Ringatu

The Ringatu faith - a treasure When he was exiled to the Chatham Islands on trumped-up charges, Te Kooti shaped the Ringatu religion from the Old Testament as a means of resistance and endurance, modelling it on the exile of the Israelites who had to fight to regain their bountiful valleys. Later he added the peaceful faith of Jesus to adapt it to the times of peace. This faith is the treasure he is referring to here, a faith that had been nurtured with the support of the Tuhoe people. The company of travellers setting out on this new journey are his Ringatu followers.  Te Kooti composed this adaptation of Pinepine in 1887, after a final unsuccessful attempt to visit the East Coast. He had hoped to attend a gathering to be held near Gisborne on the 1st of January 1888, at a meeting-house named Rongopai which had been built and adorned to receive him. Prevented yet again from returning to the region where he had been born and had grown up, he sent his song instead.