The Mau was a non-violent movement for Samoan independence from colonial rule during the early 1900s. The word 'Mau' means 'opinion' or 'testimony' denoting 'firm strength' in Samoan. The motto for the Mau were the words Samoa mo Samoa (Samoa for Samoa).

The movement had its beginnings on the island of Savai'i with the Mau a Pule resistance in the early 1900s with widespread support throughout the country by the late 1920s. As the movement grew, leadership came under the country's chiefly elite, the customary matai leaders entrenched in Samoan tradition and fa'a Samoa. The Mau included women who supported the national organisation through leadership and organisation as well as taking part in marches. Supporters wore a Mau uniform of a navy blue lavalava with a white stripe which was later banned by the colonial administration.

The Mau movement culminated on 28 December 1929 in the streets of the capital Apia, when the New Zealand military police fired on a procession who were attempting to prevent the arrest of one of their members. The day became known as Black Saturday. Up to 11 Samoans were killed, including Mau leader and high chief Tupua Tamasese Lealofi III with many others wounded. One New Zealand constable was clubbed to death by protesters.

Mau (Hindi: मऊ, Urdu: مئو maū), formerly Mau Nath Bhanjan (Hindi: मऊनाथ भंजन, Urdu: مئو نات بنجن), nearly 90 km from Varanasi is the powerhouse of textile weavers in Eastern Uttar Pradesh, India.It is divided into 4 tahsils , 9 blocks,596 gram panchayats and 1644 villages It is a small industrial town on the banks of Ghaghra (Saryu). The Tamasa river flows through the city. The credit of converting this city to a district goes to the (late) Kalpnath Rai (former MP for Ghosi). In 1960s it was the biggest supplier of a plant called plash.

Many myths are popular regarding history of Mau district. Popular opinion has it that the name Mau is considered to be derived from a bhojpuri word meaning "shiv and girja " (Hindi: garh, padav, chhavani). this is asur area asur mean dev generate lipi (language) Devnagri Lipi.

District Mau are part district Azamgarh. That the region including this district was inhabited in ancient times is testified by the presence of old indigenous people like Bhars or Rajbhars, Soeris and Cherus who possibly represent the descendants of the aborigines of this area. Vestiges of numerous embankmerts, tanks, caverns and stone forts are found in this district which still bear out their energy and skill. According to a local tradition, the country of the Bhars, which was included in the kingdom of Ayodhya in Rama's time, was occupied by Rajbhars and Asuras. The Bhars have left behind them large mud forts of which specimens may be seen at ghosi are asur mud forts bhar.

Field Marshal Dedan Kimathi Waciuri (Kimathi wa Waciuri), (31 October 1920 – 18 February 1957) was a leader of Mau Mau, who fought against the British colonial government in Kenya in the 1950s. Dedan Kimathi is widely recognised by many as a Mau Mau hero. He was convicted and executed in 1957 for alleged murder and terrorism in a trial that cannot be considered to have been free or fair. It was customary for the British to execute Africans especially Kikuyus on the flimsiest excuse.

Field Marshal Dedan Kimathi Waciuri was the head of the Mau Mau, a militant group that waged a guerrilla war against the British colonial government in Kenya. Kenya's independence from British rule is largely attributed to the spirited fight the Mau Mau put up under the stewardship of Dedan Kimathi. The Mau Mau began as the Land and Freedom Army, a militant Kikuyu army out to reclaim their land that had been stripped from them by the colonialists. As its influence and membership widened it became a major threat to the colonialists. The Mau Mau movement sprung from Central kenya, home of the populous Kikuyu community. The movement, eventhough heavily Kikuyu, enjoyed nationwide support as it forced the colonialists to pay attention to Kenyan demands. Dedan Kimathi inspired Nelson Mandela in his fight against apartheid and was an inspirational figure for many freedom movements in Africa and around the world.

The Mau Mau Uprising (also known as the Mau Mau Revolt, Mau Mau Rebellion and the Kenya Emergency) was a military conflict that took place in Kenya between 1952 and 1960. It involved a Kikuyu-dominated anti-colonial group called Mau Mau and elements of the British Army, auxiliaries and anti-Mau Mau Kikuyu.

The movement was unable to capture widespread public support. The capture of rebel leader Dedan Kimathi on 21 October 1956 signalled the ultimate defeat of the Mau Mau uprising, and essentially ended the British military campaign.

It has been argued that the conflict help set the stage for Kenyan independence in December 1963. It created a rift between the European colonial community in Kenya and the Home Office in London, but also resulted in violent divisions within the Kikuyu community.

The origin of the term Mau Mau is uncertain. According to some members of Mau Mau, they never referred to themselves as such, instead preferring the military title Kenya Land and Freedom Army (KLFA). Some publications, such as Fred Majdalany's State of Emergency: The Full Story of Mau Mau, claim that it was an anagram of Uma Uma (which means "get out get out") and was a military codeword based on a secret language-game Kikuyu boys used to play at the time of their circumcision. Majdalany goes on to state that the British simply used the name as a label for the Kikuyu ethnic community without assigning any specific definition.