A taua is a
war party in the tradition of the
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 ...
, the
indigenous people of
New Zealand
New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
. Contemporary knowledge of taua is gleaned from missionary observations and writings during the
Musket Wars
The Musket Wars were a series of as many as 3,000 battles and raids fought throughout New Zealand (including the Chatham Islands) among Māori people, Māori between 1806 and 1845, after Māori first obtained muskets and then engaged in an inte ...
of the early 19th century and the later
New Zealand wars
The New Zealand Wars () took place from 1845 to 1872 between the Colony of New Zealand, New Zealand colonial government and allied Māori people, Māori on one side, and Māori and Māori-allied settlers on the other. Though the wars were initi ...
. The reason to gather a taua may be for reasons of seeking revenge (
utu
Shamash ( Akkadian: ''šamaš''), also known as Utu ( Sumerian: dutu " Sun") was the ancient Mesopotamian sun god. He was believed to see everything that happened in the world every day, and was therefore responsible for justice and protection ...
) or seeking compensation for an offence against an individual, community or society (
blood revenge).
[''"Traditional Maori Concepts, Muru"'' Ministry of Justice website](_blank)
/ref>
Composition
A taua was typically composed of males
Male (symbol: ♂) is the sex of an organism that produces the gamete (sex cell) known as sperm, which fuses with the larger female gamete, or ovum, in the process of fertilisation. A male organism cannot reproduce sexually without access to ...
, although there were occasions when women
A woman is an adult female human. Before adulthood, a female child or adolescent is referred to as a girl.
Typically, women are of the female sex and inherit a pair of X chromosomes, one from each parent, and women with functional u ...
fought as well. The party was led by a chief ( rangatira), and would be made up of around 70 warrior
A warrior is a guardian specializing in combat or warfare, especially within the context of a tribal society, tribal or clan-based warrior culture society that recognizes a separate warrior aristocracy, social class, class, or caste.
History
...
s. This number was the general capacity of a “ waka taua” (a war canoe), however sometimes waka would be designed to carry up to 140 warriors, and such canoes were called "Te Hokwhitu a Tu". During the height of the Musket Wars
The Musket Wars were a series of as many as 3,000 battles and raids fought throughout New Zealand (including the Chatham Islands) among Māori people, Māori between 1806 and 1845, after Māori first obtained muskets and then engaged in an inte ...
the number of warriors rose to about 2,000 and the group travelled mainly on foot around the North Island
The North Island ( , 'the fish of Māui', historically New Ulster) is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but less populous South Island by Cook Strait. With an area of , it is the List ...
coast.
The most comprehensive written account of a war expedition was written by missionary Henry Williams Henry Williams may refer to:
Politicians
* Henry Williams (activist) (born 2000), chief of staff of the Mike Gravel 2020 presidential campaign
* Henry Williams (MP for Northamptonshire) (died 1558), member of parliament (MP) for Northamptonshire ...
. This heke was a consequence of the so-called Girls’ War, which was a fight that occurred on the beach at Kororāreka, Bay of Islands
The Bay of Islands is an area on the east coast of the Far North District of the North Island of New Zealand. It is one of the most popular fishing, sailing and tourist destinations in the country, and has been renowned internationally for ...
in March 1830 between northern and southern hapū
In Māori language, Māori and New Zealand English, a ' ("subtribe", or "clan") functions as "the basic political unit within Māori society". A Māori person can belong to or have links to many hapū. Historically, each hapū had its own chief ...
within the Ngāpuhi
Ngāpuhi (also known as Ngāpuhi-Nui-Tonu or Ngā Puhi) is a Māori iwi associated with the Northland regions of New Zealand centred in the Hokianga, the Bay of Islands, and Whangārei.
According to the 2023 New Zealand census, the estimate ...
iwi
Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori, roughly means or , and is often translated as "tribe". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, and is typically pluralised as such in English.
...
. Hengi, a chief of Whangaroa, was shot and killed while he attempted to stop the fighting. The duty of seeking revenge had passed to Mango and Kakaha, the sons of Hengi; they took the view that the death of their father should be acknowledged through a muru (war expedition to honour the death of an important chief), against tribes to the south.
Mango, Kakaha and Tītore
Tītore ( 1775–1837), sometimes known as Tītore Tākiri, was a rangatira (chief) of the Ngāpuhi iwi (tribe). He was a war leader of the Ngāpuhi who led the war expedition against the Māori people, Māori tribes at East Cape in 1820 and 18 ...
(a war leader of the Ngāpuhi) did not commence the muru until January 1832. The warriors were successful in fights on the Mercury Islands
The Mercury Islands are a group of seven islands off the northeast coast of New Zealand's North Island. They are located off the coast of the Coromandel Peninsula, and northeast of the town of Whitianga.
History
Great Mercury Island (Ahu ...
and Tauranga
Tauranga (, Māori language for "resting place," or "safe anchorage") is a coastal city in the Bay of Plenty Region and the List of cities in New Zealand, fifth-most populous city of New Zealand, with an urban population of or roughly 3% of t ...
, with the muru continuing until late July 1832. In February 1833 Tītore consulted the Tohunga
In the culture of the Māori people, Māori of New Zealand, a tohunga (tōhuka in Southern Māori dialect) is an expert practitioner of any skill or art, either religious or otherwise. Tohunga include expert priests, healers, navigators, carvers, ...
, Tohitapu to foresee the success of a second war expedition;[Smith, S. Percy – Maori Wars of the Nineteenth Century (Christchurch 1910) page 450]
online
at NZETC
The New Zealand Electronic Text Collection (NZETC; ) is a freely accessible online archive of New Zealand and Pacific Islands texts and heritage materials that are held by the Victoria University of Wellington Library. It was named the New Zeala ...
then Tītore led a party of Te Rarawa
Te Rarawa is a Māori iwi of Northland, New Zealand
New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New ...
, allies of the Ngāpuhi, back to Tauranga. Williams also accompanied the second expedition.
Muru
Muru is the negative or revenge side of the Māori cultural practice of utu, carried out by taua, which can be either positive or negative. It was within Māori traditions for a taua to conduct muru against hapu who had no involvement in the events that caused the death of the chief. Often muru was preceded by a tribal or hapu discussion as to what action should take place. Normally muru was an act by taua to balance an act of violence or theft. In the early days of European settlers muru was practiced against settlers who had transgressed against Māori lore. Often settlers were bewildered by apparent random thefts or acts of violence. Sometimes, especially in the north, chiefs would intercede to give a cultural explanation to settlers and arrange a suitable payment of goods in compensation. In Māori society it was accepted that muru could be carried out against strangers. This had the appearance of arbitrary attacks on innocent parties. This led to a direct conflict with colonial law where only the guilty could be punished. In 1847 in Whanganui a Māori chief was accidentally shot in the face on a ship. He accepted that his wound was an accident. His wound was tended to by a doctor and the man recovered but a taua decided to take muru for the accident by attacking a local farmer /artist. He escaped, but the taua killed four members of the family and wounded two more. When five of the taua were caught by Māori the taua were found to be 14 and 19 year olds. All, apart from the 14 year old were found guilty of murder and hanged. The 14 year old was banished.
Strategy
Taua would typically restrict their activity to the fighting season, between late November and early April, when food and fishing was plentiful. During the height of the musket wars Taua were away from their turangawaiwai for up to a year. By 1830 they were no longer dependent on traditional crops such as kūmara
The sweet potato or sweetpotato (''Ipomoea batatas'') is a dicotyledonous plant in the morning glory family, Convolvulaceae. Its sizeable, starchy, sweet-tasting tuberous roots are used as a root vegetable, which is a staple food in parts of the ...
which only grew well in the north most part of North Island, the Iwi
Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori, roughly means or , and is often translated as "tribe". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, and is typically pluralised as such in English.
...
now grew large quantities of more easily grown potatoes.
The taua would usually attack at dawn
Dawn is the time that marks the beginning of twilight before sunrise. It is recognized by the diffuse sky radiation, appearance of indirect sunlight being Rayleigh scattering, scattered in Earth's atmosphere, when the centre of the Sun's disc ha ...
in the form of an ambush or a surprise raid. Their intimate knowledge of New Zealand's natural environment enabled them to appear and disappear swiftly and noiselessly and successfully complete their mission. As Maori at the time were strongly committed to the idea of "utu
Shamash ( Akkadian: ''šamaš''), also known as Utu ( Sumerian: dutu " Sun") was the ancient Mesopotamian sun god. He was believed to see everything that happened in the world every day, and was therefore responsible for justice and protection ...
" (revenge), the aim would be to kill all members of the enemy war party and leave no survivors. There were, however, occasions when warring taua would come to a truce. This would be typically settled through the arrangement of an intertribal marriage.
Customs
The haka
Haka (, ; singular ''haka'', in both Māori language, Māori and New Zealand English) are a variety of ceremonial dances in Māori culture. A performance art, hakas are often performed by a group, with vigorous movements and stamping of the f ...
was a central feature to the life and culture of each taua. Other customs and rites included abstinence of certain foods and practices, dedication to Tūmatauenga, the god of war, and rites that would place a " tapu" around the warrior, and lift the tapu when the warrior returned home. It was customary to eat the vanquished or to take slaves, which could be eaten later or used as slave labour. Heads of defeated chiefs were kept as trophies and displayed on palisade
A palisade, sometimes called a stakewall or a paling, is typically a row of closely placed, high vertical standing tree trunks or wooden or iron stakes used as a fence for enclosure or as a defensive wall. Palisades can form a stockade.
Etymo ...
s of the home pā
The word pā (; often spelled pa in English) can refer to any Māori people, Māori village or defensive settlement, but often refers to hillforts – fortified settlements with palisades and defensive :wikt:terrace, terraces – and also to fo ...
or defensive settlement.
''Taua'' film
''Taua'' (aka ''War Party'') is a 2007 short film written and directed by Te Arepa Kahi.''Taua'' (''War Party'')
/ref>
References
{{Reflist
External links
New Zealand in History
Māori culture
Māori words and phrases
Māori history
Warrior code