Mau rākau, meaning "to bear a weapon", is a

martial art Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defence; military and law enforcement applications; competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; and the pres ...

based on traditional

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

weapons.

Weapons

Mau rākau is a general term referring to the skilled use of weapons. It is said that the use of weapons was taught in the Whare-tū-taua (House or school of war). The term Mau taiaha is used to refer to the use of the

taiaha A taiaha () is a traditional weapon of the Māori people, Māori of New Zealand; a close-quarters staff weapon made from either wood or whalebone, and used for short, sharp strikes or stabbing thrusts with efficient footwork on the part of the wi ...

and does not necessarily include other weapons. Regular schools are held on

Mokoia Island __NOTOC__ Mokoia Island is located in Lake Rotorua in New Zealand. It has an area of 1.35 square kilometres. The uninhabited island is a rhyolite lava dome, rising to 180 metres above the lake surface. It was formed after the Rotorua caldera c ...

Lake Rotorua Lake Rotorua () is the second largest lake in the North Island of New Zealand by surface area, and covers 79.8 km2. With a mean depth of only 10 metres it is considerably smaller than nearby Lake Tarawera in terms of volume of water. It i ...

to teach the use of the

. Mita Mohi established the Mokoia taiaha wānanga, which had trained more than 11,000 people over more than 30 years, , and had reached more than 20,000 people by the time of his death in 2016. One of those is actor

Cliff Curtis Clifford Vivian Devon Curtis (born July 27, 1968) is a New Zealand actor and film producer. After working in theatre, he made his film debut in Jane Campion's Academy Awards, Oscar-winning film ''The Piano'' (1993), followed by a breakout role ...

, who attended a Mau Rakau taiaha programme on Mokoia Island at the age of 10. Curtis was like a son to Mohi, and helped him out whenever he could at programmes in prisons and the community. Other Māori weapons: *

Mere (weapon) The mere () is a type of short, broad-bladed weapon in the shape of an enlarged tear drop. It was used to strike/jab an opponent in the body or the head, usually made from nephrite jade (pounamu or Greenstone (archaeology), greenstone). A mere i ...

Kotiate Kotiate is a type of traditional hand weapon of the Māori, the indigenous people of New Zealand. A kotiate is a short club normally made of wood or whalebone. Kotiate means to cut or divide the liver (koti = cut in two or divide; ate = liver), ...

Tewhatewha A tewhatewha is a long-handled Māori club weapon shaped like an axe. Designed to be held in two hands, the weapon comes to a mata (point) at one end and a rapa (broad, quarter-round head) at the other. The tewhatewha (pronounced ''tefa tefa'') ...

Patu A patu is a club or pounder used by the Māori. The word in the Māori language means to strike, hit, beat, kill or subdue. Weapons These types of short-handled clubs were mainly used as a striking weapon. The blow administered with this ...

Pouwhenua Pouwhenua or pou whenua (land post), are carved wooden posts used by Māori, the indigenous peoples of New Zealand to mark territorial boundaries or places of significance. They are generally artistically and elaborately carved and can be found ...

Wahaika A Wahaika is a type of traditional Māori hand weapon. Wahaika are short club-like weapons usually made of wood or whalebone and are used for thrusting and striking in close-quarter, hand-to-hand fighting. Whalebone wahaika are called ''wahai ...

Mythology

It is said weapons including the taiaha and patu were handed down by

Tāne In Māori mythology, Tāne (also called Tāne-mahuta, Tāne-nui-a-Rangi, Tāne-te-waiora and several other names) is the god of forests and of birds, and the son of Rangi and Papa, Ranginui and Rangi and Papa, Papatūānuku, the sky father and th ...

, god of the forest and Tū, god of war, the two sons of Rangi-nui and Papatūānuku. The Whare-tū-taua (House of war) is a term which covers the basics of educating young ''toa'' (warriors) in the arts of war.

References

External links

Mau Rākau assessment guides

New Zealand Qualifications Authority The New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA; ) is the New Zealand government Crown entity tasked with administering educational assessment and qualifications. It was established by the Education Act 1989. NZQA administers the National Cert ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mau rakau New Zealand martial arts Māori mythology Māori weapons