoting the use of the Maori language and a greater awareness of tribal ancestry. In recent years many Maori have united against the New Zealand government, in protest at its efforts to clarify ownership of the country's extensive foreshore. The row led in part to the formation of a small but powerful new Maori party.

Ben Lowings, BBC

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Indigenous
born and living in a region, belonging naturally to a place

monarch
a supreme ruler; a king, queen, emperor, empress or the equivalent

reign
sovereignty, rule; a period of time when a monarch rules the country

treaty
a formal agreement between states or nations

ceded
gave up the rights to and/or possession of

sought
tried to find

goal
aim, the object of someone's effort

sovereign
a supreme ruler; a king, queen, emperor, empress or the equivalent

tribal ancestry
the origins of a group of communities linked by social, economic, religious or blood ties and usually having a common culture and dialect and a recognized leader

foreshore
the part of the shore between the water and developed land

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