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Ethnology of Manihiki and Rakahanga
War and Weapons
War and Weapons
Warfare
The traditional narratives available do not record any wars. As the people lived in one village in Rakahanga and two in Manihiki, instead of separating to the various islands, the contention that active fighting of a serious nature was unknown is feasible. At the same time, individual and family disputes must have occurred, for certain people were referred to as toa (warriors) who were armed. It was evidently their duty to enforce the keeping of tapus and prohibitions concerning food-producing islands that were closed to enable crops to recover. The weapons consisted of spears and two forms of clubs.
Spears
The spear (tokotoko) was made of coconut wood and was from 2.5 arm spans to 3 arm spans long. The distal end had a sharp, rounded point (mata), and the proximal end had a raised butt flange to prevent the back hand from slipping off. A modern spear obtained on Rakahanga is shown in figure 108, a. Edge-Partington (6, vol. 1, p. 62, fig. 7) figures a Manihiki spear 89 inches long, inlaid with pearl shell discs, and with a four-sided point. The weapon was primarily used for piercing with a thrust (wero) but could also be used for striking (rutu).
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Figure 108. Weapons: a, spear (tokotoko); b, long club (korare). a, spear, 8 feet 8 inches long: 1, four-sided pyramidal point, 4.1 inches long, 1.5 inches wide at base; 2, second pyramidal projection, 2.6 inches long, 1.6 inches wide on two opposite sides of base and 1.5 inches wide on other opposite sides, narrow part at base of first point is 1 inch in all diameters; 3, shaft, diameter at rounded base of second projection is 1.1 inches, maximum diameter about 1 foot from junction is 1.4 inches, diameter 2 feet from proximal end is 1.2 inches, cross diameters at end are 0.8 inch by 0.6 inch, shaft not perfectly round, difference of 0.05 inch to 0.1 inch in some cross diameters, b, club, 8 feet 5 inches long: 1, blade inlaid with double rows of circular pearl-shell discs with single row about midway to shaft and another toward tip, lateral edges sharp, blade is 2 feet 1 inch long, maximum width 1 foot 3 inches from pointed tip is 2.4 inches, where thickness is 0.7 inch, blade is 1.4 inches wide at junction with shoulder; 2, shoulder ornamented with five rows of pearl-shell discs and five pearl-shell discs on sides corresponding in line with rows on upper and lower surfaces, prolonged like cuff for 6.5 inches, 2 inches wide at each end, 1.5 inches wide in middle, 0.6 inch thick; 3, shaft, 5 feet 6 inches long, 1.2 inches wide in middle, 0.85 inch thick, somewhat rectangular in cross section; 4, proximal butt, 4 inches long, 1.4 inches wide at shaft junction, 0.9 inch wide at end.
Clubs
Clubs (korare) were of two forms, long and short. The long club was made of coconut wood. It was described as being tukerua (two tuke) long. A tuke is the distance from the outstretched hand to the opposite shoulder. A long slender korare seen at Rakahanga is shown in figure 108, b. A club like a long billet with the head end rounded and slightly expanded (pl. 10, B) is richly inlaid with pearl-shell discs throughout its length.
page 196The short korare was made of tou wood and was less than one tuke long. It had an expanded thick blade with sharp edges. One form described to me was said to have a curved distal end something like a bill hook, as in figure 109, a. The korare made for me has no curve as in figure 109, b and plate 10, A. A much shorter club fully inlaid (fig. 109, c) was recorded by Edge-Partington (6, vol, 2, p. 21, fig. 1). The short korare was sometimes carried slung to the wrist for use at close quarters.
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Figure 109. Weapons, short clubs (korare). a, Rakahangan club (drawn by F. Murray): 1, expanded blade, sharpened lateral edges do not meet in mesial edge; 2, curved end; 3, rounded shaft or handle; 4, proximal knob. b, Rakahangan club (C. 3019) of tou wood, 33.5 inches long: 2, blade with square end, ornamented with pearl-shell discs and triangles, incised along mesial edge with smaller circles, triangles, and nicks, 19.5 inches long, 4.2 inches wide at shaft junction and 4.9 inches wide at distal end, 1.9 inches thick between mesial edges, side edges blunt, abrupt shoulder at shaft junction; 3, shaft, 14 inches long, diameter is 1.5 inches; 4, proximal knob, 1.7 inches thick, transverse diameter is 2.4 inches; 5, end in section, with pearl-shell discs. c, short club (after Edge-Partington), 19 inches long: 1, blade narrower in middle and covered by four rows of pearl-shell discs; 3, short handle without knob.