The Pai Mārire movement (commonly known as Hauhau) was a syncretic Māori religion founded in Taranaki, New Zealand by the prophet Te Ua Haumēne. It flourished in the North Island from about 1863 to 1874. Pai Mārire incorporated biblical and Māori spiritual elements, and promised its followers deliverance from European domination. Although founded with peaceful motives—its name means "Good and Peaceful"—some followers of Pai Mārire became known for an extremist form of the religion. These extremists were labelled as "Hauhau" by the Europeans.Paul Clark, "Hauhau: The Pai Marire Search for Maori Identity," (1975) as cited by Belich in "The New Zealand Wars" (1986), chapter 11. The rise and spread of the violent expression of Pai Mārire was largely a response to the New Zealand Government's military operations against the North Island Māori, which were aimed at exerting European sovereignty and gaining more land for white settlement; historian B.J. Dalton claims that after 1865 any Māori in arms were almost invariably termed Hauhau despite no affiliation to the movement.
Governor George Grey launched a campaign of suppression against the religion in April 1865, culminating in the raiding of dozens of villages in Taranaki and on the East Coast and the arrest of more than 400 adherents, most of whom were incarcerated on the Chatham Islands. Elements of the religion were incorporated in the Ringatū or "Raised hand" religion formed in 1868 by Te Kooti, who escaped from incarceration on the Chatham Islands.
In the 2006 New Zealand census, 609 people identified "Hauhau" as their religion.
Rise of the prophet Te Ua Haumēne was born in Taranaki, New Zealand, in the early 1820s. He and his mother were captured and enslaved by a rival tribe in 1826. He learned to read and write in Māori while in captivity and began studying the New Testament. He was baptised by the Rev John Whiteley in the Wesleyan mission at Kawhia in 1834 and given the name of Horopapera Tuwhakararo, a transliteration of the name John Zerubbabel. He later returned to Taranaki.
During the 1850s, he became a supporter of the King Movement, which opposed further expansion of European sovereignty and the sale of land to European settlers, and in the 1860s fought against colonial forces in the First Taranaki War and Waikato War, in which he also acted as a chaplain to the Māori soldiers. By the early 1860s, Te Ua was part of a runanga (local board of management), which administered local government and also ensured that the boundary of the land that was covered by the mana of the Māori King was undisturbed.
By then, the cornerstones of Te Ua's religious teachings were set. He believed Māori had a right to defend the boundaries of their territory; believed in national salvation of the Māori from the white settlers; and suspected that missionaries were aiding and abetting the loss of Māori land.
The elevation of Te Ua to the role of prophet followed an incident in September 1862 in which the British steamer Lord Worsley was wrecked off the Taranaki coast and local Māori debated what action should be taken with the cargo and crew. Te Ua – then living at Wereroa Pā, near Waitotara – argued that goods salvaged from the vessel should be sent to New Plymouth untouched, but was ignored and the cargo was instead plundered. On 5 September, aggrieved over what had taken place, he claimed to have experienced a vision in which the Archangel Gabriel announced to him that the last days of the Bible were at hand and that God had chosen him as a prophet who would cast out the Europeans and restore the lost tribe of Israel (Māori) to their birthright in the land of Canaan (Aotearoa/New Zealand) - adding a religious aspect to the issue of Māori independence, which had until then been a purely political movement.S. Barton Babbage, "Hauhauism: An Episode in the Maori Wars 1863-1866", chapter 1. A.H & A.W. Reed, Dunedin, 1937
There are conflicting reports over Te Ua's response to the vision: he is claimed to have killed his child, explaining in a letter circulated to iwi that it was as a redemption for his people, "forgetful, desolate and in doubt". There were other claims he broke a child's leg and healed it miraculously.
As reports about Te Ua began to circulate, he quickly gained a reputation for having other miraculous powers. The view among settlers was less sympathetic: Bishop William Williams claimed Te Ua showed strong signs of insanity and colonial soldier and historian T. W. Gudgeon claimed he had been thus far regarded as a "harmless lunatic" of "weak intellect, but yet of peaceful disposition".
Formation and spread of the religion
Te Ua began to formulate his new religion, complete with a holy book, Ua Rongo Pai (the Gospel according to Ua) which combined elements of Old Testament morality, Christian doctrine, and traditional Māori religion. The goal was to create a peaceful society in which righteousness and justice prevailed. They believed they were a second "chosen people" and that, with divine aid, they would regain control of their hereditary land when the creator, Jehovah, fought for them and drove the English into the sea.S. Barton Babbage, "Hauhauism: An Episode in the Maori Wars 1863-1866", chapter 2. A.H & A.W. Reed, Dunedin, 1937 To help him propagate the religion, Te Ua chose three men – Tahutaki, Hepenaia and Wi Parara.
The embracing of the religion by some Māori also signalled a rejection of Christianity and a distrust of missionaries over their involvement in land purchases.S. Barton Babbage, "Hauhauism: An Episode in the Maori Wars 1863-1866", chapter 3. A.H & A.W. Reed, Dunedin, 1937
The religion gained widespread support among the North Island Māori, but became the cause of deep concern among European settlers as it united tribes in opposition to their authorityJames Cowan, The New Zealand wars: A history of the Maori Campaigns and the Pioneering Period: Vol II, Chapter 1, 1922 and helped to inspire fierce military resistance to colonial forces, particularly during the Second Taranaki War, already underway at that time.
Ahuahu attack, April 1864
Among settlers, the existence of the new religion was brought into dramatic focus with a series of attacks in April and May 1864. On 6 April, a force led by Tahutaki and Hepenaia mounted an expedition to Ahuahu village, set amid dense bush south of Ōakura, near New Plymouth, believing some Europeans would be delivered into their hands. The group surprised a combined force of the 57th Regiment and the newly formed Taranaki military settlers, a total of 101 men, as they rested without their weapons during a mission to destroy native crops. The Māori force killed seven and wounded 12 of the settler soldiers. The bodies of the seven dead, including their commander, Captain T.W.J. Lloyd, were stripped naked and decapitated. A leg of one of the soldiers was also removed.B. Wells, The History of Taranaki, chapter 24, 1878.
The easy victory over the numerically stronger British-led force gave a powerful impetus to the Pai Mārire movement and confirmed in the minds of many Māori the protection of the Archangel Gabriel. Te Ua was now regarded as a prophet. The number of adherents swelled and Pai Mārire rites continued to develop, some incorporating the severed heads of the slain soldiers, through which Te Ua claimed to communicate with Jehovah.
Assault on Sentry Hill, April 1864
Three weeks later, on 30 April 1864, 200 warriors demonstrated their faith in divine protection when they marched on the Sentry Hill redoubt, 9 km north-west of New Plymouth. The redoubt, on the crown of a hill, was defended by 75 imperial soldiers and two Coehorn mortars. Atiawa Māori viewed the construction of the outpost on their land as a challenge and formed a war party. When they came under fire at close range, they shielded themselves from the fusillade only by holding their right hands up and chanting. As many as a fifth of the Māori force were killed in the assault.James Cowan, The New Zealand wars: A history of the Maori Campaigns and the Pioneering Period: Vol II, Chapter 2, 1922
In a 1920 interview with historian James Cowan, Te Kahu-Pukoro, a fighter who took part in the attack, explained: "The Pai Mārire religion was then new, and we were all completely under its influence and firmly believed in the teaching of Te Ua and his apostles. Hepanaia Kapewhiti was at the head of the war-party. He was our prophet. He taught us the Pai Mārire karakia (chant), and told us that if we repeated it as we went into battle the bullets would not strike us. This we all believed."
Led by Hepanaia, the warriors participated in sacred ceremonies around a pole at the Manutahi pā, with all the principal Taranaki chiefs present: Wiremu Kīngi Te Rangitāke and Kingi Parengarenga, as well as Te Whiti and Tohu Kākahi, both of whom would later become prophets at Parihaka. The force, armed with muskets, shotguns, tomahawks and spears, marched to Sentry Hill and, at 8AM, launched their attack, ascending the slope that led to the redoubt. Te Kahu-Pukoro recalled:
About 34 Māori and one imperial soldier were killed. Among those shot dead, at almost point-blank range, were chiefs Hepanaia, Kingi Parengarenga (Taranaki), Tupara Keina (Ngatiawa), Tamati Hone (Ngati Ruanui) and Hare Te Kokai, who had advocated the frontal attack on the redoubt. According to Cowan, the slaughter temporarily weakened the new confidence in Pai Mārire, but Te Ua had a satisfying explanation: that those who fell were to blame because they did not repose absolute faith in the karakia.
Battle of Moutoa, May 1864
Two weeks later, on 14 May, a Pai Mārire war party from the upper Whanganui River advanced on the settlement of Wanganui, intent on raiding it. In what became known as the Battle of Moutoa, Lower Whanganui kupapa (Māori loyal to the Queen) routed the war party, killing 50 of them including the prophet Matene Rangitauira.James Cowan, Vol.2, chapter 3
Relieved settlers erected New Zealand's first war memorial at the site—today known as Moutoa Gardens—with an inscription that read: "To the memory of those brave men who fell at Moutoa 14 May 1864 in defence of law and order against fanaticism and barbarism".
East Coast killings, March, April 1865
The reverses at Sentry Hill and Moutoa Island reinforced Māori belief in Te Ua's movement, with the conviction that the defeats had been caused by disobedience to the leader by the prophets Hepanaia and Matene. More iwi attached themselves to Te Ua. In early 1865, emissaries were instructed to carry "smoke-dried heads" to other regions. They were sent from Taranaki to Chief Hirini Te Kani at Poverty Bay via Whanganui and Taupō in two parties – one via Rotorua, Whakatāne, Ōpōtiki, and East Cape, and the other through the centre of the island via Ruatāhuna and Wairoa.
The emissaries were instructed to proceed peaceably and obtain the support of tribes they passed, delegating their spiritual powers to leading converts in each tribe, who each took up the duties of Pai Mārire priest. But on 23 February, the group clashed at Pipiriki near Wanganui as the "friendly natives, under the command of the chief John Williams, who was head catechist to the Church Missionary House at Wanganui, defended the town against the Hauhau warriors". This defeat led to the decision by the Hauhuas that they would murder any missionaries who came across their path.
Among European settlers, unease grew at the spreading influence of Pai Mārire. In a letter to the Native Minister, the Resident Magistrate for Central Wanganui warned: "The Hauhau fanaticism is spreading very rapidly in the Province, and I fear will be the cause of great mischief. It is now the mainstay of the King movement."