Te Ua Rongopai Ki Te Wairoa: A History and Analysis of the Influence of the Pai Marire Religion and the Hauhau Movement in Te Wairoa (1864-66)

Abstract

This dissertation contends that the teachings of the Pai Marire religion and the Hauhau Movement, were utilised as a vehicle for the promotion and prevention of rapid social change in Te Wairoa - Hawke's Bay (1864 - 66). Through the historical analysis of Te Wairoa - Hawke's Bay it is shown that as well as being a means to implement rapid social change - millenarian teachings can also be utilised to prevent rapid social change being imposed upon a society, or upon sectors within a tribal society. It is also argued that a diverse range of agenda amongst individuals and groups led to the adoption and/or rejection, reinterpretation, and utilisation of Pai Marire teachings in order to realise individual and collective goals. The data and information cited and presented in this paper has been collected and compiled from a range of primary and secondary sources relating to the subjects, areas, and time period in question. This includes manuscripts from private collections; Government records, reports, maps, and archives; contemporary newspapers; photographic collections; Television media; published material in articles and books; published and unpublished theses'; and reports relating to claims brought before the Waitangi Tribunal.