thumbnail|230px|right|Rātana church near Raetihi

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 of faith healing. In 1925 the Ratana Church was formed, and on 25 January 1928—T. W.'s 55th birthday, and "Rātana Day"—the church's iconic temple, ('the holy temple of Jehovah') was opened. From its beginning and through to the 20th century, the church has pursued political goals, and still welcomes political leaders to the Rātana Pā annually on Ratana's birthday. In the 2018 New Zealand census, 43,821 people identified with the religion. Rātana's mother was Methodist.

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. Rikiriki foretold the coming of a new prophet in 1912 that she confirmed was Rātana.

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 a Christian 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 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.

Ture Tangata (secular movement)

thumb|250px|right|' at [[Rātana Pā, 2012]]

In 1924 a group of 38 people including Rātana and his wife Te Urumanao Ngāpaki Baker and spokesperson Pita Moko journeyed to Europe to unsuccessfully present a petition to George V and the League of Nations on land confiscations and the Treaty of Waitangi.

Alliance with the Labour Party

Following the formation of the First Labour Government in 1935, the two Rātana MPs agreed to vote with Labour. This alliance was formalised with the Rātana movement joining the Labour Party in a meeting between Rātana and Prime Minister Michael Savage on 22 April 1936. The Prime Minister was given four symbolic gifts: a potato, a broken gold watch, a pounamu hei-tiki, and a huia 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 the mana 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 until Tau Henare won Northern Maori in the 1993 New Zealand general election. 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 Tāpihana Paraire Paikea, Haami Tokouru Ratana, Matiu Rātana, Iriaka Rātana, Koro Wētere, Paraone Reweti, Matiu Rata, and Whetu Tirikatene-Sullivan. Mita Ririnui, who held the Māori seat of Waiariki from 1999 to 2005 and was a List MP from 2005 to 2011, is a Rātana minister.

Symbols

thumb|right|150px|Rātana StarThe main symbol (tohu) of the church is a five-pointed star and crescent moon, the whetū mārama (which means "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). In the 2018 New Zealand census, 43,821 people identified with the religion.

Church leaders

  • Tahupotiki Wiremu Ratana (1925–1939)
  • Haami Tokouru Ratana (1939–1944)
  • Matiu Rātana (1944–1950)
  • Puhi o Aotea Ratahi (1950–1966)
  • Maata "Te Reo" Hura (1966–1991)
  • Raniera Te Aohou Ratana (1991–1998)
  • Harerangi Meihana (1998–2022)
  • Andre Lang Meihana (2023-present)

See also

  • Ringatū, another Māori Christian denomination, established by Te Kooti in the 19th century

References

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. . 2nd ed. of Henderson (1963).
  • Newman, Keith (2006). Ratana Revisited: An Unfinished Legacy. Reed. .
  • Newman, Keith (2009). Ratana the Prophet. Raupo-Penguin. . 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
  • Westra, Ans (1963). T. W. Ratana and the Ratana Church photos
  • Te Haahi Ratana: The Official Website of the Ratana Established Church of New Zealand by Arahi R. Hagger