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Te Ao Hou, December 1957, Page 22

and mana of the Maori were as deeply involved as were the feelings and fears of the pakeha: Te Kooti was to be pardoned, or the deal was off. So, pardoned the old rebel was, and he died ten years later, the last leader of his race in their forlorn fight for national independance. Te Kooti died, but his legacies live on, spreading and flourishing. The Ringatu faith which he founded has been recognised by legislative approval and its adherents number many thousands. In addition to those who, statistically, belong to the Ringatu faith there are many more who, belonging to one or other of the more orthodox sects, yet hold Te Kooti in some admiration, and even veneration, as a prophet, and as a spiritual and national leader. I have encountered followers of Te Kooti in many tribes and in many districts. His is not a name or a fame readily on their lips, especially in front of a stranger and a pakeha, but with greater familiarity one begins to perceive the depth and breadth of the Te Kooti influence. Even by pakehas he is beginning to appear in a new and more kindly perspective. The incidents of his tempetuous career are coming to be accepted, as incidents, and the tremendous impact of his whole emergence as a leader, a teacher and a spiritual force is beginning to stand in truer focus. It may not be too much to say that, in the final analysis of time and enduring influence, he will take his place as one of the great figures in Maori history.