Adherence to the so-called Hauhau movement, which…

Adherence to the so-called Hauhau movement, which includes incantations, a sacred pole, belief in supernatural protection from bullets, and occasionally beheadings, the removal of the hearts of enemy and cannibalism, spreads rapidly through the North Island from 1864, welding tribes in a bond of passionate hatred against the pakeha.

The Hau Hau Movement had emerged among Taranaki Māori in 1862.

The movement is an extremist part of the Pai Mārire religion that is both violent and vehemently anti-Pākehā.