HOKOWHITU A TU

Te Ao Hou, September 1961, Page 52

HOKOWHITU A TU The common fighting unit was the hapu. Small wars were fought by one hapu, but often several related hapu or an entire tribe joined in a large force. The fighting strength of a hapu was rarely more than a few hundred; sometimes it lay below 100. A common name for a small war party was hokowhitu-a-Tu, meaning the 140 men of Tu. Another common number mentioned by Maori authorities is 340. Probably these were typical of the strength of many war parties. The usual leaders of war parties were high born chiefs. They were more leaders than commanders; using words, gestures and exemplary action to urge the men onward. The great influence of the chief is shown by the fact that very often an attacking force would withdraw even on the verge of victory because a leader was lost or wounded. Generally, discipline was not developed as in a modern army; there was for instance no definite sanction against desertion. In the absence of effective discipline and any channelling of command, fighting units had to be kept together physically as well as in spirit. The small forces, comprising only one hapu, derived some advantages therefore from close kinship and small size. If men from several hapu joined in a common war, each hapu did as it pleased and remained under its own chief. Often, they could not get together in battle and large forces were beaten by quite small ones.