Maori | History, Traditions, Culture, Language, & Facts - Britannica
This historical account provides the basis for traditional Māori social organization and is generally supported by archaeological discoveries, ...
Ringatū
The last of the wars—known to the Europeans as “the fire in the fern” and to the Māori as Te riri Pākehā, “the white man’s anger,”—was fought from 1864 to 1872. Hostilities spread to virtually the whole of North Island. The main Māori combatants in the mid-60s were the fanatic Hauhau warriors. The British government wanted to conclude peace in 1864, but the colonial government, wishing to acquire more land, continued the war and assumed an increasing share of the fighting. In July 1865 Grey led the capture of Weroroa pā in southern Taranaki. European and supporting Māori forces (increasingly numerous after 1864) checked each new effort by the King Movement tribes. From 1868 to 1872 the Hauhau were supplemented by members of a new warrior cult, <anchor>Ringatū</anchor>, founded and led by a guerrilla leader, Te Kooti.
Ringatu | Faith, Meaning, & Beliefs | Britannica
Ringatu \| Faith, Meaning, & Beliefs \| Britannica

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# Ringatū

Maori cult



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Table of Contents


Areas Of Involvement: [Christianity](/topic/Christianity)[religious syncretism](/topic/religious-syncretism)_(Show more)_

Related People: [Te Kooti](/biography/Te-Kooti)_(Show more)_

[See all related content →](/facts/Ringatu)

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**Ringatū**, [Māori](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Maori) [prophetic](https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/prophetic) movement in [New Zealand](https://www.britannica.com/place/New-Zealand). It was founded in 1867 by the Māori guerrilla leader [Te Kooti](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Te-Kooti) (1830–93) while he was imprisoned in the [Chatham Islands](https://www.britannica.com/place/Chatham-Islands). His deep [Bible](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Bible) study produced a new gentle Māori religion that included traditional taboos and [faith healing](https://www.britannica.com/topic/faith-healing). The movement spread following Te Kooti’s escape to the mainland in 1868 and his pardon in 1883.

Services are held in tribal meetinghouses on Saturdays and on the 12th day of each month, when a love feast and a communion without bread or wine is celebrated. The memorized liturgy includes thematic medleys of Bible verses, songs, chants, and prayers and ends with members raising their right hand in homage (hence Ringatū, or “Upraised Hand”). Te Kooti is celebrated as prophet and [martyr](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/martyr), and Ringatū identified with suffering Israel. The liturgy was first printed in the 1960s as _The Book of the Eight Covenants of God and Prayers of the Ringatu Church_.

[The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica](/editor/The-Editors-of-Encyclopaedia-Britannica/4419)This article was most recently revised and updated by [Jeff Wallenfeldt](/editor/Jeff-Wallenfeldt/6749).