Pai Marire (goodness and peace) was one of several Maori Christian faiths to emerge in the 19th century. Like many others, it was closely tied to issues of land and politics.
Rua was a Tuhoe prophet who set up a community at Maungapohatu in the Urewera mountains. In 1916 he was arrested for sedition for his opposition to Maori conscription in the First World War. His trial was one of the longest in New Zealand's legal history.
Te Kooti fought for the government in the New Zealand Wars before being exiled to the Chatham Islands on charges of espionage. On the Chathams he founded the Ringatu church, later escaping back to the main land where he fought a long guerilla war against government forces.
