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Rātana (Māori:Te Haahi Rātana) is aMāoriChristian church and movement, headquartered atRātana Pā nearWhanganui, New Zealand. The Rātana movement began in 1918, whenTahupōtiki Wiremu (T. W.) Ratana claimed to experiencevisions, and began a mission offaith healing. In 1925 theRatana Church was formed, and on 25 January 1928—T. W.'s 55th birthday, and "Rātana Day"—the church's iconic temple,Te Temepara Tapu o Ihoa ('the holy temple ofJehovah') was opened. From its beginning and through to the 20th century, the church has pursued political goals, and still welcomes political leaders to theRātana Pā annually on Ratana's birthday. In the2018 New Zealand census, 43,821 people identified with the religion.[1]
Initially performing his healing from his family farm, Ratana did not regard his movement as a distinct church, and encouraged his followers to remain with their churches. He received mixed opinions from other Christian leaders, some of whom disliked that he was referred to as themangai, or the 'mouthpiece' of God, while others were pleased at his renouncement oftraditional Māori religion andtohunga.
Ratana and his followers were interested in apolitical movement alongside a spiritual one, and Ratana was known to talk of theBible in his right hand, and theTreaty of Waitangi in his left. This political attitude was made clear by 1924, when Ratana led a delegation to Europe to present a petition toKing George V on the topic of Māori land confiscations and the treaty. From 1928, and the opening of the church's temple, T. W. had suggested that his own attention would turn away from the church, and his focus would be more fully on politics. This coincided with controversy around Ratana himself, but he was largely unable to extricate himself from the matters of the church, and without a suitable replacement, he remained as the church's leader.
In a1932 by-election, Rātana had its first candidate,Eruera Tirikatene, elected to parliament for theSouthern Maori electorate, and by 1943 had captured all four of theMāori seats—a monopoly it would hold until 1963. By 1931, Rātana had established an alliance with theLabour Party, and Rātana members of parliament consistently backed Labour. In 1936 this alliance was formalised, and Rātana members joined Labour. In the early 2000s, members of other parties began attending Rātana Day, which is now seen as the beginning of New Zealand's political year.
T. W. Ratana's grandfather Ngahina was a signatory of theTreaty of Waitangi for the tribes of Ngā Wairiki andNgāti Apa. Ngahina was a sheep and cattle station owner,Anglican and pro-government loyalist.[2][3] Rātana's mother wasMethodist.[3]
Impacts on Māori in 1918 included land loss,World War I and theSpanish flu epidemic.[2] After the epidemic Rātana was the only male heir of his grandfather.[3] On 8 November 1918 Rātana saw a vision, which he regarded as divinely inspired, asking him to preach thegospel to theMāori people and to cure the spirits and bodies of his people.[4]
Mere Rikiriki had an influence on Rātana and the Rātana movement. Rikiriki taught Rātana and he often consulted her. She had been atParihaka withTe Whiti o Rongomai andTohu Kākahi, had established her own church inParewanui and was a faith healer androngoā practitioner.[2][5] Rikiriki foretold the coming of a new prophet in 1912 that she confirmed was Rātana.[5]
Te Urumanao Ngāpaki Baker was a Māori chief and supported the Rātana movement and was Rātana's wife.[2]
The church's spiritual laws are itemised as theTrinity (the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit) as well as addingNgā Anahera Pono, 'the Holy and Faithful Angels' andTe Māngai (God's Word and Wisdom) to prayers. As well as theBible, the church relies on their "Blue Book" for church services, which includes hymns and prayers written by T. W. Ratana.[6]
Until 1924 Ratana 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 aChristian revival, but it soon moved away from mainstream churches. On 31 May 1925,Te Haahi Rātana, the Rātana Church, was established, and its founder was acknowledged in the Church's doctrine as the bearer ofTe 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 theNew Zealand Gazette.[7]
In 1924 a group of 38 people including Rātana and his wife Te Urumanao Ngāpaki Baker and spokespersonPita Moko journeyed to Europe to unsuccessfully present a petition toGeorge V and theLeague of Nations on land confiscations and theTreaty of Waitangi.[3] Later trips were made to the United States and Canada. These trips were not without controversy. The New Zealand Government acted to prevent the petition being presented to the monarch, and the visit to Japan on the way back from Europe created allegations of disloyalty and of flying the Japanese flag over the church settlement ofRātana Pā.
When the Rātana templeTe 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 BishopJuji 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.[6] He now turned more to political work for Māori in New Zealand.
As early as 1923, Rātana had declared an interest in party politics, and his eldest sonHaami Tokouru Rātana had stood for theWestern Maori electorate as an independent candidate. Now Rātana was determined to capture theMāori electorates to give a voice for his movement.
In January 1928, Rātana called himselfPiri Wiri Tua and called on four followers to be the quarters of his body and rule the land. The "first cut" wasParaire Karaka Paikea in the north, Haami Tokouru Rātana in the west,Pita Moko in the east, andEruera Tirikatene in the south. Moko was later replaced byTiaki 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 the1928 and1931 general elections and in the 1930 by-election in Western Maori following the death ofMaui Pomare, but they did not succeed. The first Rātana movement MP wasEruera Tirikatene, elected in a by-election forSouthern Maori in June 1932. He was followed byHaami Tokouru Rātana (known as Toko) inWestern Maori in the1935 general election. In the1938 election, the third Māori electorate ofNorthern Maori was captured byParaire Karaka Paikea, and the last (Eastern Maori) was won byTiaki Omana in the1943 election.
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 wereLabour,National,Māori Party,New Zealand First and one co-leader ofGreens. CommentatorMerepeka 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."[8]
Following the formation of theFirst Labour Government in 1935, the two Rātana MPs agreed to vote with Labour. This alliance was formalised with the Rātana movement joining theLabour Party in a meeting between Rātana and Prime MinisterMichael Savage on 22 April 1936. The Prime Minister was given four symbolic gifts: a potato, a broken gold watch, apounamuhei-tiki, and ahuia feather. The potato represented loss of Māori land and means of sustenance, the broken watch represented the broken promises of the Treaty of Waitangi, and the pounamu represented themana of the Māori people. If Savage could restore these three, he would earn the right to wear the huia feather to signify his chiefly status. The gifts were regarded as so precious they were buried with Savage at his state funeral in 1940.
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 untilTau Henare won Northern Maori in the1993 New Zealand general election.[9] 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 includedTapihana Paraire Paikea, Haami Tokouru Rātana,Matiu Rātana,Iriaka Rātana,Koro Wētere,Paraone Reweti,Matiu Rata, andWhetu Tirikatene-Sullivan.Mita Ririnui, who held the Māori seat of Waiariki from 1999 to 2005 and was aList MP from 2005 to 2011, is a Rātana minister.
The main symbol (tohu) of the church is a five-pointed star and crescent moon, thewhetū mārama (which means both "star and moon" and "shining star"), which is worn on the lapels ofmōrehu (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 orMāramatanga, standing firm against the forces of darkness (mākutu).[6]
Church adherents are known asmōrehu, the 'remnants'. In the 2001 census, 48,975 New Zealand residents were affiliated with the Rātana church.[10] In the2018 New Zealand census, 43,821 people identified with the religion.[1]
