Pāora Te Potangaroa
Pāora Te Potangaroa (died 1881) was a Māori prophet and leader of the Rangitāne in the Wairarapa region of the North Island. Not a lot is known about his life, but in 1881 he predicted a church would come for Māori.
In 1878 he led the building of a large carved meeting house, Ngā Tau e Waru, at Te Ore Ore Marae near Masterton. He disagreed with Te Kere Ngatai-e-rua, another prophet and carver, who left the project and predicted it would take eight years to finish. The house was completed by 1881, and Pāora named it Ngā Tau e Waru to mark the eight-year delay.
In March 1881 thousands of Ngāti Hamua gathered for a meeting at Ngā Tau e Waru. Pāora spoke about what he saw as the spiritual weakness of Christian missionaries. When asked about a church for Māori, he withdrew for three days of fasting and prayer.
He reconvened on March 16 and said he had received knowledge of a coming church for Māori. He spoke of a religion that would emerge for Māori and described signs that would mark its arrival. One version said missionaries would travel in pairs from the rising sun, visit Māori homes, learn the language, and teach in Māori, raising their right hands when praying.
Pāora also wrote He Kawenata, “the covenant,” which listed signs to show his prophecy would be fulfilled within forty years. It spoke of 1881 as the day of the fulness, 1882 as a year of sealing, 1883 as a year of great faith, and of a sacred church with a large wall around it. The covenant was sealed in a monument at Te Ore Ore.
Pāora died shortly after making the prophecy. Later in 1881, missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) began contacting Ngāti Kahungunu. Some Māori who joined Mormonism believed this fulfilled Potangaroa’s prophecy: 1881 the fullness of the gospel, 1882 sealing ordinances learned in Māori, and the Salt Lake Temple as the sacred church with a wall.
By 1883, hundreds of Ngāti Kahungunu in the Wairarapa had joined the LDS Church. An LDS apostle later claimed that by 1921 only Ngāti Kahungunu had received temple ordinances, with others following after the forty-year covenant period.
Other groups also seen as fulfilling the prophecy include the Ratana church, the Ringatū church, and the Church of the Seven Rules of Jehovah.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 07:16 (CET).