Maori war leaders usually made a speech before battle to excite the passions of the army. (Augustus Earle, 1832, Courtesy Turnbull Library) WARFARE OF THE MAORI by E. G. SCHWIMMER A vast amount has been written on Maori warfare, and as the subject is so exciting, most New Zealanders know many tales about the old-time Maori warrior. In a book recently published by the Polynesian Society, Wellington, Dr A. P. Vayda, an American research scholar, has put together what the scientist really knows about ‘Maori Warfare’. The picture he presents is by no means less interesting than what was previously believed—indeed, the truth is usually more interesting than the products of bloodthirsty imagination—but it contains far fewer vast armies, epic battles and heroic self sacrifice; on the contrary it shows the Maori as very practical and cunning, and—most important of all—it shows that his love of war, and his love of life and his stomach were remarkably well balanced. Here follows a short summary of Dr Vayda's book. Wars were a constant feature of Maori life; conflicts over land and insults of every description were causes of war. The defeated party in any way was under an obligation, if it wished to restore its mana, to avenge its humiliation, so war was never finished with. Even after European settlement wars continued; indeed they became greatly intensified through the introduction of muskets. The Maori people thus developed a very warlike spirit; also they developed to a high degree a method of warfare suitable to the couutry and to the weapons they possessed. Much has been written about the valour and chivalry of the Maori warrior, but we must be cautions not to believe too much of this, for the first aim of warfare is to win; it would have been impossible in the hard world of the ancient Maori to be like the chivalrous knights of romance and still survive. Wooden spears used for thrusting and long and short clubs were the usual weapons of the Maori. The most commonly used type of spear was perfectly plain, some six to nine feet long, about an inch in diameter at the thickest part and tapering to a sharp point at the end. The long clubs

(pouwhenua, tewhatewha and taiaha) averaged some five feet in length, were made of tough wood in one piece and had both a blade for striking and a sharp point for stabbing. Dexterity and quick footwork were required for their use. In addition to this long weapon, the Maori warrior usually carried a short club or patu—made of wood, bone or stone) stuck in his belt. They had flat blades whose ends were ground to a sharp edge extending down the sides. A strip of dogskin was passed through a hole bored near the butt to hold the weapon. It had to be used with great speed to be successful; usually the thrust was aimed at temple, neck or ribs; as the enemy was falling, he was despatched with a blow of the blunt butt or heel of the club. The Maori rarely used throwing spears, did not know bows and arrows, and did not use shields. Fortresses (pa) as distinct from open unfortified villages, were usually built upon some hills, spurs or craggy headlands, or upon islands in lakes, swamps, or off the coast. The defence works were massive, consisting of ramparts and trenches, behind which stockades were erected. The defenders were stationed behind the stockades, sometimes on fighting stages, from which they could more easily throw spears and stones down upon the enemy. People only stayed at the pas when there was danger; otherwise they lived at their fishing, hunting and cultivating grounds. Maori war parties sometimes avoided arduous journeys on foot by using war canoes which were made from the stoutest and largest trunks available, i.e. from the native New Zealand kauri pine or trunks of totara. On the average the canoes accommodated seventy people and were some seventy feet long. They were manned by a double row of warriors who plied their paddles in time to the chants and gestures of one or two leaders standing amidships. The canoes carried war parties not only along the coast but also up and down the larger rivers and across lakes. Sometimes they were carried for miles from one waterway to another. Much travelling was done over foot tracks only a few inches wide, over which the war parties walked in single file. When a war party was large, it therefore extended a long way along the track and was very liable to be ambushed. When there was much danger, scouts were used. Feint attacks, feint retreats and ambuscades were the mainstay of Maori war tactics before the introduction of muskets. Stratagems based on these tactics were often very ingenious. Open fighting was rare.