Rātana
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It has been suggested that Te Haahi Ratana be merged into this article. (Discuss) Proposed since February 2024. |
The Rātana movement is a church and pan-iwi political movement founded by Tahupōtiki Wiremu Rātana (T. W. Ratana) in early 20th-century New Zealand. The Rātana Church (Māori: Te Haahi Rātana) has its headquarters at the settlement of Rātana Pā near Whanganui.
In 2001 the total number of New Zealand residents that were affiliated with the Rātana church was 48,975.[1] In the 2018 New Zealand census, 43,821 people identified with the religion.[2]
History
The Rātana movement began in 1918 started by T. W. Rātana with the Bible and the Treaty of Waitangi as foundations.[3] Rātana's grandfather was Ngahina and was a signatory of the Treaty of Waitangi for the iwi, Māori nations of Ngā Wairiki and Ngāti Apa. Ngahina was a sheep and cattle station owner, Anglican and pro-government loyalist.[3][4] Rātana's mother was Methodist.[4] Impacts on Māori in 1918 included land loss, World War I and the influenza epidemic.[3] After the epidemic Rātana became the only male heir of his grandfather.[4] On 8 November 1918 Rātana saw a vision, which he regarded as divinely inspired, asking him to preach the gospel to the Māori people and to cure the spirits and bodies of his people.[5]
Mere Rikiriki had an influence on Rātana and the Rātana movement. Rikiriki taught Rātana and he often consulted her. She had been at Parihaka with Te Whiti o Rongomai and Tohu Kākahi, had established her own church in Parewanui and was a faith healer and rongoā practitioner.[3][6] Rikiriki foretold the coming of a new prophet in 1912 that she confirmed was Rātana.[6]
Te Urumanao Ngāpaki Baker was a Māori chief and supported the Rātana movement and was Rātana's wife.[3]
Ture Wairua (spiritual mission)
The Rātana Church is made up of the Ture Wairua (spiritual laws) and the Ture Tangata (physical laws). The spiritual laws are itemised as the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit (in Maori, Te Matua, Te Tama me Te Wairua Tapu), and Ngā Anahera Pono (the Holy and Faithful Angels) and also adding Te Māngai (God's Word and Wisdom) to prayers. Its central book is the Bible, although the Blue Book, written in Māori and containing prayers and hymns (many composed by Rātana), is used in all church services.[7]
Until 1924 he preached to increasingly large numbers of Māori and established a name for himself as the "Māori Miracle Man". At first, the movement was seen as a Christian revival, but it soon moved away from mainstream churches. On 31 May 1925, Te Haahi Rātana (the Rātana Church) was established as a separate church and its founder was acknowledged as the bearer of Te Mangai or God's Word and Wisdom. On 21 July 1925, the constitution of the Rātana Church was accepted by the Registrar-General and a list of 'apostles' (ministers) who were authorised to conduct marriages was published in the New Zealand Gazette.[8]
Ture Tangata (secular movement)
In 1924 a group of 38 people including Rātana and his wife Te Urumanao Ngāpaki Baker and spokesperson
When the Rātana temple (Te Temepara Tapu o Ihoa (The Holy Temple of Jehovah)) which Rātana saw as embodying in its architecture deep Biblical truths (especially the two magnificent bell towers) was opened on 25 January 1928 by Japanese Bishop Juji Nakada (with whom Ratana and party had stayed in 1924), Rātana declared his spiritual work was complete and church apostles and officers would take on the work.[7] He now turned more to political work for Māori in New Zealand.
Koata (political movement)
As early as 1923, Rātana had declared an interest in party politics, and his eldest son
In January 1928, Rātana called himself Piri Wiri Tua and called on four followers to be the quarters of his body and rule the land. The "first cut" was Paraire Karaka Paikea in the north, Haami Tokouru Rātana in the west, Pita Moko in the east, and Eruera Tirikatene in the south. Moko was later replaced by Tiaki Omana, in the "second cut". The covenant signed by the men promised they would not rest, and their wives separately agreed that they would go barefoot and in rags to represent the Rātana movement. All four went on to capture the Maori seats between 1932 and 1943.
Rātana candidates stood in the
The Rātana Independent Members of Parliament were the first to represent a political party in which most party members were Māori. Major aims of the movement were statutory recognition of the Treaty of Waitangi, righting the confiscation grievances of the Māori people, and equality in social welfare for Māori.
Politicians usually attend the Rātana marae to take part in celebrations marking T.W. Ratana's birthday and in January 2023 it was the 150th anniversary. The political party leaders who attended on this occasion were Labour, National, Māori Party, New Zealand First and one co-leader of Greens. Commentator Merepeka Raukawa-Tait stated the message from Māori speakers to the politicians were: "They want to have relationships that are more than transactional and they are not interested in politics and politicians that stir up fear."[9]
Alliance with the Labour Party
Following the formation of the
The four Māori electorates were held by Rātana-affiliated members of Labour for decades: until 1963 for the Eastern Maori electorate, 1980 for Northern Maori, and 1996 for Western and Southern Maori electorates. Not all Labour Party Māori MPs have been members of the Rātana Church, but all Māori electorates were held by Labour MPs who had at least been endorsed by the church until Tau Henare won Northern Maori in the 1993 New Zealand general election.[10] In both the parliaments of 1946–1948 and 1957–1960, the formation of a Labour Government depended on the votes of the Rātana Movement members.
Rātana movement Members of Parliament have included
Symbols
The main symbol (tohu) of the church is a five-pointed star and crescent moon, the whetū mārama (which means both "star and moon" and "shining star"), which is worn on the lapels of mōrehu (the scattered remnant, Rātana followers) and at pivotal points on church buildings. The golden or blue crescent moon (symbolising enlightenment) can face different parts of the coloured star: blue represents Te Matua (The Father), white is Te Tama (The Son), red is Te Wairua Tapu (The Holy Spirit), purple is Ngā Anahera Pono (The Faithful Angels) and gold/yellow is Te Māngai (The Mouthpiece (of Jehovah), Ture Wairua), although this colour is sometimes replaced with pink, representing PiriWiriTua (The Campaigner (of Political Matters), Ture Tangata). Te Whetū Mārama represents the kingdom of light or Māramatanga, standing firm against the forces of darkness (mākutu).[7]
Church leaders
- Tahupotiki Wiremu Rātana(1925–1939)
- Haami Tokouru Rātana(1939–1944)
- Matiu Rātana (1944–1950)
- Puhi o Aotea Ratahi (1950–1966)
- Maata "Te Reo" Hura (1966–1991)
- Raniera Te Aou Hou Rātana(1991–1998)
- Harerangi Meihana (1998–2022)
- Manuao Te Kohamutunga Tamou (2023-current)
References
- ^ According to the NZ Census 2001, "Religious Affiliation (Total Response) and Sex, for the Census Usually Resident Population Count, 2001". Stats NZ. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
- ^ "2018 Census totals by topic" (Microsoft Excel spreadsheet). Statistics New Zealand. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
- ^ a b c d e "Ratana - the man, the movement, the settlement". NZ Herald. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
- ^ a b c d Ballara, Angela (1996). "Ratana, Tahupotiki Wiremu". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
- ^ Newman, Keith. "Te Haahi Rātana – the Rātana Church – Founding the Rātana Church". Te Ara-the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. NZ Department of Internal Affairs. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
- ^ a b Puketapu, Te Tiwha (1996). "Rikiriki, Ātareta Kāwana Rōpiha Mere". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
- ^ a b c Newman, Keith. "'Te Haahi Rātana – the Rātana Church – Church growth". Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. NZ Department of Internal Affairs. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
- ^ "Te Haahi Rātana established as church". NZHistory. 23 September 2019. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
- ^ "Merepeka Raukawa-Tait: Which politicians impressed at Rātana". NZ Herald. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
- ISBN 9781869401801.
Further reading
Books
- Henderson, J. McLeod (1963). Ratana: The Origins and the Story of the Movement. Polynesian Society.
- Henderson, J. McLeod (1972). Ratana: The Man, The Church, The Political Movement (2nd ed.). A.H & A.W. Reed in association with the Polynesian Society. ISBN 0-589-00619-3. 2nd ed. of Henderson (1963).
- ISBN 9780790010571.
- Newman, Keith (2009). Ratana the Prophet. Raupo-Penguin. ISBN 9780143010975. A condensed version of Newman (2006).
Other
- Hebert, D. G. (2008). Music Transculturation and Identity in a Maori Brass Band Tradition. In R. Camus & B. Habla, (Eds.), Alta Musica, 26 (pp. 173–200). Tutzing: Schneider.
- Newman, Keith (2002). A Sleeping Giant
- Stokes, Jon (21 January 2006). "Enduring attraction of Ratana". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
- Westra, Ans (1963). T. W. Ratana and the Ratana Church photos