Te Kooti

Te Kooti

Te Kooti Arikirangi Te Turuki (Gisborne, c. 1832–1893) was a Māori leader, the founder of the Ringatu religion and guerrilla.

While fighting alongside government forces against the Hauhau in 1865, he was accused of spying. Exiled to the Chatham Islands without trial along with captured Hauhau, he experienced visions and became a religious leader. In 1868 he led the escape of 168 prisoners, seizing the schooner Rifleman and sailing back to the North Island where he began a series of raids. He was pardoned in 1883.