R¯atana celebrates without the politicians
The numbers were down, media policing was up – but the colour and love remained at Ra¯ tana Pa¯ .
There was no official political contingent but annual birthday celebrations for TW Ra¯ tana, founder of the Ra¯ tana Church, began yesterday at the church’s spiritual centre, Ra¯ tana Pa¯ – a tiny village south of Whanganui.
Numbers at yesterday’s event, which normally runs the day after the nation’s political leaders strut their stuff in front of the Ma¯ ori world, appeared down this year.
It comes after bitter internal disagreements in the church over its future leadership saw politicians dis-invited by the church’s executive committee.
Despite this, the event still held importance for the likes of Ra¯ tana resident Hine Maraku, standing on a road in the village awaiting the arrival of marching bands, who said she had been going to the commemorations since she was born there ‘‘coming up 40 years’’ ago. Her grandfather was the secretary for church founder TW Ra¯ tana, she said.
She said there were fewer people at the event this year, but the celebrations had always been about the younger generations.
The church has hosted politicians since 1929. This year was the first time the political element was cancelled.
Internal disagreements also appeared to have spilled over into visiting media, with organisers requiring Stuff to sign a media accreditation agreement that would make it run a lengthy disclaimer ‘‘prominently’’ at the top of any story. The 49-word disclaimer stated that the opinions of people interviewed in the story did not necessarily reflect the official policy of the church or its national executive.
Organisers said this disclaimer, which was written specifically for Stuff on the spot, was the only way accreditation would be granted as Stuff had not applied on time for accreditation. It appears that no other media had been asked to run a disclaimer. The Stuff reporter did not sign the accreditation form.