Description

Large Maori taiaha, carved from native wood

The large Maori taiaha can either have a greenstone tongue or a carved wooden tongue.
Cost is the same for either a greenstone tongue or wooden tongue.

Our carver uses native NZ wood (rimu, matai, totara or kauri).

We can provide a large tube and organise shipping anywhere in the world.
We will give you a quote when your order.

• Size: approx. 1500mm (59.05)Our artist would need 6-8 weeks lead-time

Rākau Māori – Māori weapons – taiaha, patu

Rākau Māori (Māori weaponry) was designed for hand-to-hand combat. In battle it was common for toa (warriors) to take a long handled weapon such as a taiaha (long-handled fighting staff) and a short weapon such as a patu (club) tucked into a belt.

Māori wore little into battle apart from a maro (kilt) or a tātua (belt). In some cases a tapahu (dogskin war cloak) or a pauku (cloak to shield spear thrusts), was worn.

Māori did not use bows and arrows, so fighting was almost entirely hand-to-hand. Famous weapons were given names and handed down from generation to generation.

Taiaha (fighting staff)

One of the most well-known Māori weapons is the taiaha. It is usually made from wood, though sometimes it is made from whale bone.

Due to its shape, it is sometimes mistakenly referred to as a spear. The staff has a pointed end, and is usually between 1.5 and 1.8 metres long.

The pointed end (the arero or tongue) comes out of the upoko (head) which then becomes the ate (liver) or tinana (body). It is used for stabbing, parrying (warding off blows) and striking.

Source: Basil Keane, ‘Riri – traditional Māori warfare – Rākau Māori – Māori weapons and their uses’, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand.

Story by Basil Keane, published 20 Jun 2012