The new queen, seated on a carved wooden throne, was announced at a gathering at Turangawaewae Marae, the home of the Kiingitanga, or Māori Kings, movement.
She sat before her father's coffin, draped in a wreath and mantle, and watched as prayers and hymns were sung before the funeral.
A fleet of military canoes then transported the King to his final resting place on Mount Taupiri, a sacred mountain to the Maori, where he remained for six days.
The King died in hospital recovering from heart surgery, just days after celebrating the 18th anniversary of his coronation.
“The death of Kiingi Tuheitia is a moment of great sadness for the followers of Te Kiingitanga, Māoridom and the entire nation,” Rahui Papa, a spokesman for the Kiingitanga or Māori Kingship movement, said at the time. “He is a departed chief. May he rest in love.”
“Our country will be in mourning,” New Zealand's opposition Labour leader Chris Hipkins said shortly after the king's death. “He was a fantastic king with a wicked sense of humour, but he was also a very good man… who had a real focus on bringing New Zealanders together.”
New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon praised King Tuheitia as a leader whose “commitment to Maori and all New Zealanders was felt across the country”.
However, Mr. Luxon, who has been accused by some indigenous New Zealanders of pursuing anti-Maori policies, is currently on an official trip to South Korea and did not attend the funeral.
Last year, thousands of protesters across New Zealand demonstrated against government plans to overturn policies that promoted indigenous rights, including plans to close Te Aka Whai Ora, the Maori health agency established by Jacinda Ardern’s Labour government, and to rename some departments from Maori to English.
The official mourning period for King Tuheitia was extended from the usual three days to seven days to accommodate the large delegation that came to pay their respects to the king.
“I've never experienced anything like this,” Maori journalist Mereana Honde told BBC Newsday.
“It is no small thing to lose a king, but he was just beginning to gain prominence and he led the Altara and all the tribes of New Zealand at a time when they were under great political and social pressure under this union.”
The King was born Tūheitia Paki in 1955. He ascended to the throne in 2006 following the death of his mother, Te Arikinui Dame Te Atairangikaahu.
Like his mother, King Tuheitia was seen as a great unifier, and in recent years he has called on Maori to unite against policies that target them.
The Maori monarchy dates back to 1858, when the Maori people decided to create a unified figure similar to a European monarch in order to prevent the widespread loss of land by British colonists in New Zealand and to preserve Maori culture. The role is largely ceremonial.
