NEW ZEALAND--_Continued_.
WAR.
THE MODE OF WARFARE DEPENDENT ON WEAPONS -- THE SPEAR, NOW EXTINCT --
THE MERAI, AND THE MATERIALS OF WHICH IT IS MADE -- THE GREEN JADE
MERAI, AND ESTIMATION IN WHICH IT IS HELD BY THE CHIEFS -- THE STONE
MERAI -- THE BONE MERAI, AND ITS VARIED SHAPES -- MODE OF USING THE
WEAPON -- CAPTURE OF SHIPS -- AN EXCITING SCENE AND TIMELY RELIEF
-- THE BATTLE-AXE, OR PATU -- ITS FORM, AND MODE OF USING IT -- THE
CHIEF’S SPEAR, OR HANI -- ITS RESEMBLANCE TO THE ANCIENT SCEPTRE
-- THE TONGUE OF DEFIANCE -- THE WAR DANCE -- ITS EFFECT ON BOARD
SHIP -- THE FORT, OR PAH, AND ITS CONSTRUCTION -- NATIVE ENGINEERING
-- THE REPULSE AT THE GATE PAH -- CONCEALING AN AMBUSH -- FATE OF
CAPTIVES -- THE CHIEF E’HONGI AND HIS BATTLES -- SLAVE-DRIVING WITH A
MERAI -- ETIQUETTE OF WAR -- A TRUCE AND A BARTER -- RETALIATION FOR
BLOODSHED -- CEREMONIES BEFORE AND AFTER A BATTLE.
We now come to the one great object of a Maori’s life, namely, war.
Before we treat of actual warfare, it will be necessary to describe the
weapons which are used, as much of the character of warfare materially
depends on them.
In those parts of the world, for instance, where missiles, such as bows
and arrows or spears, are the principal weapons, war becomes a series
of skirmishes, each individual trying to conceal himself as much as
possible from the enemy, and to deal his own blows without exposing
himself to retaliation. But when the weapons are of a nature that
necessitates hand-to-hand combat, warfare naturally assumes a different
aspect, and, if the forces be at all disciplined, more resembles the
regulated war of civilized nations than the independent single combats
which represent war in most savage countries.
To this latter category belong the weapons of the New Zealander. In
former days the Maori warriors used to employ the spear, but that
weapon has long been laid aside. A few specimens are still retained,
but they are intended, not to be used against an enemy, but in
welcoming a friend, the chief who receives his guests pointing the
spear at them, and throwing it toward them, as has already been
described. When Mr. Angas visited the islands, he found only a very few
of these spears, and they were used entirely for peaceful purposes.
They were of the same character as those of the great Polynesian group,
_i. e._ made entirely of wood, long, sharply pointed, and armed with a
series of barbs.
One of these spears is shown at figure 1, of “Maori weapons,” on
page 841. The reader will understand that only the head of the spear
is shown, the entire length of the weapon being about twelve feet.
The barbs are seen to be arranged in double order, a number of them
pointing backward, and then, after a blank space, several rows pointing
forward. The object of this device was ingenious enough. The spear was
supposed to be pushed through the body of a man until it was stopped by
the second row of barbs. It will be seen that his body would then rest
in the blank space, and the barbs on either side of him would prevent
it from being drawn out or pushed through, so that a wound from the
weapon was necessarily mortal. A spear made on the same principle, and
employed by the Bechuanas, is shown on page 281.
The weapons used by the Maories are very few in number, and of the
simplest possible construction. It is extraordinary, by the way, what
misconceptions exist on this subject. With the generality of persons
almost every club, axe, or spear is set down as belonging to New
Zealand, especially if it has any carving about it. Even the best
public collections are not free from these errors, and in one of the
most celebrated collections of arms I discovered within five minutes
ten or twelve wrong labels.
There is now before me an illustrated work on savage manners and
customs, in which is a group of “New Zealand arms,” containing thirteen
objects. Of these only one is a genuine weapon of New Zealand, and
two others are doubtful. There are two Fiji clubs (one of them with a
hollow tubular handle!), one stone knife of New Caledonia, two clubs
of the Tonga Islands, one Maori chief’s staff of office, one New
Zealander’s carpenter’s adze, one “poi” mallet and one “gnatoo” mallet
from Tonga, and two articles which the draughtsman may have intended
for clubs, but which have been transformed by the engraver’s art into
bottle-gourds. Besides, there is one nondescript article which may be a
drum (and therefore cannot belong to New Zealand), or it may be a pail,
or it may be a jar, and another nondescript article.
We need not, however, wonder at these trifling errors when, in the
same work, a scene in a North American wigwam is described as a “New
Zealand christening,” and the “Interior of a Caffre hut” is fitted with
Abyssinian arms and implements: the men are represented as wearing long
two-forked beards like those of the Fans, headdresses like those of
Tonga, and capes like those of Abyssinia; while a smooth-haired woman,
instead of being dressed in Kaffir fashion, is naked with the exception
of a white cloth tied round her hips. The hut itself is a singularly
ingenious example of perversity on the part of the draughtsman, who has
selected precisely those very characteristics which do not belong to
the Kaffir hut. In the first place, the hut is three times too large,
and the walls are apparently of clay--certainly not of the basket-work
employed by Kaffirs in house-building. The floor, which in a Kaffir hut
is laid down with clay, as smooth as a table and hard as concrete, is
irregular and covered with grass; while, by way of climax, the door is
high enough to allow a man to pass without stooping, and is finished
with a beautiful arched porch covered with creepers.
With the exception of one man, who may, by some stretch of imagination,
be taken for a Hottentot, neither the hut, its furniture, its
inhabitants, nor their weapons, bear the slightest similitude to those
of any part of Southern Africa. Such being the case with museums and
books, we need not be surprised that the popular ideas respecting the
weapons and warfare of New Zealand are very indefinite.
Of course, at the present day, the Maories have practically discarded
their ancient weapons in favor of the rifle, which they know well how
to use, retaining the aboriginal weapons more as marks of rank than
for active service. We have, however, nothing to do with these modern
innovations, and will restrict ourselves to the weapons that belong to
the country.
The first and most important of these is the merai, or short club.
This weapon is exactly analogous to the short sword used by the
ancient Romans, and in some cases resembles it so closely that if the
cross-guard were removed from the sword and the blade rendered convex
instead of flat, the shapes of the two weapons would be almost exactly
identical.
The material of which these weapons are made is sometimes wood and
sometimes stone, but mostly bone, the latter material being furnished
by the spermaceti whale. The stone merai is the most valued, on account
of the difficulty of finding a suitable piece for the purpose, and of
the enormous time which is consumed in cutting it to the desired shape
with the very imperfect instrument which the Maori possesses. In fact,
a stone merai is lowly and laboriously ground into shape by rubbing it
with a piece of stone and a sort of emery powder.
Every merai has a hole drilled through the end of the handle. Through
this hole is passed a loop of plaited cord, by means of which the
weapon is slung to the wrist, to prevent the wearer from being disarmed
in battle. Drilling the hole is a very slow process, and is done by
means of a wetted stick dipped in emery powder.
The finest merai of this description that I have seen belongs to H.
Christie, Esq., and is remarkable not merely for its size, but for the
regularity and beauty of its curves. The material is the dark, dull
green volcanic stone of which the New Zealanders make so many of their
implements. It is nearly eighteen inches in length, and rather more
than four inches wide at the broadest part. There is a similar weapon,
nearly as large, in the collection of the United Service Institution;
but the curves are not so regular, nor is the article so handsome.
One of these weapons is in my collection. It is of equal beauty in
shape with that which has been described, but is not so long. It is
rather more than fourteen inches in length, and not quite four inches
wide. It weighs two pounds six ounces, and is a most formidable weapon,
a blow from its sharp edge being sufficient to crash through the skull
of an ox, not to mention that of a human being.
Every chief, however low in rank, is sure to have one of these merais,
of which he is very proud, and from which he can scarcely be induced
to part. The great chiefs have their merais made of green jade, such
as has already been described when treating of Maori ornaments. These
weapons are handed down from father to son, and are so highly valued
by the natives that it is hardly possible to procure one, unless it be
captured in battle. If a chief should die without a son to whom his
merai can descend, the weapon is generally buried with him.
At fig. 6, in the “weapons,” on page 841, is seen one of these green
jade merais. The shape is not nearly so elegant as that of my weapon
which has just been described. Indeed, with so valuable and rare a
mineral as this green jade, it is not easy to find a piece large enough
to be cut into an ordinarily shaped weapon and the manufacturer is
obliged to do his best with the material at his command.
At fig. 7 is an example of the commonest kind of merai, that which
is made of wood. As the material of such a weapon is comparatively
valueless, the Maories seem to indemnify themselves by adding ornament
to the weapon. For example, they very seldom make the merai of the same
simple shape as that at fig. 6, but give it a distinct edge and back as
at fig. 7. In some cases they make it into a most elaborate piece of
native art, the whole being so beautifully carved that it looks more
like a number of carved pieces of wood fitted together than a weapon
cut out of one solid block.
A singularly beautiful example of such a weapon is to be seen in fig.
1 of the illustration “Merais,” on page 841. As the reader may see it
is one mass of carving, the design being cut completely through the
wood, and therefore being alike on both sides. The back of the merai is
carved into a pattern of singular beauty and boldness, and the edge is
armed with a row of shark’s teeth, which make its blows very formidable
when directed against the naked bodies of the Maori warriors. The
specimen from which the drawing was taken may be seen in the collection
of the British Museum.
The second fig. of the illustrations shows a merai made of bone. The
material is mostly obtained from the blade bone of the spermaceti
whale, and in consequence the weapon is said in books of travel to be
made of whalebone, thus misleading the ordinary reader, who is sure to
understand “whalebone” to be the black elastic substance obtained from
the Greenland whale.
These merais are extremely variable in shape. Some of them are made
like the stone weapons, except that they are much flatter, and have in
consequence both edges alike. Sometimes they are studded with knobs and
cut into hollows; sometimes carved into patterns, much resembling that
of the wooden merai, but not so elaborate. The specimen which I have
selected for the illustration shows examples of the ornaments and studs.
I possess a very good merai which has been made from the lower jaw
of the spermaceti whale. This weapon is shown in fig. 4 of the same
illustration, opposite, and close by it is a section of the jaw of
the whale, in order to show the manner in which it is cut. This
weapon measures seventeen inches in length by three and a half inches
in width, and weighs one pound nine ounces. In consequence of this
comparative lightness, it is a much more efficient weapon than the
stone merai; for the latter is so heavy that, if a blow misses its aim,
the striker is unable to recover the weapon in time to guard himself,
or to repeat the blow, and so lays himself open to the enemy.
If the reader will look at the section of bone, he will see that it
is porous in the centre and hard and solid at the edges. It is from
the solid part that the merai has been cut, and in consequence the
weapon is very flat. The numerous channels through which pass the
blood vessels that nourish the bone are seen in the section, and in
the drawing of the merai one of them is shown traversing the weapon
longitudinally. The name of the merai is “patu-patu,” the _u_ having
the same sound as in flute.
Many of the natives have found out that the English bill-hook answers
admirably as a merai, and can be obtained with very little trouble.
Great quantities of them were at one time imported from Birmingham;
but the rifle and bayonet have in latter days so completely superseded
all other weapons that the Maories trouble themselves little about the
bill-hook.
When a Maori fights with the merai, he does not merely strike, his
usual movement being to thrust sharply at the chin of the enemy; and if
he succeeds in striking him with the point, he cuts him down with the
edge before he can recover himself.
At fig. 5 of the “Maori weapons,” on the next page, is seen an axe, or
tomahawk. This is a curious mixture of European and Maori work, the
blade being obtained from England, and the handle made and carved in
New Zealand with the usual grotesque patterns which a Maori likes to
introduce into all objects connected with warfare. The thigh bone of a
slain enemy is a favorite handle for such a tomahawk.
Before the fierce and warlike character of the New Zealanders was
known, they took several vessels by the use of the merai. It was easy
to suspend the short club over the shoulder, where it was hidden by
the mat, so that when a party of natives came on board, apparently
unarmed, having ostentatiously left their patus and other weapons in
their canoes, each man was in fact armed with the weapon that he most
trusted. The plan pursued was, that the Maories should mingle freely
with the crew, until each man was close to one of the sailors. At a
signal from the chief, the concealed merai was snatched from beneath
the mat, and in a moment it had crashed through the head of the
selected victim.
Even after this ruse was discovered, the ingenious Maories contrived
to get hold of more than one vessel under pretence of exhibiting their
war dance, which in a moment was changed from the mimicry of battle
into reality, the warriors leaping among the spectators and dealing
their blows right and left among them. Ship-taking seems, indeed, to
be a proceeding so dear to the New Zealander, that he can scarcely
resist the temptation when it is offered him. In Messrs. Tyerman and
Rennet’s “Missionary Voyage” there is an anecdote of an adventure that
befell them, which, but for the timely aid of a friendly chief, would
undoubtedly have had a tragic issue.
[Illustration: (1.) GREEN JADE ORNAMENTS. (See page 813.)]
[Illustration: (2.) WOODEN AND BONE MERAIS. (See page 840.)]
[Illustration: (3.) MAORI WEAPONS. (See pages 838, 840, 844.)]
The ship had arrived off New Zealand, and while at anchor the following
events occurred:--“This morning our little vessel was surrounded with
canoes, containing several hundreds of the natives, of both sexes, who
presently climbed up, and crowded it so much that we were obliged to
put a bar across the quarter-deck, and _tabu_ it from intrusion. The
commerce in various articles, on both sides, went on pretty well for
some time, till one provoking circumstance after another occurred,
which had nearly led to the seizure of the ship and the loss of our
lives.
“In the confusion occasioned by the great throng in so narrow a space,
the natives began to exercise their pilfering tricks, opportunities for
which are seldom permitted to slip away unimproved. Suddenly the cook
cried out, ‘They have stolen this thing;’ but scarcely had he named
the thing (some kitchen article), when he called out again, ‘They have
stolen the beef out of the pot!’ and then a third time, ‘They have
stolen my cooking pan!’ Presently another voice bawled out from the
forecastle, ‘Captain! they have broken open your trunk, and carried
away your clothes!’
“Up to this time we had been in friendly intercourse with the chiefs,
rubbing noses, and purchasing their personal ornaments and other
curiosities, suspecting no mischief. But now, in the course of a few
moments, without our perceiving the immediate reason, the whole scene
was changed. We found afterward that the captain (Dibbs), on hearing of
the audacious thefts above mentioned, had become angry, and while he
was endeavoring, rather boisterously, to clear the deck of some of the
intruders, one of them, a chief, on being jostled by him, fell over the
ship’s side into the sea, between his own canoe and the vessel. This
was seized instantaneously as the pretext for commencing hostilities.
The women and children in the course of a few minutes had all
disappeared, leaping overboard into their canoes, and taking with them
the kakaous, or mantles, of the warriors. The latter, thus stripped
for action, remained on deck; of which, before we were aware, they had
taken complete possession; and forthwith made us their prisoners.
“Tremendous were the bawlings and screechings of the barbarians, while
they stamped, and brandished their weapons, consisting principally
of clubs and spears. One chief with his cookies (his slaves) had
surrounded the captain, holding their spears at his breast and his
sides, on the larboard quarter of the vessel. Mr. Tyerman, under guard
of another band, stood on the starboard; and Mr. Bennet on the same
side, but aft, toward the stern. Mr. Threlkeld and his little boy, not
seven years old, were near Mr. Bennet not under direct manual grasp of
the savages. The chief who, with his gang, had been trafficking with
Mr. Bennet, now brought his huge tattooed visage near to Mr. B.’s,
screaming, in tones the most odious and horrifying: ‘Tongata, New
Zealandi, tongata kakino?--Tongata, New Zealandi, tongata kakino?’
“This he repeated as rapidly as lips, tongue, and throat could utter
the words, which mean, ‘Man of New Zealand, is he bad man?--Man of New
Zealand, a bad man?’ Happily Mr. Bennet understood the question (the
New Zealand dialect much resembling the Tahitian): whereupon, though
convinced that inevitable death was at hand, he answered, with as much
composure as could be assumed, ‘Kaore kakino tongata New Zealandi,
tongata kapai’ (‘Not bad; the New Zealander is a good man’); and so
often as the other, with indescribable ferocity of aspect and sharpness
of accent, asked the same question (which might be a hundred times),
the same answer was returned.
“‘But,’ inquired Mr. Bennet, ‘why is all this uproar? Why cannot we
still rub noses, and buy and sell, and barter, as before?’ At this
moment a stout slave, belonging to the chief, stepped behind Mr.
Bennet, and pinioned both his arms close to his sides. No effort was
made to resist or elude the gigantic grasp, Mr. B. knowing that such
would only accelerate the threatened destruction. Still, therefore,
he maintained his calmness, and asked the chief the price of a neck
ornament which the latter wore. Immediately another slave raised a
large tree-felling axe (which, with others, had been brought to be
sharpened by the ship’s company) over the head of the prisoner. This
ruffian looked with demon-like eagerness and impatience toward his
master for the signal to strike.
“And here it may be observed that our good countrymen can have no idea
of the almost preternatural fury which savages can throw into their
distorted countenances, and infuse into their deafening and appalling
voices, when they are possessed by the legion-fiend of rage, cupidity,
and revenge. Mr. Bennet persevered in keeping up conversation with the
chief, saying, ‘We want to buy bruaa, kumera, ika, &c. (hogs, potatoes,
fish), of you.’
“Just then he perceived a youth stepping on deck with a large fish
in his hand. ‘What shall I give you for that fish?’--‘Why, so many
fish-hooks.’--‘Well, then, put your hand into my pocket and take them.’
The fellow did so. ‘Now put the fish down there, on the binnacle, and
bring some more, if you have any,’ said Mr. Bennet. At once the fish
that he had just bought was brought round from behind and presented to
him again for sale. He took no notice of the knavery, but demanded,
‘What shall I give you for that fish?’--‘So many hooks.’--‘Take them.
Have you no other fish to sell?’ A third time the same fish was
offered, and the same price in hooks required and given, or rather
taken, by the vendor, out of his jacket pockets, which happened to be
well stored with this currency for traffic. A fourth time Mr. Bennet
asked, ‘Have you never another fish?’ At this the rogues could contain
their scorn no longer, but burst into laughter, and cried, ‘We are
cheating the foreigner!’ (‘Tangata ke!’) supposing that their customer
was not aware how often they had caught him with the same bait.”
By this ingenious plan of pretending to be the dupe of the Maories,
Mr. Bennet contrived to gain time, of which he knew that every minute
was of the greatest importance, and at last he was rewarded for his
courageous diplomacy by the arrival of a boat, in which was a friendly
chief, who at once cleared the ship.
The reader will observe that at this time the New Zealanders had not
abandoned the use of the spear as a weapon of war, though only twenty
years afterward scarcely a spear could be found that was not intended
as an emblem of hospitality instead of strife.
At fig. 3 of “Weapons” is shown a very curious club, called Patu by the
natives, and popularly, but wrongly, called by sailors a battle-axe.
It is about five feet in length, and has at one end a flat, axe-like
head, and at the other a sharp point. One of these weapons in my
possession, presented to me, together with many similar articles, by E.
Randell, Esq., is five feet one inch in length, and weighs two pounds
six ounces, being exactly the same weight as the stone merai already
described. The rounded edge of the axe-like head is very sharp, and
certainly looks as if it was intended for the purpose of inflicting
wounds. Such, however, is not the case, the Maori using the pointed
butt as a spear or pike, and striking with the back of the head and not
with the edge.
Through the lower portion of the head is bored a hole, to which is
suspended a bunch of feathers and streamers. Sometimes this tuft is
only a foot in length, but is often longer. In a specimen taken by Sir
J. E. Alexander it is half as long as the patu itself. At first sight
this appendage seems, like the multitudinous feathers which decorate a
North American spear or club, to be merely an ornament, and to detract
from, rather than add to, the efficiency of the weapon. But the Maori
warrior is far too keen a soldier to sacrifice use to ornament, and, if
he employs the latter, he is sure to take care that the former is not
endangered by it.
In the present case, this apparently useless appendage adds materially
to the effectiveness of the weapon. When the warrior, armed with the
patu, meets an adversary, he does not rush at him heedlessly, but
fences, as it were, with his weapon, holding it in both hands, twirling
it about, and flourishing the bunch of feathers in the face of his foe
so as to distract his attention. Neither does he stand in the same
spot, but leaps here and there, endeavoring to take the foe off his
guard, and making all kinds of feints in order to test the adversary’s
powers. Should he see the least opening, the sharp point of the butt is
driven into his adversary’s body, or a severe blow delivered with the
head, the stroke being generally made upward and not downward, as might
be imagined.
In fact, the whole management of the patu is almost identical with that
of the old quarterstaff of England, a weapon whose use is unfortunately
forgotten at the present day. The bunch of feathers is not an
invariable appendage. In my own specimen, for example, it has never
been used, and I have seen many others in which the hole has not been
bored for the insertion of the string that ties the feathers together.
The last weapon drawn in this illustration is hardly worthy of the
name. It is a dagger, and is shown at fig. 4. At fig. 2 of the same
illustration is seen an implement which is generally mistaken for a
spear, and is labelled as such in many a collection. It is, however, no
spear at all, but a sceptre, or staff of office belonging to a chief.
The Maori name is E’Hani. It is shaped at the butt like an exceedingly
elongated merai, and indeed the entire implement looks as if the hani
and the merai were but different modifications of the same weapon.
Be this as it may, the hani is no spear, but a staff of office, almost
identical in form with that which was borne by the ancient kings and
heralds in the times of Troy. At the upper end is seen the head, which
bears some resemblance to the point of a spear, and has given ground
to the notion that the implement in question is really a spear. This
portion, however, does not serve the purpose of offence, but is simply
a conventional representation of the human tongue, which, when thrust
forth to its utmost, conveys, according to Maori ideas, the most bitter
insult and defiance. When the chief wishes to make war against any
tribe, he calls his own people together, makes a fiery oration, and
repeatedly thrusts his hani in the direction of the enemy, each such
thrust being accepted as a putting forth of the tongue in defiance.
In order to show that the point of the hani is really intended to
represent the human tongue, the remainder of it is carved into a
grotesque and far-fetched resemblance of the human face, the chief
features of which are two enormous circular eyes made of haliotis shell.
Generally, the hani is ornamented with feathers like the patu; but
many of the staves are without this decoration, which is looked upon
as a mere non-essential. These staves vary greatly in length. My own
specimen is between five and six feet in length, and is without the
feather ornaments, whereas others are not more than a yard in length,
and are decorated with a bunch of feathers as long as themselves. The
chiefs are nearly as tenacious of the hard as the merai, and do not
seem to be easy if it be put out of their reach. Some years ago several
Maori chiefs came to visit England, and were taken to see the various
sights of London. But whether they went to the theatre, or to the
Zoological Gardens, or to make calls, they invariably took their hanis
with them, sometimes carrying a short one for convenience’ sake, but
appearing to attach the greatest value to its possession.
One of these curious implements in my collection is six feet in
length, and is made of the same wood as the patu. If held upright the
resemblance of the point to the outstretched tongue is not very plain;
but if it be held horizontally, the effect is quite altered, and the
whole of the tip is seen to represent a human head with the tongue
thrust out as far as possible between the lips. As the tongue is only
a conventional representation, it is covered with a pattern, a ridge
running along the centre, and each side being marked with precisely
similar curves and semi-spirals.
In spite of its length, it really makes a very convenient
walking-staff, and, on an emergency, might do duty as a weapon, the
tongue-like tip being sharp enough to act as a spear head, and the
flattened butt being heavy enough to stun a man with a well-directed
blow. My specimen does not possess the tuft of feathers and dog’s-hair
which decorates the hani shown in the “weapons” (fig. 2, p. 841); but
this adornment is not considered as forming a necessary part of the
implement.
Before a party engage in war, they think themselves bound to join in
the war dance. There are war dances in almost all savage tribes, but
that of the New Zealander surpasses them all. In other cases, each
warrior gives himself up to the excitement of the moment, and shouts,
yells, dances, and brandishes his weapons as he seems to think fit; but
the Maori warrior’s dance is of a far different character, being guided
by a discipline and precision of drill to which that of the Russians
themselves is loose and irregular.
They begin by smearing the whole of their clothing and by painting
their faces with scarlet ochre, so as to make themselves as hideous as
possible. When they assemble for the dance, they arrange themselves
in lines, mostly three deep, and excite their naturally passionate
disposition to the highest pitch by contorting their faces and
thrusting out their tongues as an act of defiance, interspersing these
gestures with shouts, yells, and challenges to the enemy. The dance
itself begins with stamping the feet in perfect time with each other,
the vigor of the stamp increasing continually, and the excitement
increasing in similar proportion.
Suddenly, with a yell, the whole body of men leap side-ways into the
air, as if actuated by one spirit, and, as they touch the ground,
come down on it with a mighty stamp that makes the earth tremble. The
war song is raised, and in accordance with its rhythm the men leap
from side to side, each time coming down with a thud as of some huge
engine. The effect of the dance upon the performers is extraordinary.
It seems to make them for the time absolute maniacs, their whole nature
being given up to the furious excitement of the moment. Their faces
are frightfully contorted, and thus assume an absolutely demoniacal
expression.
Even when war is not impending, the magic influence of the dance
affects the performers as strongly as if they were close to a pah or
fort of the enemy, ready for battle; and when, as is sometimes the
case, the Maories give a dance in honor of a visitor, they become so
furiously excited that they are quite dangerous until they have had
time to cool.
On one such occasion a party of Maories who had visited a ship were
requested to exhibit their war dance, and very good-naturedly did so.
But in a short time their measured leaps became so vehement, and their
stamps so powerful, as they shouted the martial rhymes of the war song,
that they shook the whole ship as if by blows of a battering-ram; and
the commanding officer, fearful that they would absolutely smash the
deck, begged them to desist. His entreaties were in vain, even if they
were heard, though it is very likely that, in their furious excitement,
the dancers were deaf to every sound except the war song which they
were yelling at the top of their voices; and the dance proceeded to its
end, and did not cease until the performers were quite exhausted by the
furious exertions they had made.
The most ludicrous part of the dance was the conduct of the chief. He
had been treated with much attention, and presented with a full suit of
naval uniform, of which he was mightily proud, and in which he stalked
about the deck to the great admiration of his subjects. When he was
asked whether the war dance could be given, he at once ordered his
followers to accede to the request, and at first stood quietly by while
they went through the performance.
The influence of the dance was, however, too contagious to be resisted,
and rapidly extended itself to him. First he merely swayed his body in
rhythm with the steps of the dancers, then he joined _sotto voce_ in
the song, then he began to stamp in time with them, and at last threw
off all restraint, sprang into line, and leaped, yelled, and stamped as
enthusiastically as any of them, splitting his new garments to pieces,
and presenting a very sorry sight when his excitement had died away.
The illustration opposite represents a portion of a party of warriors
as they appear when performing their war dance. Only the first three
ranks of them are seen; but the reader must picture for himself the
long lines of warriors stretching into the distance, numbering often
from one to two hundred. The leading chief is seen in front, with
his green jade merai in his hand; and another but inferior chief is
stationed behind him. In the background is shown a portion of the pah
in which the dance is taking place; a chief’s storehouse for food is
seen on the right, and under the shelter of the houses are seated the
women who are watching the dance.
I have already said that war is always in the thoughts of a genuine
Maori. Unlike the vaporing Fiji warrior, who is always ready to boast,
and seldom ready to fight, preferring to knock his enemy on the head
when asleep, the Maori is a brave soldier, accustomed from his earliest
childhood to deeds of war. A mimic war forms one of the favorite games
of the Maori children, though it is necessarily restricted to boys.
Just as boys of our country build snow castles, and attack and defend
them with snow-balls, so do the young New Zealanders build miniature
forts, and enact on a small scale the deeds of actual war, using light
sticks instead of the merai and patu. They make their forts by erecting
mounds of earth, and building the fortresses of stakes, in exact
imitation of the more substantial architecture of the veritable pah.
These ingenious pahs well exemplify the whole system of Maori warfare.
The two opposing parties seldom meet each other in the open ground, as
is the case with European warfare; neither do they employ an irregular
skirmishing fight among trees or under cover, as is the case with many
savage tribes. The attacking party is sure to be very superior in
numbers to their foes, and the latter, knowing that this will be the
case, resort to the system of fortification, and entrench themselves in
forts, or pahs.
These pahs are marvellous examples of uncivilized engineering, and are
admirably adapted to the purpose which they are intended to fulfil.
They are always placed in some strong situation, sometimes on the
seashore, sometimes on heights, and one or two of the strongest are
built on the very edge of a perpendicular precipice, so that they
cannot be attacked on three sides, while the fourth can only be
approached by a narrow and awkward path, along which only a few men can
pass, and which can be defended by a comparatively limited number of
the besieged. (See p. 830.)
Taking one of these pahs is really a great enterprise for the natives,
and before they knew the use of firearms it is wonderful that they ever
took a pah at all. Many of them are indeed impregnable, and, until
firearms were introduced into the colony, could bid defiance to all
enemies. They were so situated that by merely rolling stones down the
approach the path could be cleared of every foe. They are surrounded
with trenches, and have ingenious sally-ports so constructed that the
defenders can issue from unexpected parts of the fort, make a sudden
attack on the assailants, and retreat through the same aperture when
they have attained their purpose.
They are fenced round with very strong posts, lashed together so firmly
that they are able to resist any ordinary attack. Since firearms were
introduced, the Maories have modified the structure of the pahs to
suit their new weapons, throwing out angles to secure a flanking fire,
and filling the interior with trenches in which the defenders can lie
secure from the fire of the enemy. Since they learned the terrible
power of shells, the natives have learned to construct “traverses,” _i.
e._ cross-walls in the trenches, which not only guard the inmates from
the fragments of the shells, but prevent an enfilading fire from doing
much damage. Rifle-pits are also constructed with singular ingenuity.
One pah was remarkable for being built over a number of boiling
springs, which were used as traps for the enemy when the fort was
besieged.
The reader may remember the unfortunate business at the Gate Pah,
at Tauranga. When taken by storm, the pah appeared to be empty and
deserted, the natives having apparently escaped, according to their
custom, when they found the place no longer tenable. They had, however,
laid a trap, into which the assailants fell. When the latter had
scattered themselves over the interior, and were quite off their guard,
picking up arms, utensils, and other objects lying carelessly about,
a terrific musketry fire was opened from under their very feet, the
natives having constructed pits in which they hid themselves until the
enemy were attracted within their range by the weapons and implements
which they had laid on purpose to act as a bait. The men, who were
entirely off their guard, and many of whom besides were but raw
recruits, were struck with a sudden panic, and, with a few honorable
exceptions, rushed out of the pah, followed and cut up by the fire of
the wily foe.
[Illustration: THE MAORI WAR DANCE. (See page 846.)]
Of course the repulse was but temporary; but such a stratagem as this
is sufficient to show the military genius of the Maori, who, if he
becomes an enemy, is one that cannot be despised with impunity. This
system of taking the enemy by surprise is the usual mode of fighting
among the Maories, who display wonderful ingenuity in contriving
ambushes, and enticing the enemy into them. When we were first driven
into war with the natives of New Zealand, we were frequently entrapped
in an ambuscade; and in one case the hidden enemy were so close to our
men, their dusky forms being hidden in the shadows of the bush, that
many of the soldiers who escaped with life had their faces completely
tattooed with grains of unburnt powder from the muskets of the enemy.
If the assailants succeed in taking the pah, a terrible massacre always
ensues. Every man is killed who is capable of wielding a weapon,
while the women and children are carried off to become the slaves of
the conquerors--a doom from which, as I have already stated, there
is no escape; the unfortunate women, their children, and any future
offspring, being slaves without the possibility of release, not even
their own tribe being able, according to Maori law, to interfere with
the right of the captors.
The bodies of the warriors are of course reserved to be baked and
eaten. Sometimes even the prisoners fall victims to the thirst for
blood which characterizes these islanders; and in this respect the
women are as bad as the men, if not worse. For example, the principal
wife of a very great chief, named E’Hongi, was accustomed, even though
blind, to murder some of the captives, when they were brought home by
her formidable husband. Her own end was, however, more tragic than
that of any of her victims. E’Hongi was in the habit of making long
excursions to different parts of the country, in which he took his wife
with him. On one of these excursions she fell sick, and had to be left
behind. In consequence of her blindness, added to her debility, she was
unable to act in her own defence, and a number of dogs, discovering her
weakness, tore her to pieces and devoured her.
She seems, however, to have been a woman of unexceptionally strong
feelings of vengeance. “She had,” writes Mr. Angas, “a little
slave-girl to attend upon her, toward whom she evinced a strong
attachment. The little creature was interesting and good-tempered, and
her mistress was apparently so fond of her that she was spared the
experience of the misery of slavery; she was only a favorite.
“Hongi returned from one of his successful expeditions of war, but had
left a son upon the field of battle, and the lamentation was great.
The petted slave-child laid her head upon the lap of her mistress, and
poured out her share of the general sorrow. But the spirit of vengeance
or of insane retribution came over the heart of the bereaved mother;
and she carried the child to the water, and cruelly suffocated her in
satisfaction of her selfish sorrow.”
It was not long after this incident that she met with her death. When
she was left behind, a small shed was erected on poles, according to
native custom, and a supply of food was placed near her. When the party
returned the shed was lying prostrate, and among its ruins were the
whitened bones of the inmate. It is supposed that the wind blew down
the shed, and so enabled the dogs to reach her.
This same E’Hongi was a really remarkable man, and earned a great name
for wisdom and courage. Having made a voyage to England, he threw all
his energies into strengthening his military power, and took back with
him a quantity of muskets and ammunition.
He came back to his own country exactly at the proper time. A long
and somewhat desultory war had been going on between the Waikatos and
other tribes, in which the former had, after many vicissitudes, been
victorious, and, after finally conquering their enemies, had returned
to their country in triumph.
Just then E’Hongi came back to his own tribe, the Nga Puis, distributed
his firearms among the best warriors, and when he had instructed
them in the use of the new and terrible weapons, entered the Waikato
country, and attacked their great pah called Matuketuke. The Waikatos,
having only their clubs, and not having sunk the trenches which in
these days are dug in every pah that is intended to resist an assault,
could not contend against firearms, and in a few minutes the fort was
taken. It was in this engagement that Horomona and Te Whero-Whero were
captured.
The slaughter on this occasion was terrible, two thousand warriors
being killed, and their bodies eaten by the victorious tribe, who built
vast numbers of ovens for the special purpose of cooking the bodies of
the slain. For many years afterward the remains of the ovens, and the
whitened bones of the two thousand warriors, might be seen as tokens of
the terrible scene, where feasts were kept up until all the bodies had
been consumed, and every evil passion of unrestrained human nature was
allowed to have its full sway.
One of the very muskets which were used on this occasion, and which was
given by George IV. to E’Hongi when he visited England, is now in the
collection of Colonel Sir. J. E. Alexander. It is one of the regular
“Brown Bess” weapons, once so dear to soldiers, and now irreverently
termed a gaspipe.
Prisoners without number were captured on this occasion; and indeed the
supply of slaves thus obtained so far exceeded the demand for them,
that the Nga Puis killed many of them on their journey home, merely
to rid themselves of them. E’ Hongi, though known to be a man of the
most determined courage, not to say ferocity, when engaged in war, and
rather disposed to behave in an overbearing manner toward those whom
he considered as his inferiors, was at the same time peculiarly mild
and courteous in his demeanor to his equals, and toward strangers was
remarkable for his gentle courtesy.
There was another very celebrated chief of a somewhat similar name,
Hongi-Hongi, who has sometimes been confounded with his great
predecessor. One feat of this warrior is so characteristic that it
deserves mention. He was leading an attack on a pah near Mount Egmont,
captured it, and, according to custom, killed the warriors, and took
the rest of the inmates as his slaves. Sixty of these unfortunate
beings fell to the share of Hongi, who drove them like a flock of
sheep, with his green jade merai, all the way to his home, a distance
of one hundred and eighty miles.
This chief was proof against the missionaries of all kinds. Mr. Angas
once asked him whether he was a _mihanari_, _i. e._ a Protestant
convert, or a _pikopo_, _i. e._ a Roman Catholic. Hongi denied that
he was either one or the other, and confessed with glee that he was a
_revera_, or devil, _i. e._ that he still remained a heathen.
It is very unfortunate that intolerance in religious matters has been
fostered by those who ought to have made it their business to repress
any such feeling. The consequence is, that the Protestant converts
regard their Roman Catholic brethren as reveras, or devils, while
the latter have allied themselves with their acknowledged heathen
countrymen; and thus, under the pretence of religion, the customary
feuds are kept up with perhaps even additional bitterness.
I have the pleasure of presenting to the reader, on the 820th page,
a portrait of Hongi-Hongi, as he appeared in the year 1844, dressed
in his full panoply of war costume. This, of course, would be doffed
before he went into actual fight. In his ear is one of the green jade
ornaments which have already been described, and in his right hand he
bears his merai, the celebrated weapon with which he drove the slaves
before him. He is represented as standing just inside the wall of his
pah, a position which he insisted on taking up, and having his portrait
drawn to send to the Queen of England. In fact, he was so decided on
this point, that he refused to let Mr. Angas leave the pah until the
portrait was completed. The portion of the pah which is shown in the
illustration gives a good idea of this kind of fortification, the
enormous posts with their circular tops being sunk deeply into the
ground, and smaller posts placed between them; a horizontal pole is
laid across them; and the whole is firmly lashed together, either with
the ordinary phormium rope, or with the stem of the wild vine.
Warfare among the Maories, fierce and relentless as it may be in
some particulars, is not devoid of a sort of chivalry which somewhat
relieves it from its more ferocious aspect. There is, for example, a
well-known code of military etiquette which is sometimes exhibited in a
mode that to us seems rather ludicrous.
For example, the Waikatos and Taranaki tribes were at war as usual,
and the Waikato were besieging a pah belonging to their enemies. The
pah, however, was too strong for them; and moreover the defenders had
contrived to get hold of several guns belonging to a vessel that had
been wrecked on the shore, and had induced some Europeans to mount and
work them, which they did with such success that the Waikatos were
forced at last to abandon the siege.
But, in the very midst of the contest, a vessel appeared in the offing,
and a truce was immediately concluded in order to allow both parties to
trade. Accordingly, both the besiegers and besieged set off amicably to
the vessel, and, having completed their bargains, returned to resume
their hostilities. A very amusing scene then occurred. The Taranakis,
who were the besieged party, had much the best of the trading, as they
possessed a large quantity of dressed flax, or phormium, and exchanged
it for a quantity of tobacco.
Now tobacco is one of the greatest luxuries that a New Zealander
can possess; and unfortunately for the besieging Waikatos, they had
no tobacco. They had, however, a plentiful supply of muskets, which
they had taken in an attack upon another pah, while the besieged were
very short of arms. So they struck up a trade, the Waikatos being so
inordinately desirous of obtaining tobacco, that they gave in return
fire-arms which were to be turned against themselves.
“The scene,” writes Mr. Angas, “as described by an eye-witness, must
have been most ludicrous. The Waikato thrust his musket half-way
through the palisades of the pah, retaining, however, a firm hold of
his property until the intending purchaser from within thrust out in a
similar manner the quantity of tobacco he was willing to give; neither
party relinquishing his hold of the property about to change hands
until he had secured a firm grasp of that offered by his adversary.”
The chief who led the Waikatos on this occasion was the celebrated
Wiremu Nera, or William Taylor; the former name being the nearest
approach that the Maories can make to the proper pronunciation. His
Maori name was Te Awaitaia, and he was widely celebrated for his
dauntless courage and his generalship in conducting or resisting an
attack. Being closely allied with the famous chief Te Whero-Whero
(or Potatau), he was engaged in nearly all the combats between the
Waikatos and the Taranakis. On one of his warlike expeditions he took
a pah containing nearly eighteen hundred inhabitants, and, of course,
killed nearly all of them, and carried the survivors as slaves into the
Waikato district.
Latterly, he embraced Christianity, and became as zealous in the cause
of peace as he had been in that of war. When he became a Christian,
Te Whero-Whero was so well aware of his value as a warrior, that he
exclaimed to those who brought him the news, “I have lost my right arm!”
Although repulsed on this occasion by the three guns taken from the
wrecked ship, the Waikatos were not discouraged, and made a second
attack. The Taranakis, however, had seen too much of Waikato courage
to risk a second siege, and so quietly made off, some two thousand in
number, accompanied by the Europeans who had served the guns for them.
The latter very rightly spiked the guns when they left the pah, so that
when the Waikatos came again and took the pah, they found it deserted,
and the guns useless to the captors.
The Taranakis lived in deadly fear of the powerful and warlike
Waikatos, and, but for the love which they felt toward their native
country, would have fled, and left the conquerors to take quiet
possession. They were even obliged to have their plantations in the
bush, where none but the owner could find them; for they feared, and
with reason, that if their dreaded enemies could discover the sources
whence their provisions were obtained, they would destroy the whole
plantation, and leave their victims to starve. They were in such a
state of nervous alarm about a suspected invasion by their powerful
neighbors, that on one occasion, when a fire was seen in the distance,
every one took it for granted to be a fire lighted by the Waikatos, and
in consequence every one kept awake all night, ready to give the alarm
at the first unwonted sight or sound.
Among the New Zealanders is a custom of retaliation which is found
with but little variation in many parts of the world. If blood has
been shed, the friends of the dead man issue from the pah, with the
determination of killing the first person whom they may happen to meet.
Should he belong to an inimical tribe, so much the better; should he
belong to the same tribe, so much the worse; for in either case he is
killed. On such an occasion one of the avengers would be bound to kill
his own brother, should he happen to be the first man who came in the
way of the party.
Such an exercise of vengeance is rather an inconvenient one to those
who are engaged in it; for they are forbidden the use of their ordinary
comforts, they may not eat any food except that which is indigenous
to New Zealand, and, above all, they are not allowed to smoke. When,
therefore they have been unable to find any human being whom they can
sacrifice, the aid of the priest, or tohunga, is called in. He pulls
up a tuft of grass, and, after repeating one of the many incantations
which abound in New Zealand lore, and of which neither the hearers nor
the reciter understand one word in ten, he throws the grass into the
nearest stream, in token that the avengers are released from their vow.
Blood, however, must still be shed; but after this ceremony has been
performed, the blood of any living thing, even though it be a bird, is
held sufficient to satisfy the traditional custom of the Maori race.
Elaborate rites closely allied with this ceremony are employed both
before and after battle; but, as they belong rather to the subject of
religion than of war, we will postpone them for the present.
As the New Zealanders know that it is a point of military honor
combined with personal gratification to eat the bodies of slain
enemies, they are equally desirous of securing the bodies of their
foes and of carrying off those who have fallen on their own side; and
in many instances the anxiety to save those who have fallen has caused
others to share the same fate while attempting to carry off their dead
or wounded comrades.