War in Māori tradition

War is a very common theme in many Maori Myths. One example is the Maori Myth of Creation where the sons fought after separating their parents Ranginui and Papatuanuku. One of the sons Tumatauenga  was victorious then he punished his brothers.  

Tūmatauenga is one of the major God of wars. There are also many others such as Kahukura and Uenuku, then there is also  Maru, a war god in the Taranaki region.

Making war

Wars broke out between tribal groups for a number of reasons, including land, food and natural resources. Wars were also fought to gain mana or revenge.

Māori weapons

Traditional Māori weapons were designed for close quarters, hand to hand combat. There many weapons such as:

  Taiaha 

 Pouwhenua

Tewhatewha

Tao 

 Patu

Battle strategies and terms

A war party was called a taua. The size of the taua vary from a couple hundred warriors to a small group of warriors  

Maori used deception and trickery as a common ways to fight. Sometimes tribes would tell other  tribes they want peace and invite them over but then they would suddenly attack taking them by surprise.

Because their villages were hard to get into tricks were used get people out. One tribe made a large fake whale out of dog skin and hid warriors inside to attack the villagers who came to investigate.

Preparations for battle

Battles usually took place in the summer months, after the harvest was finished. Sometimes alliances were made between different groups before a battle. Gifts were given, and if they were accepted it meant a willingness to join in battle. A tohunga would put the war party under tapu before they set out. Before they went to fight Maori would do the haka. The haka is a war dance that warriors do before they go to battle to connect with their ancestors and scare the tribe their fighting.

The battle

The first person killed in a battle  would have their heart cut out and offered to a god as a sign of respect . The leader would often stand behind his troops and exhort them.

After the battle

The victors would take prisoners of the defeated people, and women and children would become slaves. In some cases, some of the defeated people would be killed and eaten. Sometimes the groups would intermarry.

When the war party returned home they would undergo a ritual cleansing, which involved lifting the tapu.

Making peace

At the end of a war it was vital to make peace. Sometimes arranged marriages between the victors and high-ranking women of the defeated tribes were used to seal peace.

After a series of wars the Moriori people of Rēkohu (Chatham Islands) declared an end to war and had a long period of peace.