Singing a song of welcome in Hawaiian, students at St. Andrew’s Priory greeted New Zealand’s Maori King Tuheitia on Tuesday as he paid an official visit to the school, which has deep ties to the Hawaiian monarchy and Polynesia.
St. Andrew’s Priory was founded in 1867 as an all-girls school by Queen Emma, with assistance from the Church of England.
King Tuheitia, who like Emma is Polynesian, visited the school at about noon to establish formal relations and talks about a student exchange program.
The king’s representative, Tania Simpson, speaking on behalf of the king, said in oral histories the Maoris are told how they came from a place called Hawaii Iki.
"That tells me that our ancestors and your ancestors are the same people," Simpson said.
Simpson said the king is interested in establishing a exchange program between students at St. Andrew’s Priory and Maori students in New Zealand.
Episcopal Diocese of Hawaii Bishop Robert L. Fitzpatrick, speaking at the ceremony, recalled a couple of moments in history when Queen Emma sought refuge at the school when her life was threatened, and the strong relationship between the church and Hawaiian royal family.
Since ascending to the throne in 2006, King Tuheitia has been promoting the development of health and education programs among Maoris, his aides said.
King Tuheitia is the seventh monarch of the Maori King Movement representing some Maori tribes of New Zealand who worked to halt the taking of native lands by British settlers in the mid-1800s.
The Maori monarch is a nonconstitutional role with no legal power.
He also holds the title of king of the Waikato-Tainui tribe, which owns hundreds of thousands of acres of land and has some 65,000 registered tribal members.
As part of the ceremony Tuesday, the king’s representatives and leaders of Maori tribes and organizations returned the greeting by singing a couple of songs as well.
After the ceremony, the school hosted a lunch for the king; his wife, Makau Ariki; and other Maori leaders.
Priory senior Jackie Oshiro said she thought the ceremonies involving an exchange of songs were "cool," and she was surprised by the similarities between the Hawaiian and Maori cultures.
Priory senior Kelley Ige said it was an honor for the school to host King Tuheitia.
"It was great," she said.
