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Lilia Tarawa

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Lilia Tarawa
Tarawa in 2019
Born (1990-10-24) 24 October 1990 (age 34)[1]
Gloriavale Christian Community, West Coast, New Zealand
Years active2017–present
Notable workDaughter of Gloriavale (book)
I grew up in a cult. It was heaven – and hell. (TEDx Talk)
Websitehttps://www.liliatarawa.com/

Lilia Tarawa is a New Zealand speaker, author, entrepreneur, and influencer. Tarawa grew up in the Gloriavale Christian Community on New Zealand's West Coast, but left the community with her parents and siblings in 2009.[2] In 2017 Tarawa published her book Daughter of Gloriavale[3]

Biography

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For the first 18 years of her life, Tarawa lived in the Gloriavale Christian Community.[4] Tarawa said she felt "brainwashed" but struggled with the restrictions placed on her by the Gloriavale community.[5][6][7]

In her book, Tarawa describes how Neville Cooper, the leader of Gloriavale, believed women were ready for marriage and sex when they began their menstrual cycle.[8][9] Tarawa says it was only the New Zealand marriage laws which stopped marriages before the age of 16. Tarawa says Cooper "would have happily married off children of 10 or 12 years" if the law allowed it.[10] At 18 years old, two incidents altered her perspective on Gloriavale. These included witnessing a young boy being violently punished with a leather belt. Another was her best friend being told she had to marry an Indian boy she had never met because Gloriavale planned to open a chapter in India.[11]

In 2009, Tarawa and her family, including her father, her mother, and her six younger siblings left Gloriavale with all their possessions. They joined Tarawa's three other siblings, who had escaped Gloriavale as teenagers.[12] Tarawa believed for years leaving Gloriavale meant she would go to hell.[13]

After escaping Gloriavale

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In 2017, eight years after leaving Gloriavale, Tarawa's six younger siblings still lived at home with their parents in Canterbury. Her siblings were involved in kapa haka and basketball.[12] Tarawa planned on learning about her whakapapa. Tarawa says she was discouraged from identifying as Māori but she has since changed her views. Tarawa noted that her taua, as well as reconnecting with her grandmother and a few of her Māori family outside of Gloriavale, has allowed her to explore more of her Māori heritage. She said "I'd like to learn more about our culture in general. Like, what are we passionate about? And what iwi are out there, because I know that I'm Ngāi Tahu, but I don't know a lot about other iwi."[14] Tarawa now speaks out about female repression within the church.[15]

Tarawa said she heard that "everything got stricter" after her family left Gloriavale.[16] She noted that it was uncommon "for a whole family to leave together", whereas typically the community may see "one or two people running away in the middle of the night, backpack on their shoulders."[16]

In 2017, Tarawa published the autobiography Daughter of Gloriavale: My Life in a Religious Cult about her experiences in Gloriavale.[17] Daughter of Gloriavale was one of the most popular eBooks borrowed from the Christchurch City Libraries during the COVID-19 lockdown.[18]

Personal life

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Tarawa lives in Christchurch, New Zealand.[19][20] She is the granddaughter of the Australian-born founder of Gloriavale, Hopeful Christian (formerly known as Neville Cooper),[21][22][23] and has 9 siblings.[24] She is part of the Māori tribe Ngāi Tahu.[citation needed]

Work

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  • Tarawa, Lilia (2017). Daughter of Gloriavale : My life in a Religious Cult. Sydney: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 978-1-76063-918-1. OCLC 1002697888.
  • Tarawa, Lilia (16 November 2017). "I grew up in a cult. It was heaven -- and hell" (YouTube Video). TEDxTalks (Christchurch).

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Tarawa, Lilia (2019). "Four: Pioneering Baby". Daughter of Gloriavale : my life in a religious cult. HarperCollins Canada. ISBN 978-1-4434-5905-1. OCLC 1091121327.
  2. ^ "Life after escaping Gloriavale". NewstalkZB. 29 August 2017. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
  3. ^ "Word Christchurch festival 2018: four adventurous women talk about their lives". RNZ. 2 June 2019. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
  4. ^ "Escaping Gloriavale Lilia's Life Inside A Cult". Magzter. 4 September 2017. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
  5. ^ Bayer, Kurt (1 August 2019). "Former Gloriavale member convicted of child sex abuse". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
  6. ^ "Gloriavale leader dies: Bizarre world of Hopeful Christian". The New Zealand Herald. 15 May 2018. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
  7. ^ "Fake 'Rhythm and Gloriavale' open day draws attention". Otago Daily Times. 20 January 2020. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
  8. ^ "Gloriavale leader Hopeful Christian dies". NewstalkZB. 15 May 2018. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
  9. ^ Bayer, Kurt (1 August 2019). "Former Gloriavale member convicted of child sex abuse". NewstalkZB. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
  10. ^ "Former Gloriavale member convicted of child sex abuse". Otago Daily Times. 1 August 2019. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
  11. ^ Christmass, Pip (1 September 2017). "'We had to submit and obey': Woman reveals how she escaped repressive cult". Yahoo! News. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
  12. ^ a b "Ex-Gloriavale member tells of life inside the cult". Now To Love. 19 September 2017. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
  13. ^ "Fleeing Gloriavale: Life inside the religious community". Checkpoint. 28 August 2017. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
  14. ^ "Ex-Gloriavale member looks to reconnect with Māori roots". Te Ao Maori News. 31 August 2017. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
  15. ^ "'Wearing that dress was all about being undesirable' – Ex-Gloriavale member". 1 News. 27 August 2017. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
  16. ^ a b Black, Eleanor (27 August 2017). "Life after Gloriavale: Hopeful Christian's granddaughter speaks out". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
  17. ^ Wynn, Kirsty (28 August 2017). "Powerful book lifts lid on life in Gloriavale community". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
  18. ^ Law, Tina (27 December 2020). "eBook popularity soars in Christchurch thanks to Covid-19 lockdown". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
  19. ^ Harvey, Megan (20 January 2020). "Fake 'Rhythm and Gloriavale' open day goes viral". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
  20. ^ "Gloriavale document swears members to secrecy". The New Zealand Herald. 7 April 2018. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
  21. ^ "JDR chat to ex-Gloriavale member Lilia Tarawa". The Edge. 4 September 2017. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
  22. ^ Harper, Hillary (2 October 2017). "Growing up in a religious cult". ABC. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
  23. ^ "Breakfast speaker once at Gloriavale". Otago Daily Times. 25 February 2020. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
  24. ^ "Gloriavale leader dies: Bizarre world of Hopeful Christian". The New Zealand Herald. 15 May 2018. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
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