Maori warfare

Māori warfare traditionally involved hand-to-hand combat, with weapons designed to kill. Reasons for war could be practical, such as for land or resources, but could also be to increase mana or as revenge for insults.The concept of utu really is the key to understanding traditional Māori warfare. Utu is sometimes translated as “revenge” but this is incorrect. Utu actually means “repayment” or “balanced by an equivalent”. If an offence was committed, the party wronged would seek repayment to restore their mana. A failure to extract utu would cause the offended party to loose face, to suffer a loss of mana. In a worst-case scenario a desire for utu could lead to war.a battle was known as the mataika (first fish). The mataika’s heart would be cut out and offered the first person killed in o a god.     

Maori weapons

Mere  

Taiaha

Kotiate

Wahaika