1836 J. A. Wilson Jrnl. 24 Aug. in Missionary Life & Work N.Z. (1889) iii. 48 We were told the events which led to the burning of the mission station, and the muru which followed.

1863 F. E. Maning Old N.Z. vii. 96 There were in the old times two great institutions..in Maori land—the Tapu and the Muru. Pakehas..called the muru simply ‘robbery’... But I speak of the regular legalized and established system of plundering, as penalty for offences.

1905 W. Baucke Where White Man Treads 32 Hiakai.., forgetting the rules of muru, crashed it [sc. the tomahawk] into his enemy's skull.

1961 in H. Williams Early Jrnls. 20 Altogether the year was a very troubled one, with many rumours of the death of Hongi, who had been wounded at Whangaroa, and consequent threats of muru.

1995 Sunday Star-Times (Auckland) 24 Dec. c6 Traditionally, compensation or muru was demanded from Maori who committed any form of offence against the community.

1843 E. Dieffenbach Trav. N.Z. II. 374 Muru, forgive, rob, spoil, bruise.]

1904 E. Tregear Maori Race 139 If a man allowed one of his boy children to get hurt, the tribe would muru the father for the loss..since the boy probably would have been a future warrior.

c1920 J. H. Beattie Trad. Lifeways Southern Maori (1994) 275 So the people went there and muru'd him (but there was not much to take, gravely added the narrator).

1948 G. M. Henderson Taina 33 If you give her what she deserves, her family come and muru you.