Top 10 TERRIFYING Facts About MAORI WARRIORS

Number 10.

They had carved tattoos in For the Maori people, tattoos had particular meaning, and both sexes would acquire them. The face was the most popular location for them, although certain Maori people were also known to have tattoos on their arms, torsos, and necks. The majority of Maoris began obtaining tattoos in their teenage years. Although each pattern was distinctive, they were all typically spirals. Each line reflected the person's bravery and fortitude as it was tattooed on at a ceremony. After all, a needle gun wasn't used to apply these tattoos. Instead, they were carved into the skin with a bone-made chisel and hammer, and ash and fat were used to make the ink. Instead of being smooth like contemporary tattoos, this left the skin with grooves like a record.

Number 9.

Battle Dance The Haka, a traditional native dance, was one of the most significant customs followed by Maori warriors and is still performed by many of their national sports teams today. The dancers chant, pound their feet, stick out their tongues, and enlarge their eyeballs while performing the dance. Although the dance was frequently performed to greet distinguished visitors, it was really created for battle. Two alternative applications of the dance were made. The first is that their adversaries were intimidated by it. The ritual that took place prior to combat was another way it was employed. The elders were certain that if there was anything wrong with the dance, it was a bad omen. They had the option to either change their plans or abandon them as a result.

Number 8.

Skulls Were Broken With The Mere Club The Maori warriors' go-to weapon was a simple club. It was made of stone, jade, or bone and had the form of a teardrop. Since they required so much time to make, they were frequently embellished and valued as heirlooms. They were used in close-quarters combat and are blunt-force weapons. A Maori warrior would frequently strike an enemy tribesman in the shoulder with his simple club. Hopefully, this would fracture their shoulder, dislocate their shoulder, or shatter their collarbone. Then, their adversary would be powerless to fight off a strike to the head, frequently to the temple. The pterion, the weakest part of the skull, is located behind the temple. Because of how fragile the skull is there, an enemy warrior could generally be killed with just one strike at that spot.

Number 7.

The dead were buried, then excavated, and reburied. The Maori buried their dead in a very peculiar way. The Maori people started double burials early in their civilization. After a week or two of grieving, the body was first covered in mats before being buried and left to rot. Then, a year later, the remains were dug up, and any flesh that was still on the bones was scraped off. Then, the bones were painted with red ochre, a natural colour, and transported to several towns, where they were once again lamented. They had another ceremony before being buried in a revered location once more. After this second burial was finished, the deceased's spirit would depart for an unidentified afterlife.

Number 6.

The Battle Plan A hapu, or battle group, was typically made up of no more than 100 males; however, occasionally women fought with the men. Sometimes many hapus would band together, but as the number of fighters increased, the hapus lost their organization. Every boy received training to be a warrior beginning at a young age. Their focus was specifically on developing wrist strength. Their weapons, such as the mere, would become considerably more potent as a result. The Maoris would sneak up on other tribes' villages and attack them, or they would act as though they were only on a hunting trip. Once in range, they would strike, frequently early in the morning. Because there was no prospect that any tribesman might return and exact retribution, all the men were slain. The women were also captured as a military reward.

Number 5.

The heads of the dead were used as prizes. The Maori people were known to steal the heads of their defeated adversaries because heads carried particular meaning for them. The brain and the eyes would be taken out once they had the head. After that, flax fibre and gum were used to close up all the openings. The head was either steamed in the oven or boiled. The heads were then treated with shark oil after being dried in the sun for a few days. They retained the skulls of their adversaries so they might later make fun of them. According to a missionary, he overheard one chief tell the rival chieftain's head, "You wanted to run away, didn't you?" But I passed you with my greenstone club! You were converted into food for me after being cooked! What about your father? He's done. What about your brother? He is a meal. What about your wife? She is seated there; she is my future bride. Where are your kids, by the way? They are there, carrying meals like my slaves while lugging weights on their backs. They even created a strange game using the heads, as if that weren't disrespectful enough. The senior chief's head was placed on top of the pile when it had been piled high. They then took turns trying to knock off the head at the top of the pile using stones or other heads.

Number 4.

The initial encounter with Captain James Cook was terrifying. The Maori and Europeans first came into contact in December 1646, when a Dutch ship came within striking distance of a Maori tribe. Due to the standoffishness of both parties, a minor altercation broke out, which resulted in fatalities on both sides. The Dutch sailed away after the run-in; Europeans wouldn't return until October 1767, when English sailor James Cook visited in search of the rumoured fourth continent. The Maori sent out two war canoes to greet Captain Cook when they first came into contact. Two mature Maori warriors, their faces tattooed, rose up as the boats approached and held aloft the shrunken heads of their most recent foes, who were also tattooed. The attention to detail on the faces let Cook and his crew know the heads were authentic right away. Cook wished to communicate with the Maori in a civilized manner, but there were some miscommunications, and the Maori displayed hostile behaviour. To Cook's dismay, the Europeans are said to have been compelled to murder a few Maori in self-defence. Cook and his soldiers ultimately abducted some Maori warriors in order to persuade them that they had arrived in peace. They treated them with kindness before releasing them. This resulted in improved ties between the Maori and the Europeans, which had a significant impact on how New Zealand was shaped.

Number 3.

Hongi Hika, one of their most renowned warriors The most well-known Maori chief, Hongi Hika, is thought to have been born around 1778. He was a tough and nimble warrior when he was younger, rising through the ranks of his Ngapuhi iwi tribe. His leader was friendly with Europeans and understood the usefulness of muskets in battle. The tribe engaged in a conflict with the Ngati Whatua tribe in 1808 after the leader was able to deal with the Europeans for a number of rifles and ammunition. The Ngapuhi iwi fired their first shots using muskets, although at that time, muskets had a reloading period of at least 20 seconds. During this reloading period, the Ngati Whatua attacked. The chief and several other Ngapuhi Iwi tribal members were killed. One of the fortunate ones to escape was Hongi Hika. Hongi Hika, the most senior member of the tribe after the chief's death, assumed leadership of the tribe. The loss could have made Hongi Hika less inclined to use muskets in the future. But he had the vision to realise that muskets might play a crucial role in combat. As a result, he began to interact more with Europeans, even travelling to Australia and England, where his tattoos caused a little sensation. Even better, he became a Christian and founded the first missionary organization in New Zealand. Due to his commitment to being a defender of the church, Hongi Hika's association with the church allowed him access to additional guns. He wasn't, however, handed all the weapons outright; rather, he traded for them. Shrunken skulls were what the Europeans demanded in payment for the weaponry. As the trade spread, captives and prisoners of war were actually delivered to the Europeans, who then picked out the heads they desired. The chosen victim was then tattooed and beheaded by the Maori. Maori skulls were being sold for as little as £2, which is equivalent to a working man's week's income in England, due to the oversupply of Maori heads in the market. Nevertheless, throughout his ten years as commander, Hongi Hika managed to acquire nearly 3,000 weapons as well as a sizable supply of ammunition and gunpowder. His people began killing and stealing women from neighboring tribes around 1818. He gained total dominance over northern New Zealand within a year. However, other tribes quickly imitated Hongi Hika and acquired their own weapons. In 1828, a gunshot to the lung caused Hongi Hika's death.

Number 2.

Infanticide The Maoris killed infants, much as other warrior societies did. Since every male was a warrior and the tribe needed a sufficient number of warriors to secure its security, females were more likely to be slain. This was because tribes needed more men. Males were also more likely to die in war, which would have caused a shift in the sex ratios later in life. If there was anything wrong with the newborn, infanticide was also rather prevalent. The infants were effectively murdered in five different ways. They may have their heads smashed, drowned in a stone basin, strangled, or suffocated, and ultimately, in the most horrifying method, moms would push against the soft place on the baby's skull and instantly kill it. Oh, that's good news. You can't claim that we didn't warn you, hey. The word "terrifying" is directly in the title.

Number 1.

They engaged in cannibalism. There is much disagreement about whether or not the Maori warriors engaged in cannibalism. Some historians think that Europeans were only attempting to portray the Maoris as untamed savages. But in addition to eyewitness tales of cannibalism, tribal oral traditions and archaeological data also strongly imply that Maori warriors engaged in the practice of eating defeated foes. The Maori didn't kill and eat their enemies out of hunger, but for a few other reasons. One was to internalise their spirit, or mana, as it was known to them. Another hypothesis is that part of their post-battle anger included cannibalism. Another is that it would communicate with adversaries. They believed that killing, chopping up, eating, and then excreting your adversary was the ultimate act of shame.