Te Kooti

DESCRIPTION: "The Pahekas [Europeans] came with their rum and their god, And soon the broad lands of our fathers were sold, But the voice of Te Kooti said, 'Hold the land! Hold!' Exult for Te Kooti e-ha!" The story of how he was oppressed is retold
AUTHOR: Words: Probably Arthur Desmond
EARLIEST DATE: 1889 (Sydney Bulletin)
KEYWORDS: New Zealand battle freedom
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
1893 - Death of Te Kooti
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Bailey/Roth-ShantiesByTheWay-NZ, pp. 87-88, "The Song of Te Kooti" (1 text)
Colquhoun-NZ-Folksongs-SongOfAYoungCountry, p. 39 in the 1972 edition, "Te Kooti, E Ha" (1 text, 1 tune); dropped from the 2010 edition
RECORDINGS:
Barbie, Neal, Megan, and Simon [Colquhoun], "Te Kooti, E Ha" (on NZSongYngCntry)
NOTES [1431 words]: Both Bailey/Roth-ShantiesByTheWay-NZ and Colquhoun attribute their texts to the 1889 Sydney Bulletin, yet they differ substantially. I have no way to explain the difference.
The story of the colonizers' treatment of the Maori much resembles the American mistreatment of the original inhabitants of North America: There was a treaty, the Treaty of Waitangi -- the "Waters of Lamentation" (Sinclair, p. 70). Many Maori leaders argued that it was too late to simply expel the white men, so the Treaty was signed on February 9, 1840.
And then, of course, the white men started exploiting and pushing back the Maoris.
Some resisted. Te Kooti had been imprisoned, probably unfairly, and escaped in 1868 and founded a nativized variant on Christianity, "Ringatu" (from Maori "ringa+tū," "hands-raised up," as if in prayer, according to NewZealandDictionary, p. 227; it "required no churches... the local church leaders were elected, and there were no formal articles of faith. The faith did, however, incorporate a number of traditional Maori practices"; Jackson/McRobie, p. 201). But he also attacked the Europeans, causing much slaughter before he was driven away. This represented the end of the Maori Wars. (Sinclair, p. 145). He came to be remembered as a sort of Maori Robin Hood.
Maddock, p. 103, has a drawing of Te Kooti, and tells his story, "[I]n 1868, Arakirangi Te Kooti escaped from the Chatham Islands where he had been imprisoned, without trial, for two years on suspicion of furnishing rebels with arms. During that time a vision inspired him to found the Ringatu Church (still strong today in areas of Maoridom), which... blended aspects of Pakeha Christianity with others of Maori spiritual belief, drawing a close analogy between their plight and that of the captive Children of Israel. Evading what seems to have been a not very vigilant guard... Te Kooti and some compatriots commandeered a schooner and made safe passage to home ground near Gisborne, where their arrival cause considerable alarm.
"Colonial defenses were now largely the business of volunteer militia... [who] inflicted a considerable reverse upon Te Kooti, who, in revenge, struck back shortly after at the rural settlement of Matawhai. There, 70 people, 37 Maori and 33 Pakeha, were slain in what is referred to by writers of opposing viewpoints as either a massacre or a retaliation.
"For years to come, as the prophet and his people were hounded from one desolate hiding place to another, the very name 'Te Kooti' would strike terror into Pakeha hearts."
Mein Smith, p. 74, says, "Te Kooti Arikiirangi Te Turuki... is remembered as a prophet who defied injustice. From 1865 his iwi [tribe/clan], Ngati Porou, were split between a government facton of kupapa Maori and Pai Mariri supporters. Te Kooti had fought on the government's side, but was arrested with hundreds of Pai Mariri followers and imprisoned on the Chatham Islands without trial as a suspected spy. There he founded his own religion, Ringatu, or the Upraised Hand, and engineered a brilliant escape with 300 followers to New Zealand in 1868. Pursued by colonial and kupapa troops, he waged guerilla war, escaping to the remote Urewera district, until he finally took refuge in 1872 in the King Country, becoming the colony's most wanted outlaw.... Surrounded by ambiguities, neither chief nor tribal leader, he lived in exile yet, unlike other outlaws, he received a pardon. He became the subject of narrative fiction, astride his white horse, even before his death. Two of New Zealand's earliest films were Rewei's Last Stand, and The Te Kooti Trail, shot by Rudall Hayward in 1927."
Ell, p. 254, in the entry "Te Kooti Rikirangi (?1830-93) says,
"This often-maligned warrior, against whom the last pitched battles were fought in 1870, spent his last 20 years in seclusion developing his faith of Ringatu. The religion is still widely practiced in Maoridom, particularly on the East Coast. Te Kooti actually fought against the Hau Hau [a Maori sect founded by Te Ua Haumene, whose members cried out 'Hapa, hapa paimariri hau' as they went into battle; NewZealandEncyclopedia, p. 246] with the colonial forces in 1865, but was arrested as a suspected spy and shipped without trial to the Chatham Islands. His resentment, coupled with his powers of leadership, led to his leading an escape of Hau Hau prisoners who sailed back to New Zealand aboard a captured schooner. Te Kooti's religious fervour and leadership were enhanced when he sacrificed a relative to placate an ocean storm en route. Authority was awaiting the escapers and there were ensuing battlers in the Poverty Bay hills. From there Te Kooti led his force against those whom he believed had wronged him. They murdered 33 British and 27 Maori in Poverty Bay before carrying the war through the Urewera country and on to Taupo. Te Kooti escaped the final fight at Te Porere beneath Tongariro in 1870 and in 1871 took shelter behind the Confiscation Line, in the King Country, with the Maori King. From there he exercised his influence as a religious leader of the Ringatu cult, a faith derived from Hau Hauism, Christianity and Judaism.... Te Kooti was pardoned in 1883. His story is told in Te Kooti Rikirangi: general and prophet, by W. Hugh Ross (Collins, Auckland, 1966).
NewZealandEncyclopedia, pp. 533-534: "TE KOOTI, Rikiranki To Turuki (c. 1830-93) was a Maori guerilla leader, and the founder of the RIngatu church. He was a ruthless fighter, and for years eluded government forces relentlessly pursuing him through the North Island.... [I]n the cool light of history it has become apparent that he was a remarkable, charismatic leader, who has been more sinned against than sinning.
"He was born near Gisborne of good family but not of chiefly rank, was educated at Waerenga-a-hika Mission School near Gisborne [an Anglican mission, according to Jackson/McRobie, p. 226], spent some time as a horse breaker and then as a seaman. For a period he was commander of a small schooner, trading along the East Coast.
"Te Kooti actually supported the Pakehas at the siege of Waerenga-a-hika in 1865, but immediately afterward he was accused of supplying the Hauhau rebels" with supplies and information. Refused a trial, "One story is that he gained his name 'Te Kooti' from his fellow prisoners, who overheard him persistently asking to be taken to court." Imprisoned on the Chathams, he studied the Old Testament and founded Ringatu after claiming a revelation. So he escaped and took up the fight against the Europeans, after being attacked at Ruakitiri Gorge, and "decided that he would demonstrate that he was not a man to be trifled with, and in November 1868 attacked Matawhero, killing 33 Europeans and 37 friendly Maoris. Closely pursued by troops, he took up a position on Ngatapa Hill. [Colonel] Whitmore attacked and, after a three-day siege, drove him out into the Urewera Bush." After the battle, 120 of his followers were executed.
"For the next three years Te Kooti was harassed and pursued by government forces and colonials," fighting an effective guerilla war. He then went into the King Country, where he expounded Ringatu, making no attempt to fight the Europeans. He was pardoned in 1883, although people were still so afraid of him that he had to cancel a visit to Gisborne in 1889.
"Te Kooti has been persistently linked with the fanatical Hauhau sect, mainly because he adopted the upraised hand symbol, not as in the case of the Hauhaus as a means of protection from bullets, but as an act of homage to God. It was easy to transfer the Hauhau image to Te Kooti, because he was so intensely feared.... He was a small man, softly spoken and gentle in manner, and his Ringatu Church, still influential in the Bay of Plenty, is also noted for its quiet and dignified ritual."
McLauchlan, p. 77, has almost nothing about the actual history of Te Kooti, but tells us "Te Kooti was at first seen as a kind of bogeyman by settlers but became a mythic figure, the hero of many tales and captured in fiction by Maurice Shadbolt." This is, I believe, a reference to Shadbolt's novel "Season of the Jew," which is a fictionalized account of Te Kooti's career.
There is at least one other song pertaining to Te Kooti mentioned in the Index, "The Row at the Waikato" by Charles R. Thatcher, which opens, ""A panic's been raging up in town, News from the Waikato has just come down, That Te Kooti, a warrior of renown, Is going to do the settlers brown." It is set to the tune of "The Cork Leg"; see the Same Tune data in that song for references. - RBW
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