Te Kooti

Te Kooti's abandoned house of prayer in Awahou, Rotorua, 1922

Te Kooti Arikirangi Te Turuki (* 1820 , † 1891 ) was a leader of the Māori in New Zealand and is known as the founder of Ringatu - religion .

Life

Te Kooti's early years are unclear. He was born in the Gisborne region.

In 1865 Te Kooti fought for the British government forces against the local Māori of the Pai Marire tribe . He was then arrested as a spy and the Chatham Islands into exile sent, along with Maori, which he had fought before. He was never properly convicted, however, and he used every opportunity to loudly demand a hearing in front of the court. His Māori name Te Kooti is probably a loan word from a possible English nickname The Courty.

Before he had to go into exile, Te Kooti operated trading boats between Auckland and Gisborne, making him a direct competitor of a well-known Pākehā , a European New Zealander. Its influence is now seen as another reason why he went into exile without trial.

Te Kooti allegedly experienced visions in exile. It is said that he also used sleight of hand , like matchstick heads, to keep his hand burning. Many were deeply impressed by this and reported on his skills in New Zealand, and from the Chatham Islands Te Kooti became a well-known religious leader and founder of the Ringatu (Raised Hand) religion , which found many followers and is still present in New Zealand society today .

On July 4, 1868, Te Kooti led a prison escape, and together with 168 prisoners they managed to hijack a schooner and reach the mainland. On the strict orders of Te Kooti, ​​the Pākehā were spared, there was only one dead. The schooner's sailors also survived, even if they tried to sail to Wellington instead of the requested east coast of the North Island, which Te Kooti noticed.

Te Kooti tried after his arrival in Whareongaonga in Poverty Bay to establish contacts with both Māori leaders and the British colonial government, but was rejected in each case. Probably out of anger at this, he attacked the settlement of Matawhero near Gisborne on November 10, 1868. About 54 people were killed, including women and children, and 22 Māori , not just European settlers. This attack is now seen as an act of revenge for his imprisonment without conviction as an alleged spy.

Te Kooti was then persecuted by both colonial forces and Māori. Several times he was able to flee with his supporters. In several fights there were again deaths. Ultimately, however, he managed to find accommodation in the north of the North Island of New Zealand and to live under the protection of the King of the Māori and to develop his religion further.

In 1883, Te Kooti was pardoned by the government and he began touring New Zealand and his following grew steadily. Today the Ringatu religious community has around 16,000 people.

literature

• Judith Binney : Redemption Songs: A Life of the Nineteenth-Century Maori Leader Te Kooti Arikirangi Turuki. University of Hawaii Press, 1997, ISBN 0824819756