Tahupōtiki Wiremu Rātana
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Tahupōtiki Wiremu Rātana (25 January 1873? – 18 September 1939) was the founder of the
Rātana Rātana () is a Māori Christian church and movement, headquartered at Rātana Pā near Whanganui, New Zealand. The Rātana movement began in 1918, when Tahupōtiki Wiremu (T. W.) Ratana claimed to experience visions, and began a mission o ...
religion in the early 20th century in New Zealand. He rose to prominence as a faith healer.


Beginnings

Rātana was of the Ngāti Apa and Ngā Wairiki
iwi Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori, roughly means or , and is often translated as "tribe". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, and is typically pluralised as such in English. ...
. His subtribes were Nga Ariki, Ngāti Hikapirau,
Ngāti Rangiwaho Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori, roughly means or , and is often translated as "tribe". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, and is typically pluralised as such in English. ...
, Ngāti Kiriwheke and Ngati Kauae. On his mother's side he was of Ngā Rauru Kiitahi, his mother belonging to the Rangitaawhi Hapū. He married Te Urumanao Ngāpaki Baker, who had whakapapa links to the
Ngāti Ruanui Ngāti Ruanui is a Māori people, Māori iwi traditionally based in the Taranaki Region, Taranaki region of New Zealand. In the 2006 census, 7,035 people claimed affiliation to the iwi. However, most members now live outside the rohe, traditional ...
, and possibly
Te Āti Awa Te Āti Awa or Te Ātiawa is a Māori iwi with traditional bases in the Taranaki and Wellington regions of New Zealand. Approximately 17,000 people registered their affiliation to Te Āti Awa in 2001, with about 10,000 in Taranaki, 2,000 in We ...
also. Rātana began his spiritual mission during the 1918 influenza epidemic. He claimed that while standing on the veranda of his home at 2pm, on 8 November 1918, three days before the end of the
First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, he saw a small cloud coming in from the sea toward his house. When the cloud 'broke open' he was overwhelmed by a presence and he rushed into the house declaring 'Peace be unto you all, for I am the Holy Spirit that speaks to you all. Straighten yourselves. Repent.' He was told the
Holy Spirit The Holy Spirit, otherwise known as the Holy Ghost, is a concept within the Abrahamic religions. In Judaism, the Holy Spirit is understood as the divine quality or force of God manifesting in the world, particularly in acts of prophecy, creati ...
was looking for people through whom
God In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...
could be truly known and accepted. The
Māori people Māori () are the Indigenous peoples of Oceania, indigenous Polynesians, Polynesian people of mainland New Zealand. Māori originated with settlers from East Polynesia, who arrived in New Zealand in several waves of Māori migration canoes, c ...
had not forgotten Jehovah and so they had been chosen to become an example to the world if only they would turn from their dependence on
tohunga In the culture of the Māori people, Māori of New Zealand, a tohunga (tōhuka in Southern Māori dialect) is an expert practitioner of any skill or art, either religious or otherwise. Tohunga include expert priests, healers, navigators, carvers, ...
ism (particularly the manipulative forms of witchcraft) and Māori gods. Rātana was told to unite the Māori and turn them to Ihoa o nga Mano (Jehovah of the Multitudes).Ratana the Prophet, Keith Newman, Penguin 2008 He continued his study of the
Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...
and began one of the most powerful faith healing ministries in New Zealand history. He gained a large following among Māori, becoming known as "Mangai" (a mouthpiece of God). A splinter group, called the Christian Maramatanga Society, formed in the mid-1920s when they misinterpreted Rātana's call to 'close the Bible' in order to stop fanciful prophecies. Variants of his name include Tahupōtiki Wiremu Rātana, Tahu Pōtiki Wiremu Rātana and T. W. Rātana.


Politics

From 1922 onwards the Rātana movement became increasingly occupied with politics. The movement campaigned for ratification of the
Treaty of Waitangi The Treaty of Waitangi (), sometimes referred to as ''Te Tiriti'', is a document of central importance to the history of New Zealand, Constitution of New Zealand, its constitution, and its national mythos. It has played a major role in the tr ...
as a "cure-all" for Māori problems and collected 30,000 signatures on a petition calling for this. In 1928 Rātana proclaimed that Rātana candidates would win the four
Māori electorates In Politics of New Zealand, New Zealand politics, Māori electorates, colloquially known as the Māori seats (), are a special category of New Zealand electorates, electorate that give Reserved political positions, reserved positions to repre ...
in the
New Zealand Parliament The New Zealand Parliament () is the unicameral legislature of New Zealand, consisting of the Monarchy of New Zealand, Sovereign and the New Zealand House of Representatives. The King is usually represented by his Governor-General of New Zeal ...
, likening them to the four parts of his body, or the Four Quarters, as the seats became known. Eruera Tirikatene arranged a meeting with Michael J. Savage in Parliament on 4 February 1936 at which an alliance with the Labour Party was agreed. Savage's predecessor Harry Holland had been reluctant, because of the animosity between Rātana and the
Māori King Movement 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 Co ...
, especially Princess Te Puea. By 1943, the seats had been won, although Rātana had died in 1939.


Legacy

The Rātana Church remains one of the largest churches in Māoridom. The political links with the Labour Party remained strong for over 40 years, but were effectively divided by the rise of the
Māori Party 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 Co ...
, which was founded in 2004 and came to power in a
confidence and supply In parliamentary system, parliamentary democracies based on the Westminster system, confidence and supply is an arrangement under which a minority government (one which does not control a majority in the legislature) receives the support of one ...
agreement (with the National Party, Labour's traditional rival) after the 2008 election.


References


External links


''T. W. Ratana'' on the Rātana Church websiteBiography in the 1966 ''Encyclopaedia of New Zealand
* in the ''
Dictionary of New Zealand Biography The ''Dictionary of New Zealand Biography'' (DNZB) is an encyclopedia or biographical dictionary containing biographies of over 3,000 deceased New Zealanders. It was first published as a series of print volumes from 1990 to 2000, went online ...
'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Ratana, Tahupotiki Wiremu 1873 births 1939 deaths Founders of new religious movements Māori politicians Faith healers Māori prophets Rātana people Ngāriki Kaiputahi Ngāti Apa people Ngā Rauru people Rātana