Rātana
New Zealand church and political movement / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Rātana (Māori: Te Haahi 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 experienced 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, Te Temepara Tapu o Ihoa ('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.[1]
![]() | This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (August 2010) |
![]() | It has been suggested that Te Haahi Ratana be merged into this article. (Discuss) Proposed since February 2024. |
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 the mangai, or the 'mouthpiece' of God, while others were pleased at his renouncement of traditional Māori religion and tohunga.
Ratana and his followers were interested in a political movement alongside a spiritual one, and Ratana was known to talk of the Bible in his left hand, and the Treaty of Waitangi in his left. This political attitude was made clear by 1924, when Ratana led a delegation to Europe to present a petition to King 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 a 1932 by-election, Rātana had its first candidate, Eruera Tirikatene, elected to parliament for the Southern Maori electorate, and by 1943 had captured all four of the Māori seats—a monopoly it would hold until 1963. By 1931, Rātana had established an alliance with the Labour 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.