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Today in History
2 March
1865 Missionary Carl Volkner killed at Opotiki
On 2 March 1865 the missionary Carl Völkner was hanged from a willow tree near his church at Opotiki. His head was then cut off and many of those present either tasted his blood or smeared it on their faces. In a final insult Kereopa Te Rau swallowed Völkner's eyes, describing one eye as 'Parliament' and the other as the 'Queen and English law'.
In a battle against Ngati Manawa in May that year, three warriors were killed and decapitated and, according to one account, Kereopa repeated his eye-eating act, earning himself the name Kaiwhatu (the eye eater). Völkner's death was attributed to the followers of a new religion, Pai Marire.
Image: Death of Carl Völkner
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