Maori war dress varied a good deal as between one fighter and another. The chief shown here is wearing a closely-woven full-sized war cloak and an apron-like garment (maro) fastened with a war belt. The weapons are spear and patu (John Liddiard Nicholas, 1817, Courtesy Turnbull Library). sleep sound and peacefully upon the tree branch, but man is ever wakeful and in dread of enemies.’

THE STRATEGY OF SURPRISE The most common form of surprise attack was the ambuscade. In addition, more elaborate devices were popular. It was regarded as quite in accord with the rules of war to massacre a party of unsuspecting guests or hosts at a village gathering, or to appear close to a village in a guise of wood carriers, cultivators and fishermen, thus beguiling the enemy into false security. Any stratagem was considered fair and the unwary got what they deserved. It was an understood thing that war could at any time break out. Any tribe that felt it had suffered an injury at the hands of another tribe, no matter how long before, might suddenly decide that the time for revenge had come. In these circumstances every village had its potential enemies; justification could always be found to attack it. Even if after a raid a peace was concluded, this was not permanently binding and hostilities could always recur unless the peace was sealed with a chiefly intermarriage, linking the former enemies in close kinship. The favourite hour for attack was dawn. During the night the war party could approach unobserved and so make sure of surprising the enemy. Mist and rain were considered propitious. It was customary to kill any man who crossed the path of a war party. Scouts would be sent ahead of the main force to find out whether the enemy was expecting an attack; often, if the enemy was found prepared, the attack was postponed. The Maori pa was normally protected by sentries. While they were on duty they sang watch songs and beat wooden gongs (pahau). If these gongs suddenly became silent that was a sign of trouble. In addition people were sometimes placed on lookout posts which commanded a wide view. When they saw an enemy approaching they could give warning. However, from the published accounts one gets the impression that the Maoris were not very systematic and careful about lookout duties, nor was there any grave punishment for a sleepy sentry. If the people of a pa received intelligence of an approaching war party, they would often plan a counter-surprise by sending a detachment to sit in ambush and attack the enemy from flank or rear.

THE CONDUCT OF BATTLES Before the introduction of the muskets, pitched battles were probably not very common. When they did occur, both parties would often break into a fierce war dance to excite the warriors and give them the courage to face death. Single combat between the opposing chiefs was not uncommon. The result of such contests decided the battle for when the chief of a war party fell, the rest would usually retreat. In these single combats the champion warriors were motivated by a desire for fame, for stories about them were remembered after many generations. The rules of chivalry did not apply to such contests; the important thing was to see that the adversary was killed by whatever means were offering. Cannibalism was the regular practice in Maori wars. Human flesh was an important part of the food supply of war parties. The bodies were cut up with obsidian flakes and then cooked on heated stones which were laid in pits in the ground. Sometimes, flesh was kept as a supply for the journey. Such meat would first be boned, then dried and packed in flax baskets; alternatively, it was potted in fat in gourds. Prisoners were sometimes taken alive, tied together with flax ropes and kept on the hoof for future slaughter and use. It was really only in war that cannibalism was a regular occurrence. In peace, human flesh was rarely eaten, and only on very special occasions such as a famine or the visit of a very prominent visitors. If the attackers failed to surprise an enemy, they often withdrew. It was only rarely that an attempt was made to take a pa by storm; this was very difficult and seldom successfully managed. Occasionally a pa might be taken by sapping, by