The Dispossessed

Te Ao Hou, March 1963, Page 35

The Dispossessed The social conditions to be found amongst most of the Maori people at this time are well known. In North Auckland, the Bay of Plenty, the Waikato and in the South Island, frequently landless, backward, withdrawn from educational influences and often very bitter, the people waited the coming of a new messianic leader. Apirana Ngata, Maui Pomare, Peter Buck and many others had done very much to help, but at this time they were still fighting a very hard battle. Tribal antagonisms were still strong, and in many districts the great mass of people, the morehu, remained stubbornly aloof from developmental schemes, educational and otherwise. Nor was help always available. Superstition was widespread, and tohunga were making capital out of the illness of the people. The First World War unsettled them still further. In the spring of 1918 the great influenza epidemic struck New Zealand. It carried off five times as many Maoris as Europeans; most of T. W. Ratana's relatives died among the rest. The remedies of tohunga and doctor alike were ineffective, and the people's morale was badly shaken. In this time of great unhappiness, ‘voices’ came to Ratana. Periods of apparent insanity and heavy drinking alternated with reading of religious literature and meditating. Then, Apotoro (‘Apostles’) of the Church in front of the Temple; Sir Eruera Tirikatene, M.P., in a discussion at Ratana Pa; Mrs Puhi Ratahi, President of the Church, addressing a meeting in the evening.

Once a year, after it has been formally opened, people are permitted inside the Museum to look at the astonishing collection it holds. sitting one day on the verandah of his home, he is said to have seen a small round cloud rising from the ocean. It grew larger, seeming swiftly to approach him. Amazed, the Maori farmer stood up. The sun was obscured, and as the cloud swirled in a dense mist around him, it seemed that voice spoke. Kaua hei mataku … Ratana kua meatia koe hei Mangai moku kite mata o te whenua. Whakakotahitia te Iwi Maori ki raro kia Ihoa o nga Mano he aroha hoki tenei na Ihoa kia koutou. (Fear not … Ratana I appoint you as the Mouthpiece of God and for the multitude of this land. Unite the Maori people, turning them to Jehovah of the Thousands, for therein lies their salvation.) According to the legend, Ratana went inside and told his family, who thought he was mad or drunk. He began to doubt his own mind, but then, legend says, he saw reflected in the clockface a shining light. He turned and saw an angel blazing with great splendour, repeating the message. The ‘Mangai’ (‘Mouthpiece’) was to turn the people from their belief in tohungaism and superstition, and bring them back to faith in Jehovah: to heal their spirits and bodies, and unite the Maori Race. During the months that followed the fame of the prophet spread rapidly. A constant stream of people began to arrive at the hitherto isolated farmhouse; some were accommodated in the house and outbuildings, many brought tents, and others built themselves lean-to shacks. By 1919 a flood of followers were coming from all over the country, and the area began to take on the appearance of a shanty town. By now Ratana was devoting all his time to the ministry. At first he told the people that after visiting him they should return to their homes. But many would not go, and after a time Ratana invited them to stay. Ratanaism began as a religious revival, though soon faith-healing became most prominent. (Pakeha newspaper sensationalism concerning the ‘Maori Miracle Man’ was one quite important reason for his becoming famous so quickly. It must be remembered that at this time pakehas, too, were taking a keen interest in spiritualism and faith-healing.) The ‘Mangai’, the ‘Mouthpiece’, became a symbol, a leader indispensable to all active social life, so that all that later occurred to affect his people was seen as his doing. As a teacher and God's mouthpiece he brought them hope, but as the mouthpiece he was soon to have no choice but to move the way the people wanted him to. As this happened, the movement changed its character. Although it has always remained primarily religious, it changed around about 1927 to be, as well, an economic, social and political association working for Maori welfare. As such it appealed to both old and young, to both backward and forward looking elements in the Maori population. Since this time Ratanaism has had two aspects: ‘Ture Wairua, piki te kaha’ (‘The Spiritual Works, seek faith’) and ‘Ture Tangata, ki kopu’ (‘the Material Works, fill the stomach’.) Some people joined Ratana through idealism; some because it gave them a function and status as members of committees and church dignitaries; some from political ambitions; some, because of a variety of grievances. It was no easier to distinguish between these different motives, in any individual case, than it has ever been to do this in public organisations.