Te Kooti
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Te Kooti Arikirangi Te Turuki (c.1820 - 1891) was a Māori leader and the founder of the Ringatu religion.
Te Kooti's early years are obscure. He was born in the Gisborne region. In 1865 Te Kooti fought for the government forces suppressing the local Māori Pai Marire. However, he was arrested as a spy and exiled to the Chatham Islands, together with the rebels he had been fighting against. He was never tried and took every opportunity to demand a trial, some say he got his name from this, "Kooti" pronounced "Courty", others that it was a Māori version of the last name "Coates". Te Kooti operated a trading boat between Auckland and Gisborne, afterwards operating another boat that traded up the east coast and between Gisborne and Auckland. The fact that he was trading in direct competition to a local Pākehā trader is also given as a reason for his exile without trial. If he did supply the Pai Marire with guns as is alleged, he also took part in a battle against them. There are allegations he fired blanks on this occaision.
While in exile Te Kooti experienced visions and became a religious leader. He also performed some sleight of hand, such as using matchheads to set his hand on fire above the altar during a church service. These tricks swayed the Māori prisoners on Chatham Islands, and when some of the chiefs present on the island were sent back to the mainland, Te Kooti took advantage of the situation to become the local leader. Only Te Kooti's uncle was not impressed by these tricks, which he saw right through.
Expecting a resupply boat, Te Kooti prophesied that two boats would soon arrive to take them off the island. On July 4, 1868 Te Kooti led a dramatic prison break, and together with 168 other prisoners seized the schooner Rifleman, including supplies and rifles, scuttling another and set off back to the North Island. This was a bloodless coup, on Te Kooti's strict orders, except for one Chatham Island sergeant who was killed anyway because of a personal grievance. The Pākehā sailors were allowed to live and set sail for the coast of New Zealand with help from the Māori. The sailors attempted to sail towards Wellington, but with Te Kooti's expertise at sailing were caught and told they would be thrown overboard if they did not keep a course for the East Coast. On the fourth day at sea, the ship was becalmed, and Te Kooti declared that a sacrifice was needed. Te Kooti duly had his uncle thrown overboard and soon afterwards the ship made headway again.
Upon their arrival at Whareongaonga in Poverty Bay, Te Kooti asked the King movement and the Tuhoe tribes for refuge but was rejected. He also sought dialogue with the colonial government but was rebuffed. He sent a statement to the effect that if the government wanted a war, he would give it to them in November.
On November 10, 1868 Te Kooti and his followers attacked the township of Matawhero on the outskirts of Gisborne. Some 54 people were slaughtered, including women and children. The dead included 22 local Māori as well as European settlers. This was probably a revenge attack, motivated by Te Kooti's false imprisonment as a spy.
Te Kooti was then pursued by colonial and sympathetic Māori forces. His community was surrounded at Ngatapa, but the Ngāti Porou contingent refused to fight him and Te Kooti and his warriors managed to escape. Te Kooti escaped into the Urewera and made an alliance with the Tuhoe leadership.
From 1869 to 1872 Te Kooti and his followers raided throughout the central North Island while being pursued by their colonial and Māori enemies. His power was only broken once his Tuhoe allies were systematically conquered by his enemies. But once again Te Kooti managed to escape, this time to the King Country where he spent the next decade under the protection of the Māori King. Te Kooti used this time to develop his religion.
In 1883 Te Kooti was pardoned by the government and began to travel New Zealand. His followers grew and he decided to return to his old home. However, his past deeds had not been forgotten and the local magistrate arrested him and imprisoned him, citing an anticipatory breach of the peace. Te Kooti was released on the condition that he never again try to return to his old home. Te Kooti appealed this decision, and was initially successful, but in 1890 the Court of Appeal ruled that the terror and alarm that Te Kooti's reappearance would have entailed justified the magistrates decision. No doubt the Court was influenced by Te Kooti's preferred mode of transport, a white charger, and his large entourage.
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[edit] References
Te Kooti is the subject of an excellent biography by Judith Binney, Redemption songs: a life of Te Kooti Arikirangi Te Turuki, Auckland, 1995 and also Maurice Shadbolt's novel Season of the Jew.
