Pai Marire

Spiritual beliefs have long been central to Maori culture. In the 19th century Christianity offered Maori new beliefs. Some Maori adopted Christian forms of worship. Others merged traditional and Christian practices into entirely new systems of belief. Pai Marire (goodness and peace) was one of the new faiths to emerge among Maori in the 19th century.

Pai Marire: goodness and peace

In 1862 a new religious faith grew out of the conflict over land in Taranaki. It was the first organised expression of an independent Maori Christianity. Maori leader Te Ua Haumene based the new religion on the principle of pai marire – goodness and peace. He called his church Hauhau: Te Hau (the breath of God) carried the news of deliverance to the faithful. The terms Pai Marire and Hauhau became interchangeable as labels for those who followed this religion.

Te Ua had been influenced by Christian missionaries after being captured by Waikato Maori in 1826. These experiences would shape aspects of Pai Marire. He was taught to read and write in Maori and became familiar with the New Testament, especially the Book of Revelation. By the 1850s he was actively involved in Maori opposition to land sales, and he fought against the government in 1860 when war broke out in Taranaki. In 1862 Te Ua had a vision of the archangel Gabriel who instructed him to lead his people in 'casting off the yoke of the Pakeha'. The birthright of Israelites (the Maori people) would be restored in the land of Canaan (New Zealand), and following a day of deliverance the unrighteous would perish.

Pai Marire was a perfect illustration of Maori agency and adaptation of European practices in the 19th century. It combined aspects of European society and culture with Maori needs and practices. References to notions of deliverance were especially attractive to Maori in this period of great upheaval.

Armed conflict

Pai Marire disciples travelled around the North Island in the mid-1860s. Against a backdrop of war and land confiscations, the founding principle of Pai Marire was often subverted by violent elements. Some of its members, including the pacifist leader of Parihaka, Te Whiti o Rongomai, stressed the need for peace, but Pai Marire was drawn into armed conflicts. Civil wars broke out as factions within iwi opposed its spread. Some Maori opposed Pai Marire because they believed that it represented a pan-tribal movement that, in seeking to unify Maori, challenged the sovereignty of iwi.

Pai Marire continued to attract converts, especially when the government began to confiscate Maori land. From 1865 to the 1870s civil war raged on the east coast of the North Island between two factions within Ngati Porou. Pai Marire converts aimed to drive Pakeha from Maori land. They wanted the support of the Kingitanga in creating a Maori nation under the Maori king, Tawhiao.

Settler reaction

In the minds of many Europeans, Pai Marire was synonymous with violence, fanaticism and barbarism. They saw it as a fundamentally anti-European religion. The fact that other Maori fought against this new religion was seen as further evidence that Pai Marire represented a radical fringe.

The government was concerned about the spread of Pai Marire. It worried that the religion would unite Maori opposition to European settlement. Government soon supported anti-Pai Marire factions. In 1864 Governor George Grey declared Pai Marire practices to be 'repugnant to all humanity' after Pai Marire followers had paraded the severed head of Captain Lloyd around the North Island. Pai Marire was to be suppressed by force if necessary.

Pai Marire and other Maori religions

During the 19th century the Hauhau faith influenced the development of other Maori religious movements, some of which survived into the 21st century.

Te Ua died in 1866; Titokowaru (Ngati Ruanui) and Te Whiti o Rongomai (Ngati Te Whiti) were seen as his likely successors. Titokowaru developed a religion that blended together aspects of Pai Marire, other Christian beliefs and traditional Maori faith. Traditional religion was more important for Titokowaru than it had been for either Te Ua or Te Whiti.

Te Kooti, founder of the Ringatu faith, was also influenced by Pai Marire. In 1875 Tawhiao adapted Pai Marire to his own beliefs, with Tariao (morning star) becoming the faith of the King movement.