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Taua O Sa’ousoali'i
A taua is a war party in the tradition of the Māori, the indigenous people of New Zealand. Contemporary knowledge of taua is gleaned from missionary observations and writings during the Musket Wars of the early 19th century and the later New Zealand wars. The reason to gather a taua may be for reasons of seeking revenge (utu) or seeking compensation for an offence against an individual, community or society (blood revenge). Composition A taua was typically composed of males, although there were occasions when women fought as well. The party was led by a chief (rangatira), and would be made up of around 70 warriors. This number was the general capacity of a “waka taua” (a war canoe), however sometimes waka would be designed to carry up to 140 warriors, and such canoes were called "Te Hokwhitu a Tu". During the height of the Musket Wars the number of warriors rose to about 2,000 and the group travelled mainly on foot around the North Island coast. The most comprehensive wri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
War Party
War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organized groups. It is generally characterized by widespread violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular or irregular military forces. ''Warfare'' refers to the common activities and characteristics of types of war, or of wars in general. Total war is warfare that is not restricted to purely legitimate military targets, and can result in massive civilian or other non-combatant suffering and casualties. Etymology The English word ''war'' derives from the 11th-century Old English words and , from Old French ( as in modern French), in turn from the Frankish , ultimately deriving from the Proto-Germanic language">Proto-Germanic . The word is related to the Old Saxon , Old High German , and the modern German , meaning . History Anthro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
