In pictures: Maori Queen's funeral

When Maori Queen Te Arikinui Dame Te Atairangikaahu died last week, the Maori community began a week-long period of mourning.

Thousands of people gathered to honour the queen at a funeral service on Monday. Dame Te Ata was held in huge respect among both Maori and other New Zealanders.

As part of a lavish ceremony in Ngaruawahia village in the North Island, her coffin was taken down the Waikato river to the traditional burial site, on the summit of Taupiri mountain.

As the boats approached the mountain, Maori warriors wearing traditional clothing watched from the shoreline.

Her coffin was then carried up the mountain to be buried, marking the end of her 40-year reign.

Before the funeral, the late queen's eldest son, Tuheitia Paki, was announced as her successor - the seventh in a line of Maori monarchs stretching back to 1858.

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