Mihaia: The Prophet Rua Kenana And His Community At Maungapohatu
Condition: SECONDHAND
This is a secondhand book. The jacket image is a photograph of the exact copy we have in stock. This image shows the condition of this book. Further condition remarks are below.
Condition remarks:
Book: Good
Jacket: No dust jacket
Pages: Good
Condition remarks: Condition as shown in image, tape residue on internal pages.
In the remote Urewera mountains of New Zealand's North Island, a charismatic Māori prophet named Rua Kenana built a self-sufficient religious community at Maungapohatu in the early twentieth century — a daring act of spiritual and political defiance that would bring him into direct conflict with the colonial state. Mihaia, meaning messiah in te reo Māori, chronicles the life and legacy of this extraordinary figure, drawing on rich photographic evidence and meticulous historical research to reconstruct a world where faith, land, and sovereignty were inseparable. The authors illuminate the founding of the Iharaira community, the infamous 1916 police raid on Maungapohatu, and the subsequent trial of Rua Kenana, placing these events within the broader context of Māori resistance to Pākehā authority. A landmark work of New Zealand social and cultural history, Mihaia presents an unflinching portrait of a community determined to forge its own destiny. Judith Binney, Gillian Chaplin, and Craig Wallace combine scholarly rigour with compelling narrative, weaving together oral history, archival documents, and a remarkable collection of period photographs to give voice to a story long marginalised by mainstream historiography. For anyone seeking to understand the complex intersections of colonialism, indigenous faith, and communal identity in Aotearoa, this volume asks the questions that still resonate today — who holds the right to define a prophet, and at what cost is dissent silenced?
Author: Judith Binney, Gillian Chaplin, Craig Wallace
Format: Paperback
Published: 1979, Oxford University Press, Wellington
Genre: Biography
Condition remarks:
Book: Good
Jacket: No dust jacket
Pages: Good
Condition remarks: Condition as shown in image, tape residue on internal pages.
In the remote Urewera mountains of New Zealand's North Island, a charismatic Māori prophet named Rua Kenana built a self-sufficient religious community at Maungapohatu in the early twentieth century — a daring act of spiritual and political defiance that would bring him into direct conflict with the colonial state. Mihaia, meaning messiah in te reo Māori, chronicles the life and legacy of this extraordinary figure, drawing on rich photographic evidence and meticulous historical research to reconstruct a world where faith, land, and sovereignty were inseparable. The authors illuminate the founding of the Iharaira community, the infamous 1916 police raid on Maungapohatu, and the subsequent trial of Rua Kenana, placing these events within the broader context of Māori resistance to Pākehā authority. A landmark work of New Zealand social and cultural history, Mihaia presents an unflinching portrait of a community determined to forge its own destiny. Judith Binney, Gillian Chaplin, and Craig Wallace combine scholarly rigour with compelling narrative, weaving together oral history, archival documents, and a remarkable collection of period photographs to give voice to a story long marginalised by mainstream historiography. For anyone seeking to understand the complex intersections of colonialism, indigenous faith, and communal identity in Aotearoa, this volume asks the questions that still resonate today — who holds the right to define a prophet, and at what cost is dissent silenced?