Against Superstition Unfortunately we have not the space to say much about the later amazing history of the church. In the early 1920's Ratana made triumphant tours around New Zealand, preaching against the superstitions of tohungaism, and, at the peoples' request, taking possession of many objects—articles of clothing, walking sticks, greenstone, carving, etc.—which had
Inside the Museum are the crutches and wheelchairs of those who discarded them after Ratana's ministrations, and such old objects, formerly tapu but made noa by Ratana, as the walking-sticks and spectacles of departed relatives. been regarded with superstitious awe because they had been associated with dead ancestors. In 1925 they finally broke away from the pakeha Christian churches, and established a new church. (Ratana was at first reluctant to do this, but finally said that ‘the church speaks with too many voices. The people [the different Christian denominations] are divided. We must go our own way’.) In 1924 Ratana travelled to England, wishing to tell the King of long-standing political grievances but was referred back to the New Zealand Government. Subsequently he travelled to Japan and the United States. In 1928 the Temple was built, a formidable achievement. This is the central symbol of the Faith, and when it was first built it must have looked rather like a cathedral in a medieval village, towering over the humble dwellings which clustered around it in Ratana Pa. Today the old houses at Ratana Pa are being rapidly replaced by new ones, and many other signs of the transitional times forty or thirty years ago have also disappeared. But the membership of the Ratana Church in this new age is still, in spite of Ratana's death in 1939, much the same as it has been for thirty years. In 1926, it was 11,567 (18% of the Maori Race), and ten years later it was 16,337. In 1956 the census returns gave membership as 18,776; this is approximately 13% of the Maori population. At the annual hui last January, when the photographs accompanying this article were taken, 7,000 people, coming from most parts of New Zealand, gathered at Ratana Pa. Except for the nature of its religious services and political discussions, the hui had much in common with the other large gatherings which are becoming increasingly common in Maori-dom today. Like these others, Ratana meetings serve also as social gatherings, with cultural competitions, talent quests, dances for the young people, and a chance for old friends to get together again. Many of the facts in this article are taken from the book ‘Ratana’, by J. McLeod Henderson, written in 1955 as a thesis for a university degree. The book has not been published, but typewritten copies are available at some of the main libraries.
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Te Ao Hou, March 1963, Page 36
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456Against Superstition Te Ao Hou, March 1963, Page 36
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The Secretary Maori Purposes Fund Board
C/- Te Puni Kokiri
PO Box 3943
WELLINGTON
Phone: (04) 922 6000
Email: MB-RPO-MPF@tpk.govt.nz