Te Kooti Arikirangi Te Turuki (c. 1832–1893) was a

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

leader, the founder of the

Ringatū The Ringatū church was founded in 1868 by Te Kooti Arikirangi te Turuki, commonly called Te Kooti. The symbol for the movement is an upraised hand or "Ringatū" in Māori. Origins Te Kooti was a wild young man, and in his childhood his father h ...

religion and guerrilla fighter. While fighting alongside government forces against the Hauhau in 1865, he was accused of spying. Exiled to the

Chatham Islands The Chatham Islands ( ) (Moriori: ''Rēkohu'', 'Misty Sun'; mi, Wharekauri) are an archipelago in the Pacific Ocean about east of New Zealand's South Island. They are administered as part of New Zealand. The archipelago consists of about te ...

without trial along with captured Hauhau, he experienced visions and became a religious leader. In 1868 he led the escape of 168 prisoners, seizing the

schooner A schooner () is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than the mainmast. A common variant, the topsail schoon ...

''Rifleman'' and sailing back to the

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where he began a series of raids. A resultant military reprisal campaign became known as

Te Kooti's War Te Kooti's War was among the last of the New Zealand Wars, the series of 19th century conflicts in New Zealand between the Māori and the colonising European settlers. It was fought in the East Coast region and across the heavily forested centra ...

. He was pardoned in 1883 but continued to be active in spreading the Ringatū message of peace and reclaiming land from Pakeha.

Early life

Te Kooti's early years are obscure. He was born at Te Pā-o-Kahu in the Gisborne region as a son of Hōne Rangipātahi (father) and Hine Turākau (mother), of the

Rongowhakaata Rongowhakaata is a Māori '' iwi'' of the Gisborne region of New Zealand. Hapū and marae There are three primary ''hapū'' (subtribes) of Rongowhakaata today: Ngati Kaipoho, Ngai Tawhiri and Ngati Maru. Ngāti Kaipoho Ngāti Kaipoho descend f ...

tribe (

iwi Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori roughly means "people" or "nation", and is often translated as "tribe", or "a confederation of tribes". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, an ...

). Their sub-tribe (

hapū In Māori and New Zealand English, a ' ("subtribe", or "clan") functions as "the basic political unit within Māori society". A Māori person can belong to or have links to many hapū. Historically, each hapū had its own chief and normally opera ...

) was Ngāti Maru, whose villages were situated near the Awapuni lagoon, where the

Waipaoa River The Waipaoa River is a river of the northeast of New Zealand's North Island. It rises on the eastern slopes of the Raukumara Range, flowing south for to reach Poverty Bay and the Pacific Ocean just south of Gisborne. For about half of this d ...

runs into the ocean.Binney, ''Redemption Songs'', p 16; Beaufoy, 2006, p 9 Arikirangi is thought to be the original name of Te Kooti. His birth date is thought to be approximately 1832.Binney, ''Redemption Songs'', p 16 Toiroa Ikariki (Ikarihi), a matakite (visionary) of Nukutaurua on

Māhia Peninsula Māhia Peninsula (Maori: or ) is located on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island, in the Hawke's Bay region, between the towns of Wairoa and Gisborne. Rocket Lab has set up its Launch Complex 1 close to Ahuriri Point at the southe ...

, prophesied the birth of Te Kooti (as well as the coming of white people, the

Pākehā Pākehā (or Pakeha; ; ) is a Māori term for New Zealanders primarily of European descent. Pākehā is not a legal concept and has no definition under New Zealand law. The term can apply to fair-skinned persons, or to any non-Māori New Ze ...

): The song is dated 1766. The ''Pakerewhā'' were strangers with red or white skin and Arikirangi was a grandchild of Toiroa, still to be born. ''Te Kooti'' is understood to be his Christian baptismal name. Te Kooti was apparently a very troublesome boy to his father, who tried to kill him. In 1852, he became notorious as one of a group of young Māori causing trouble in the Gisborne district. He took on the role of a "social bandit", breaking into settlers' homes and stealing goods as part of a plunder party. He was sent to the Mission School at Whakatō, near Manutūkē. In 1846–1847 he was taught by Samuel Williams. Samuel and his uncle, William Williams "helped the boy to find a new world in the Bible". But his reputation was still suffering, also after contacts with the Reverend

Thomas Samuel Grace Thomas Samuel Grace (16 February 1815 – 30 April 1879) was an English Anglican missionary in New Zealand. He was a member of the Church Missionary Society. He was born in Liverpool, Lancashire, England on 16 February 1815. Grace replaced ...

, who was to replace William Williams for a few years (1850–1853). Local chiefs were asked by settlers to work with the local runanga (Māori council) to solve problems with Te Kooti but Te Kooti's men persisted in taking pigs, horses, cattle and alcohol, angering the runanga run by senior chiefs. As a result, Te Kooti's pā was attacked by

Te Aitanga-a-Māhaki Te Aitanga-a-Mahaki is one of the three principal Māori iwi of the Tūranga district; the others being Rongowhakaata and Ngai Tamanuhiri. It is numerically the largest of the three, with 6,258 affiliated members as of 2013. The rohe (territo ...

. Many prisoners were taken but Te Kooti escaped. He had to leave home and went to sea on different ships that traded along the coasts of the

Exile

In 1865 while fighting with government forces to suppress the

Pai Marire Pai or PAI may refer to: People * Pai (surname), Indian surname from coastal Karnataka and Goa plus people with the name * Pai (Chinese surname), includes Chinese name origin, plus people with the name Fictional characters * Pai (Manga charact ...

(or Hauhau cult), he was arrested as a spy while trying to contact his brother who was fighting with the Hauhau, and exiled to the

, together with the rebels he had been fighting against. He was never tried and took every opportunity to demand a trial. Some say he got his name from this, "Kooti" pronounced "Courty", others that it was a Māori version of the last name "Coates". If he did supply the Pai Marire with guns as is alleged, he also took part in a battle against them. There are allegations he fired blanks on this occasion. While on the Chatham Islands Te Kooti experienced visions and became a religious leader. Te Kooti was referred to by other prisoners as Tawhaki, the twice born, after his unexpected survival from tuberculosis. He also performed some

sleight of hand Sleight of hand (also known as prestidigitation or ''legerdemain'' ()) refers to fine motor skills when used by performing artists in different art forms to entertain or manipulate. It is closely associated with close-up magic, card magic, card ...

, such as using matchheads to set his hand on fire above the altar during a church service. These tricks swayed the Māori prisoners on Chatham Islands, and when some of the chiefs present on the island were sent back to the mainland, Te Kooti took advantage of the situation to become the local leader. Only Te Kooti's uncle was not impressed by these tricks, which he saw right through. Nevertheless, Te Kooti established a faith named

("upraised hand") which gained many followers, and is still present in New Zealand society today. During this time on the Chatham Islands, Te Kooti (or Te Koti as he signed in the documents) was married in a civil marriage to Maata Te Owai on 27 July 1867. The marriage documents reveal that he was born in 1832.

Escape

In 1868, expecting a resupply boat, Te Kooti prophesied that two boats would soon arrive to take them off the island. Normally the prisoners worked on a farm but using the excuse of rain a number of convicts were able to enter the redoubt. There were actually only 6 guards on the whole Island as the majority had been removed in April to Hokitika where a Fenian uprising was feared. On 4 July 1868, Te Kooti led an escape, and with 168 other prisoners seized the

''Rifleman'', with supplies and rifles, scuttled another vessel the ''Florence'' so that the alarm could not be raised and set off back to the North Island. One Chatham Island sergeant was killed because of a personal grievance. The

sailors were allowed to live and set sail for the coast of New Zealand with help from the Māori hijackers. The sailors attempted to sail towards

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

, but with Te Kooti's expertise at sailing were caught and told they would be thrown overboard if they did not keep a course for the

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. On the fourth day at sea, the ship was becalmed and Te Kooti declared that a sacrifice was needed. Te Kooti had his uncle, Te Warihi Otini, thrown overboard and soon afterwards the ship made headway again. Upon their arrival at Whareongaonga in

Poverty Bay Poverty Bay (Māori: ''Tūranganui-a-Kiwa'') is the largest of several small bays on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island to the north of Hawke Bay. It stretches for from Young Nick's Head in the southwest to Tuaheni Point in the north ...

, Te Kooti asked the

Māori King Movement The Māori King Movement, called the in Māori, is a movement that arose among some of the Māori (tribes) of New Zealand in the central North Island in the 1850s, to establish a role similar in status to that of the monarch of the British c ...

and the Tuhoe tribes for refuge but was rejected. He also sought dialogue with the colonial government but was rebuffed. He sent a statement to the effect that if the government wanted a war, he would give it to them in November.

At war

On 10 November 1868, Te Kooti and his followers attacked the township of Matawhero on the outskirts of Gisborne. Some 54 people were slaughtered, including women and children. The dead included 22 local Māori as well as European settlers. This was probably a revenge attack, motivated by Te Kooti's imprisonment as a spy. Te Kooti was then pursued by colonial and sympathetic Māori forces. His community was surrounded at Ngatapa and

besieged Besieged may refer to: * the state of being under siege * ''Besieged'' (film), a 1998 film by Bernardo Bertolucci {{disambiguation ...

, but Te Kooti and his warriors managed to escape. From there, Te Kooti was chased to Te Porere where he set up a pā and withstood an attack from the British forces, including opposing Maori troops under Major

Kepa Te Rangihiwinui Te Keepa Te Rangihiwinui (died 15 April 1898) was a Māori military commander and noted ally of the government forces during the New Zealand Wars. First known as Te Rangihiwinui, he was later known as Te Keepa, Meiha Keepa, Major Keepa or Maj ...

. After much fighting, the British broke into the pā and Te Kooti abandoned it, leaving many dead and wounded. Te Kooti himself was shot in the finger on his escape. From there, Te Kooti escaped into the

Urewera Te Urewera is an area of mostly forested, sparsely populated rugged hill country in the North Island of New Zealand, a large part of which is within a protected area designated in 2014, that was formerly Te Urewera National Park. Te Urewera is t ...

and made an alliance with the Tuhoe leadership. From 1869 to 1872, Te Kooti and his followers raided throughout the central North Island while being pursued by their colonial and Māori enemies. His power was only broken once his Tuhoe allies were systematically conquered by his enemies. But once again Te Kooti managed to escape, this time to the

King Country The King Country (Māori: ''Te Rohe Pōtae'' or ''Rohe Pōtae o Maniapoto'') is a region of the western North Island of New Zealand. It extends approximately from the Kawhia Harbour and the town of Otorohanga in the north to the upper reaches of ...

where he spent the next decade under the protection of the Māori King. Te Kooti used this time to develop his religion.

Pardon and later life

In 1878 Te Kooti was thrown out of a hui at Hikurangi, which had been called by the government, because he had broken the ban on alcohol that was enforced by King Tāwhiao. Te Kooti stormed out of the meeting and went into a wild rage. In the morning he returned covered in albatross feathers, shuffling and bent over, having taken on the persona of a shuffling old man. Te Kooti is portrayed in this narrative as Tawhaki, the twice born. He threw off his disguise and lightning flashed from his armpits. The feathers were to show divinely inspired peace, according to the story.Binney, ''Stories Without End'', p 189 In 1883, Te Kooti was pardoned by the government and began to travel New Zealand. His followers grew and he decided to return to his old home. However, his past violence had not been forgotten and the local magistrate arrested him and imprisoned him, citing an anticipatory breach of the peace. Te Kooti was released on the condition that he never again try to return to his old home. Te Kooti appealed this decision, and was initially successful, but in 1890 the Court of Appeal ruled that the terror and alarm that Te Kooti's reappearance would have entailed justified the magistrate's decision.

Notes

Bibliography

* Beaufoy, Betty – ''Conflict: The Story of Te Kooti and the Settlers''. Publ. Dorset Enterprises, Wellington 2006. * Binney, Judith.
Redemption Songs: A life of Te Kooti Arikirangi Te Turuki
', Auckland: Auckland University Press, 1995. . * Binney, Judith. ''Stories Without End''. Wellington: Bridget Williams Books, 2010. * * King, Michael. ''Being Pakeha Now''. Penguin, 2004 * King, Michael. ''Moriori'', 2000 * Mitcalfe, Barry. "The Tohunga and the testament: Te Kooti – with a Bible in one hand, a gun in the other", pp 45–40 in ''Nine New Zealanders''. Christchurch: 1963.

In fiction

* Shadbolt, Maurice – ''

Season of the Jew ''Season of the Jew'' is an historical novel by Maurice Shadbolt, published in 1987. Set in mid-nineteenth-century New Zealand, it is a semi-fictionalized account of the story of the Māori leader Te Kooti, told from the perspective of one of hi ...

''. Publ. Hodder & Stoughton, London & W.W. Norton, New York, 1987

External links

Te Kooti Biography
in ''

An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand ''An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand'' is an official encyclopaedia about New Zealand, published in three volumes by the New Zealand Government in 1966. Edited by Alexander Hare McLintock, the parliamentary historian, assisted by two others, the e ...

'' (1966)
Editorial objection to the pardon
''Hawera & Normanby Star'', 1883

at the

New Zealand Electronic Text Centre The New Zealand Electronic Text Collection (NZETC; mi, Te Pūhikotuhi o Aotearoa) is a freely accessible online archive of New Zealand and Pacific Islands texts and heritage materials that are held by the Victoria University of Wellington Library ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kooti, Te 1832 births 1891 deaths Military leaders of the New Zealand Wars People from the Gisborne District New Zealand escapees Escapees from New Zealand detention Founders of new religious movements Māori activists Māori prophets Recipients of New Zealand royal pardons Rongowhakaata people Ringatū