Taupotiki Wiremu Ratana (1870-1939) was the founder of the Ratana Church and a major force in the spiritual, political, and material development of the New Zealand Maori people.

Taupotiki Wiremu (Bill) Ratana was born on January 25, 1870, to Urukohai, or Wiremu Kowhai, a farmer reputedly possessed of prophetic powers, and Ihipera. His upbringing appears to have given little indication of the role he was later to play, although the formative influence of an aunt, Mere Rikiriki, should be noted. She was renowned as something of a prophet, and in 1912 she indicated that her nephew would become the focus of the aspirations and striving of his people.

His relative lack of formal education--he ended his school career in the fourth grade--served to distinguish him from other Maori leaders such as those active in the Young Maori Party, but this lack of a high level of European style education did not...