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4th October 2003, 23:42
You requested an essay; here it is...
James Belich argues that 'Maori did convert to Christianity, but they also converted it'. Discuss with reference to at least two Maori prophetic movements in the nineteenth century.
Throughout the vast changes in New Zealand society that occurred in the nineteenth century, the Maori were active participants in shaping their own destiny. This pertains particularly to religion. Despite vast missionary pressure, throughout the century, the Maori refused to convert absolutely to Christianity, instead ‘converting Christianity’, adapting the Pakeha religion and adding it to their own religion . This conversion can be seen even in the relationship between the early Anglican missionaries and their Maori hosts, resulting in Elsmore’s so-called “adjustment movements” , such as Papahurihia, but is best exposed in the Maori prophetic movements born out of the tumultuous warfare of the 1860s, in particular, Pai Marire and Ringatu, each adhering, in parts, to Christian doctrine, but also incorporating their own traditional values . The Maori ‘converted Christianity’ as much as they were converted to Christianity.
The Early Maori conversion to Christianity was a slow and halting process . For the first fifteen years of Anglican activity in the nation, from 1814, “Christian influence on the Maori was minor” . However, as the balance of power within the nation shifted, so too did the rate of religious conversion . The advantages the missionaries brought, such as literacy and trade, seemed inextricably tied to their religion; Belich comments that “[To the Maori] Their [Pakeha] Gods were likely to be useful as well” , resulting in conversions based upon the traditional Maori concept of atua . And, so, the process of Maori conversion to Christianity began, not through rigid monotheist replacement, but through polytheist synthesis, a process Belich terms “incorporation” . The consensus seems clear that full Maori conversion was no more than a myth in the pre-Treaty period . Certainly, some Maori were baptised, and we may assume that many of these were full converts; however, Maori religion and traditions were rarely fully supplanted by the missionaries’ faith, and the missionaries’ estimates of up to a total of 103,700 converts are, as Belich shows, clearly inflated . Maori Christianity was, in Belich’s words, “very versatile”; Maori did not blindly accept missionaries’ doctrine, instead building a syncretic faith . The Maori converted and adapted Christianity.
This adaptive process can be seen in the Maori prophetic movements born out of this cultural conflict. These fell into two distinct classes; those aiming merely to reconcile Christianity with Maori thought, true “adjustment movements”, and those that were true ‘conversions’ of Christianity, actively renouncing aspects of the Bible that stood against their synthesised doctrine . The best example of this latter kind, in this early period, can be found in Papahurihia . This religious movement, founded in the Bay of Islands around 1833, rejected much of the New Testament outright, declaring the Anglican missionaries to be “He kai Kohuru” (deceitful murderers) . Papahurihia, the movement’s founder and namesake, was a traditional Maori matakite who served later as Hone Heke’s tohunga, and the religion he coined worshipped and followed a spirit named Te Nakahi, the Serpent . This shares much with the ngarara traditional Maori tohunga invoked, but remains a conversion of Christianity; the word ‘Nakahi’ is derived from the Hebrew Nahash, and there is Biblical precedent for a serpent-spirit in both the books of Genesis and Exodus . From 1836, Papahurihia identified the plight of the Maori with that of the Jews as chronicled in the Old-Testament, and could thus be seen as a conversion of Judaism, not Christianity . However, as Elsmore points out, the ‘Hurai’ had little of the Old Testament available to them, instead piecing together a bastardisation of Judaism from references to the religion in the New Testament, and is thus most definitely a conversion of Christianity. It must also be noted that Papahurihia was one of the most ‘unchristian’ of early Maori religious movements, as can be seen when it is compared with, for example, Te Toroa’s zealous variant of Christianity, the worship of Te Wheawheu .
Greatly influenced by Papahurihia was the later movement of Pai Marire, a movement born out of the more overt conflicts of the 1860s. Contemporary Pakeha rarely connected ‘Hauhauism’ with Christianity, seeing it as “flimsy” and its adherents as “fanatics” . However, this simplistic view betrays an ignorance of Pai Marire theology, which draws heavily upon Judeo-Christian elements . On a simplistic level, Pai Marire could be described as a form of pseudo-Judaism; “New Zealand is Canaan. The Maoris are Jews. The books of Moses are their law” . This is, however, an over-simplification, as Te Ua Haumene based his beliefs not merely on the Old Testament, injecting also both Christian gospel and his own unique cultural values . Pai Marire was born out of a vision in which the prophet Te Ua was visited by the Archangel Gabriel, amongst others, including perhaps the Archangel Michael . Gabriel is unique to the New Testament Christian scripture, appearing only in the gospels of Daniel and Luke , and thus we can be certain that Te Ua was influenced by the New Testament, a claim further supported by the early focus placed on “love and peace” . Much of ‘Hauhauism’ was, indeed, not of Judeo-Christian origin at all; the Niu poles, for example, can be traced back to Papahurihia and no further . The beliefs of the Tiu were clearly syncretic, adapting and adopting Judeo-Christianity, but never wholly converting, often rejecting missionaries outright , as can be seen in the killing of the missionary, Volkner . Elsmore identifies three sources of Pai Marire monotheist belief; the Old Testament, the New Testament and a fusion of Judeo-Christian and traditional Maori beliefs exemplified by ‘Gabriel Rura’ . This conversion of Christian scripture slowly rejected Jesus, eventually declared him to be the God of the Pakeha, not of the Tiu , and, in 1864, “denounced the New Testament as an entire fallacy” , although accepting some millenarian beliefs . An adaptation of Christianity suited to both “peace and war”, Pai Marire flourished and expanded, becoming, in a sense, a “Maori National Church” .
Another conversion of Christianity born out of the New Zealand Wars was that founded by Te Kooti Arikirangi Te Turuki; Ringatu, the Upraised Hand. In December 1866, while imprisoned in the Chatham Islands, Te Kooti fell ill, most probably with tuberculosis, and, on the 21st of February the next year, had a vision of a flaming lizard, which he interpreted as the Spirit of God . Elsmore believes that this “occured in classic Old Testament tradition” , and we can be certain that Te Kooti had both widely read the full Maori translation of the Old Testament, first available in 1858, and been instructed on Biblical lore as a student of the Church Missionary Society . Like Te Ua, Te Kooti believed that the Maori were descendents of the Lost Tribes of Israel, and his visions were thus fairly rapidly accepted by the Pai Marire believers Te Kooti was imprisoned with . Although drawing much from Christianity, Te Kooti rejected the written word, relying instead upon the Maori oral tradition . His followers have drawn parallels between Te Kooti and both Moses and Jesus, but Ringatu was “not the…Church of England.” Ringatu was a conversion of Christianity, retaining elements of Scripture, but rejecting others, reviving instead traditional Maori beliefs .
Belich’s statement holds true for the first hundred years of contact. The Maori adapted Christianity, converting it to fit their own moral structure. After this period, the weight of Pakeha immigration resulted in growing rates of full conversion, although certain prophetic ‘conversions’, such as Ratana, survive to this day . The Maori adopted Christianity, but more often than not, created new, syncretic, religions adopting parts of each faith; their own tradition, and the Pakeha tradition. The Maori did convert to Christianity, but they also converted it.
[University of Auckland, History 122, Second coursework essay, semester 1, 2003. Grade: A]
James Belich argues that 'Maori did convert to Christianity, but they also converted it'. Discuss with reference to at least two Maori prophetic movements in the nineteenth century.
Throughout the vast changes in New Zealand society that occurred in the nineteenth century, the Maori were active participants in shaping their own destiny. This pertains particularly to religion. Despite vast missionary pressure, throughout the century, the Maori refused to convert absolutely to Christianity, instead ‘converting Christianity’, adapting the Pakeha religion and adding it to their own religion . This conversion can be seen even in the relationship between the early Anglican missionaries and their Maori hosts, resulting in Elsmore’s so-called “adjustment movements” , such as Papahurihia, but is best exposed in the Maori prophetic movements born out of the tumultuous warfare of the 1860s, in particular, Pai Marire and Ringatu, each adhering, in parts, to Christian doctrine, but also incorporating their own traditional values . The Maori ‘converted Christianity’ as much as they were converted to Christianity.
The Early Maori conversion to Christianity was a slow and halting process . For the first fifteen years of Anglican activity in the nation, from 1814, “Christian influence on the Maori was minor” . However, as the balance of power within the nation shifted, so too did the rate of religious conversion . The advantages the missionaries brought, such as literacy and trade, seemed inextricably tied to their religion; Belich comments that “[To the Maori] Their [Pakeha] Gods were likely to be useful as well” , resulting in conversions based upon the traditional Maori concept of atua . And, so, the process of Maori conversion to Christianity began, not through rigid monotheist replacement, but through polytheist synthesis, a process Belich terms “incorporation” . The consensus seems clear that full Maori conversion was no more than a myth in the pre-Treaty period . Certainly, some Maori were baptised, and we may assume that many of these were full converts; however, Maori religion and traditions were rarely fully supplanted by the missionaries’ faith, and the missionaries’ estimates of up to a total of 103,700 converts are, as Belich shows, clearly inflated . Maori Christianity was, in Belich’s words, “very versatile”; Maori did not blindly accept missionaries’ doctrine, instead building a syncretic faith . The Maori converted and adapted Christianity.
This adaptive process can be seen in the Maori prophetic movements born out of this cultural conflict. These fell into two distinct classes; those aiming merely to reconcile Christianity with Maori thought, true “adjustment movements”, and those that were true ‘conversions’ of Christianity, actively renouncing aspects of the Bible that stood against their synthesised doctrine . The best example of this latter kind, in this early period, can be found in Papahurihia . This religious movement, founded in the Bay of Islands around 1833, rejected much of the New Testament outright, declaring the Anglican missionaries to be “He kai Kohuru” (deceitful murderers) . Papahurihia, the movement’s founder and namesake, was a traditional Maori matakite who served later as Hone Heke’s tohunga, and the religion he coined worshipped and followed a spirit named Te Nakahi, the Serpent . This shares much with the ngarara traditional Maori tohunga invoked, but remains a conversion of Christianity; the word ‘Nakahi’ is derived from the Hebrew Nahash, and there is Biblical precedent for a serpent-spirit in both the books of Genesis and Exodus . From 1836, Papahurihia identified the plight of the Maori with that of the Jews as chronicled in the Old-Testament, and could thus be seen as a conversion of Judaism, not Christianity . However, as Elsmore points out, the ‘Hurai’ had little of the Old Testament available to them, instead piecing together a bastardisation of Judaism from references to the religion in the New Testament, and is thus most definitely a conversion of Christianity. It must also be noted that Papahurihia was one of the most ‘unchristian’ of early Maori religious movements, as can be seen when it is compared with, for example, Te Toroa’s zealous variant of Christianity, the worship of Te Wheawheu .
Greatly influenced by Papahurihia was the later movement of Pai Marire, a movement born out of the more overt conflicts of the 1860s. Contemporary Pakeha rarely connected ‘Hauhauism’ with Christianity, seeing it as “flimsy” and its adherents as “fanatics” . However, this simplistic view betrays an ignorance of Pai Marire theology, which draws heavily upon Judeo-Christian elements . On a simplistic level, Pai Marire could be described as a form of pseudo-Judaism; “New Zealand is Canaan. The Maoris are Jews. The books of Moses are their law” . This is, however, an over-simplification, as Te Ua Haumene based his beliefs not merely on the Old Testament, injecting also both Christian gospel and his own unique cultural values . Pai Marire was born out of a vision in which the prophet Te Ua was visited by the Archangel Gabriel, amongst others, including perhaps the Archangel Michael . Gabriel is unique to the New Testament Christian scripture, appearing only in the gospels of Daniel and Luke , and thus we can be certain that Te Ua was influenced by the New Testament, a claim further supported by the early focus placed on “love and peace” . Much of ‘Hauhauism’ was, indeed, not of Judeo-Christian origin at all; the Niu poles, for example, can be traced back to Papahurihia and no further . The beliefs of the Tiu were clearly syncretic, adapting and adopting Judeo-Christianity, but never wholly converting, often rejecting missionaries outright , as can be seen in the killing of the missionary, Volkner . Elsmore identifies three sources of Pai Marire monotheist belief; the Old Testament, the New Testament and a fusion of Judeo-Christian and traditional Maori beliefs exemplified by ‘Gabriel Rura’ . This conversion of Christian scripture slowly rejected Jesus, eventually declared him to be the God of the Pakeha, not of the Tiu , and, in 1864, “denounced the New Testament as an entire fallacy” , although accepting some millenarian beliefs . An adaptation of Christianity suited to both “peace and war”, Pai Marire flourished and expanded, becoming, in a sense, a “Maori National Church” .
Another conversion of Christianity born out of the New Zealand Wars was that founded by Te Kooti Arikirangi Te Turuki; Ringatu, the Upraised Hand. In December 1866, while imprisoned in the Chatham Islands, Te Kooti fell ill, most probably with tuberculosis, and, on the 21st of February the next year, had a vision of a flaming lizard, which he interpreted as the Spirit of God . Elsmore believes that this “occured in classic Old Testament tradition” , and we can be certain that Te Kooti had both widely read the full Maori translation of the Old Testament, first available in 1858, and been instructed on Biblical lore as a student of the Church Missionary Society . Like Te Ua, Te Kooti believed that the Maori were descendents of the Lost Tribes of Israel, and his visions were thus fairly rapidly accepted by the Pai Marire believers Te Kooti was imprisoned with . Although drawing much from Christianity, Te Kooti rejected the written word, relying instead upon the Maori oral tradition . His followers have drawn parallels between Te Kooti and both Moses and Jesus, but Ringatu was “not the…Church of England.” Ringatu was a conversion of Christianity, retaining elements of Scripture, but rejecting others, reviving instead traditional Maori beliefs .
Belich’s statement holds true for the first hundred years of contact. The Maori adapted Christianity, converting it to fit their own moral structure. After this period, the weight of Pakeha immigration resulted in growing rates of full conversion, although certain prophetic ‘conversions’, such as Ratana, survive to this day . The Maori adopted Christianity, but more often than not, created new, syncretic, religions adopting parts of each faith; their own tradition, and the Pakeha tradition. The Maori did convert to Christianity, but they also converted it.
[University of Auckland, History 122, Second coursework essay, semester 1, 2003. Grade: A]