Daniel Libeskind
said that “to provide meaningful architecture is not to parody history, but to
articulate it”.[1]
This infers that all meaningful architecture is not only a product of its time,
but also something that captures the essence of its zeitgeist. With this in mind, if we examine the Hiona
Council House, designed by Rua Kenana in 1907, it becomes obvious that this
building is not only significant as a great example of Ringatu meeting house
architecture, but also an emblem showing the importance of leadership and
community within the Maungapohatu settlement. Hence, it is an icon for the
state of society just a few decades after the New Zealand Wars.
Figure 1: 1908. Alexander Turnbull
Library. Available from:
http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/2726/rua-kenana-at-maungapohatu
(accessed April 28, 2014)
For some Maori
leaders the time of the New Zealand wars, and the period in the decades
following it, were a chance to demonstrate the power and spirituality of their
people through the use of built forms.[2]
The Ringatu faith, founded by Te Kooti Arikirangi,[3]
gave rise to many architectural opportunities. The appropriation of biblical
ideas was usually shown in Ringatu architecture; but they were founded on Maori
concepts, and acted to empower the Maori people and their religious leaders,
not to show assimilation with Pakeha.[4]
The Hiona Council House is an excellent example of such Ringatu architecture.
After Te Kooti had prophesised of a “new leader [from] the east”, Rua Kenana
rose up with the claim that this prophecy referred to him. In an attempt to
prove his legitimacy as King and Messiah,[5]
the Hiona Council House was modelled after the house of the King: Solomon’s
biblical courthouse. Its wooden structure, interior layout, narrow windows and
two entrances all followed the Temple’s description in Scripture,[6]
and Jerusalem’s Dome of the Rock was a probable precedent for its rotund form.[7]
Hiona, which translates literally as
“Zion”, stood in the inner sanctum and tapu area of the pa by Maungapohatu, the
historic mountain of the Tuhoe.[8]
This location thus shows the building’s importance within the development.
However, Rua intended it to be important within a wider New Zealand context as well;
Hiona Council House was his planned replacement for the Wellington Parliament
Building after he foresaw that a two-storied building in his settlement would
succeed this. When the Parliament Building burnt down in a fire just after
Rua’s prophecy was made, his legitimacy was increased with this seeming
fulfilment of his vision.[9]
These inclusions of biblical references, and the reactions to them in the form
of belief in Rua, show that Christianity had a great effect among many Maori
people at the time.
Figure 2: James McDonald. 1907.
Alexander Turnbull Library. Available from:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Rua_Kenana_Mihaia_1907.jpg (accessed April
28, 2014).
Rua’s leadership
was also demonstrated through the spatial divisions of the Hiona Council House,
as well as by the painted symbols adorning the building. The mezzanine second
floor level was only accessible by Rua and his family, and the platform on the outside
stairway was the place from which Rua and his twelve apostles would preach.[10]
Initially, this staircase was the only means of access between levels. However,
Rua later had a “fireman’s pole” constructed internally, allowing only one-way
access so as to keep the separation. This separation acted to create a hierarchy
where Rua, his family, and two chiefs were literally above the rest of the
council, and were not only able to cast final judgement on any council made
decisions, but also appeared divine and heavenly.[11]
Similarly, the
sequence of yellow diamonds and blue clubs that was repeated around the windows
of Hiona Council House[12]
not only tied Rua to Te Kooti as his successor, but also had symbolic value
supporting his claim as a leader.[13]
As clubs is the fourth suit in playing cards, they here represented Rua as the
“fourth King”, following the three previous Maori Kings; Te Whiti, Titokowaru
and Te Kooti, as well as the three fallen biblical kings: David, Solomon and
Rehoboam. However, there are many other interpretations of the clubs, such as
the idea that they represent humility, or the Trinity. The yellow diamonds also
had different representations attributed to them; they had appeared on the Dome
on the Rock building, but also supposedly represented the Holy Ghost.[14]
Some believed they symbolised the diamond that Rua claimed to have found with
his first wife Pinepine on the sacred mountain of the Tuhoe.[15]
However, Rua chose never to fully explain the exact meaning of any of the
motifs that adorned the building: this caused people to believe they were in
some way mystical, increasing their belief that Rua was a knowledgeable,
powerful leader.[16]
Many of the people
who believed in Rua came to him at Maungapohatu in order to form a community
that was supposed to become the “New Jerusalem”. Their belief in the community
that Rua was trying to establish is shown not only by the fact that they left
their homes to come to him, but also in the way they all worked together to
construct the Hiona Council House[17]
in a style quite unusual to ordinary Maori architecture.[18]
The interior set up of the Hiona Council House also gives us an idea of how the
community at Maungapohatu functioned, at least in terms of justice and
hierarchy,[19]
and the eventual disuse of the building signifies the unravelling of the
community.[20]
After Rua predicted that White Island would erupt, many families in the lower
lying Whakatane districts sold their properties and stock and came to
Maungapohatu to contribute to the establishment of “New Jerusalem”. The funds
they had raised through the selling of their goods were given to Rua in order
to realise this endeavour.[21]
Part of this establishment was the construction of the buildings that Rua
designed, which the community built together.[22]
The Hiona Council House was one of these buildings. European construction
types, with its shingle roof and weatherboards, heavily inspired it. However,
the use of Pakeha techniques may have been an example of whakanoa, where the
mana of enemies is desecrated.[23]
Since one of Rua’s main political goals was rid the Maori people of Pakeha rule
and establish Maori authority,[24]
it could be said that the very construction of Hiona Council House demonstrates
community support for his idea.
In order for this
idea to come to fruition, however, Rua first needed the community at
Maungapohatu itself to be self-autonomous.[25]
Part of this was having a clear justice system and hierarchy in place, ideas
that are both demonstrated in the interior layout and spatial design of Hiona
Council House. Thrones were set up within the building, the largest of which
was reserved for Rua, in support of his 1915 prophecy that all Kings would sit
in Maungapohatu in the new Millenium. [26]
Moreover, on the lower floor, the “committee of twelve” sat at a round table to
pass judgement on civil and spiritual matters. In this way, the committee all
faced inwards, away from the accused. The circular shape of the table also
allowed a voting paper to be easily passed around, via a pivoted table top.[27]
Rua, a selection of chiefs and his wives meanwhile, were able to hear council
decisions through an opening in the upper floor.[28]
This demonstrates his position at the top of the hierarchy: Rua was privy to
every conversation held at Hiona.
However, the
community at Maungapohatu eventually came to an end. Maungapohatu’s isolation,
as well as changes Rua implemented after his imprisonment in 1915,[29]
meant that many of the people in the community felt that it was time to move
on. Despite the fact that Maungapohatu was intended to be self-autonomous, its
isolation caused problems in terms of the transport of goods. In order to solve
this issue, Rua wanted to build highways that would connect Maungapohatu to
Gisbourne and Rotorua. Unfortunately, this never occurred.[30]
Moreover, after Rua’s imprisonment in 1915, he implemented changes that allowed
the people of Maungapohatu free movement. Previously, he had not authorised
dispersal from Maungapohatu despite the fact that there was, in fact, movement
every summer when many of the community left to work in other parts of the
country. Now, he officially approved such movement in order to allow separation
between the people and God. To further this, he also removed the tapu status from
the area where Hiona Council House stood, causing it to fall into disuse. It was
eventually destroyed in 1918 due to the fact that it stood on the site of
police invasion and the death of his son, and had therefore been desecrated.
The situation at Maungapohatu continued to go downhill after this incident,
with people continually leaving[31]
until Maungapohatu finally emptied in the early 1930s.[32]
Hence, the eventual disuse and destruction of the Hiona Council House also
shows the decline and failure of the community at Maungapohatu.
Figure 3: George Bourne. 1908. Auckland
Institute and Museum. Available from:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Maungapohatu,_city_of_the_mist_1908..jpg
(accessed April 28, 2014)
Hiona Council
House not only demonstrates societal life at Maungapohatu, but also shows some
of the elements that were significant in New Zealand society as a whole at the
time. Through the use of Ringatu architectural elements, the Hiona Council
House fed the beliefs of Rua’s followers; and displayed the importance that
prophecy could have on a population. Its spatial divisions establish Rua as a
leader, and start to show some of the hierarchical divisions that existed
within his community. These divisions also enable an understanding of how
justice worked within a settlement that was intended to be self-autonomous, yet
ultimately failed. In this way, Hiona Council House was an icon not only for
the community of Maungapohatu, but also for the struggles of the Maori people
as they tried to continue their own way of life against Pakeha acts of
assimilation.
Word Count: 1777
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prophet Rua
Kenana and his community at Maungapohatu. 1979. Reprint, Auckland, N.Z.: Oxford
University Press, 1987.
Brown, Deidre. "Iharaira Architecture of Rua Kenana Hepetipa."
In Moorehu
architecture: a thesis submitted in fulfillment
of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Architecture,
University of Auckland.
Auckland: The University of Auckland, 1997. 126-139.
Brown, Deidre. "Ringatu meeting houses." In Māori
architecture: from fale to
wharenui and beyond. Auckland, N.Z.: Raupo, 2009. 58-70.
Hanson, Allan. "Christian Branches, Maori Roots: The Cult of
Rua." History of
Religions 30, no. 2 (1990): 163-172.
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http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/2726/rua-kenana-at-maungapohatu
(accessed April 28, 2014)
George Bourne. 1908. Auckland Institute and Museum. Available from:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Maungapohatu,_city_of_the_mist_1908..jpg
(accessed April 28, 2014)
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Rua_Kenana_Mihaia_1907.jpg
(accessed April 28, 2014).
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[2] Brown, Deidre.
"Ringatu meeting houses." In Māori architecture: from fale to wharenui
and beyond. Auckland, N.Z.: Raupo, 2009. 58-70.
http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/1966/maori-religious-movements/page-2
(accessed April 26, 2014).
Kenana and
his community at Maungapohatu.
1979. Reprint, Auckland, N.Z.: Oxford University Press, 1987.
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a thesis submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor
of Philosophy in Architecture, University of Auckland. Auckland: The University of Auckland, 1997.
126-139.
Architecture."
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[21] Binney, Chaplin and Wallace, Mihaia: the
prophet Rua Kenana and his community at Maungapohatu, 33.
May 2, 2009.
http://www.ngaituhoe.com/Folders/TipunaProfiles.html
[25] Binney, Chaplin and Wallace, Mihaia: the prophet Rua Kenana
and his community at Maungapohatu, 24.
Religions 30, no. 2 (1990): 164-166.
Religions 30, no. 2 (1990): 164.
Religions 30, no. 2 (1990): 167-168.
Religions 30, no. 2 (1990): 168-172.
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