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This content contains extracts, condensed (in my own paraphrasing) from honest, well-balanced and accurate first-hand experiences of New Zealand missionary William Williams. Read the full chapter from the original source here: Christianity Among The New Zealanders, Chapter II.
It was in the early part of the 1800's that a French ship visited the Bay of Islands in New Zealand, and while its crew were ashore cutting wood a number of them were murdered by the natives. This resulted in a fearful retaliation from the crew in which many natives were shot from the ship's boats.
On another occasion a similar occurrence took place, and after the massacre of a ship's crew, boats from whaling ships in the Bay of Islands were sent to take their vengeance on the tribe supposed to be responsible.
One of the most powerful Māori chiefs in the area at this time was named Temorenga, a chief with more than just one score to settle, for as well as being beaten in battle by his enemies from the eastern Waikato, his niece had recently been captured and later eaten by a chief from Tauranga named Te Waru.
It was now becoming very apparent to Temorenga how he could gain supremacy over his enemies through the possession of muskets, and it wasn't long before he began trading with whaling and other ships that were visiting the area. It was about sixteen years after the death of his niece that he decided the time was right for his revenge, and gathering a force of 600 men he travelled to Tauranga where he informed Te Waru that he had come to seek satisfaction for the death of his niece. Te Waru's reply was, "If that is the object of your expedition, the only satisfaction I shall give you will be to kill and eat you."
The following day the two parties met each other in battle. Temorenga instructed his men not to fire until he gave the word. He had thirty-five muskets, and Te Waru was only depending on his native weapons. Waru charged with a shower of spears, only wounding one man, and then Temorenga ordered his own men to fire, and twenty of Waru's men, including two chiefs, fell dead at the first volley. Waru's party was immediately thrown into disorder and fled.
Temorenga was now satisfied, but his friends decided that Te Waru should be punished for his insolent language. Te Waru's force was not wanting peace either, and on the next day he attacked Temorenga again, only to have a large number of his men slain within a short time. Many of his men were driven into the sea and perished, and there were between 300 and 400 left dead on the field of battle, with 260 made prisoners. Waru had been completely conquered, and fled into the bush.
After this the victors remained three days on the field of battle, feeding upon the slain, and then sailed with their prisoners and Waru's canoes to the Bay of Islands.
The practice of cannibalism appears to have been universal, and a missionary, the Rev. Samuel Marsden, writes:
"I have met with no family, but some branches of it had been killed in battle and afterwards eaten. If any chief falls into the hands of a tribe which he has oppressed and injured, by the chance of war, they are sure to roast and eat him; and after devouring his flesh, they will preserve his bones in the family as a memento of his fate, and convert them into fish-hooks, whistles, and ornaments. The custom of eating their enemies is universal. The origin of it is now too remote to be traced. The natives generally speak of it with horror and disgust, yet they expect that this will be their own fate in the end, as it has been with their forefathers and friends. I represented to them how much their national character suffered in the opinion of all civilised nations from this horrid custom, and many regretted that it should be the practice of their country, and said that when they knew better they would leave it off. If the head of a tribe is killed and eaten, the survivors consider it the greatest disgrace that can befall them; and in their turn they seize the first opportunity to retaliate."
The success of Temorenga's expedition only stimulated the other tribes to war, and the chief Hongi became determined to make himself superior, and visited England in 1820 with the hope of obtaining muskets and powder. In England he soon found resistance to his plans, and he had to conceal what he was up to. When he obtained muskets he carefully put them away, and when he received presents he sold them in exchange for muskets.
Because of the resistance to his efforts in England, Hongi had become convinced that it was his old friends, the missionaries in New Zealand, who were hindering his efforts, and on his arrival back in the country his attitude had changed a lot. He influenced many people, including lesser chiefs, to side with him, buying their support with gifts of firearms, powder or money. They began to treat the missionaries with contempt, breaking down fences, walking into their houses when they pleased, stealing whatever they could lay their hands on, and demanding food. Great mischief was afoot, and Hongi's mind was full of very dark designs.
During his return trip to New Zealand, Hongi had stayed in Sydney with an old friend, the Rev. Samuel Marsden. There he found four chiefs from the Waikato (Thames river area) who were heading to England as he himself had done. Mr Marsden tried to persuade them against going, as of course did Hongi, for he was contemplating attacking these very chiefs himself. Even while living under the same roof as these chiefs and eating with them, he told one of them, Hinaki (the chief of a tribe living at Mokai on the Tamaki), to head back to New Zealand and prepare for war, as he was soon going to be attacked.
Hongi gathered about himself in the Bay of Islands a very formidable force. There were at least fifty canoes, and two thousand men, with a great number of muskets and an abundance of ammunition. The expedition intended to sweep the country before them, destroying men, women and children, without anyone being able to stand against them because of their lack of firearms. The missionaries tried in vain to stop them on their course.
The results of Hongi's expedition were fearful. Powerful and mighty tribes on both sides of the Thames were destroyed, and for many years the countryside was deserted. These tribes generally outnumbered Hongi's expedition and rushed boldly into battle, confident of winning, but upon being fired upon Hongi soon had them in confusion and under his power.
Upon the return of this expedition there were many recorded instances of some of the most horrible and disgusting events that took place. Some people have doubted that cannibalism was ever really practised, but the account that follows is included for three reasons: first to show that it was not a myth, secondly to make people aware of the conditions from which the Gospel has since brought many, not only within Maoridom but also from similar conditions throughout Europe's own history, and thirdly so that a true balance is given.
On the 19th of December 1821, following Hongi's expedition to the south, three of the war canoes returned from the Thames and arrived at Kerikeri. They had upwards of a hundred prisoners with them who were easily distinguished by their sorrowful appearance. Some of them were weeping bitterly, and in particular one woman before whom they had, with savage cruelty, placed the head of her brother, stuck upon a pole. She sat upon the ground before it, the tears streaming down her cheeks. These canoes brought the news of the death of Tete, son-in-law to Hongi, who was slain in the fight. He was one of the most civilised and best behaved of the natives. His brother Pu, a fine young man, was also among the slain. This created great grief in the family.
Tete's wife, and Matuka his brother, were watched to prevent them from taking their own lives. Pu's wife hanged herself on hearing the news, and Hongi's wife killed a slave, which was a customary act on such occasions.
The next day Hongi and his people arrived with the dead bodies of Tete and Pu. Messrs. Francis Hall and Kemp went to see the ceremony of their landing, but were very sorry that their curiosity had led them to witness such a scene of horror. A small canoe with the dead bodies first approached the shore. The war canoes, about forty in number, lay at a short distance. Soon after, a party of young men landed to perform the war dance and the "pihe," a song over the bodies of the slain. They yelled and jumped, brandishing their weapons, and threw up human heads in a shocking manner - but this was only a prelude to the horrid work about to follow.
An awful pause ensued. At length the canoes moved slowly and touched the shore, when the widow of Tete and other women rushed down upon the beach in a frenzy of rage, and beat in pieces the carved work at the head of the canoes with poles. They proceeded to pull three prisoners into the water and beat them to death. The frantic widow then went to another canoe and killed a female prisoner. The missionaries withdrew from the distressing scene, as no interference of theirs could avail; and they were told that after they left, Hongi killed five more with his own hand. In all, nine persons were murdered that evening, and were afterwards eaten.
The prisoners were very numerous, men, women and children, but chiefly the latter. They were said to amount to about two thousand, and were distributed chiefly among the tribes of the Bay of Islands. The people were now more bloodthirsty than ever, and talked of going again soon, meaning to devastate the whole island. Poor Hinaki, the chief to whom Hongi had given warning a short time before, was killed and eaten.
The next day Hongi was busy making an enclosure with pieces of canoe, decorated with feathers and carved work, in which to place the bodies of the two brothers Tete and Pu. Part of the remains of those killed the day before were roasting over a fire nearby, and some human flesh, ready cooked, lay in baskets on the ground. Hongi had the audacity to ask Mr Kemp to eat some, remarking that it was better than pork. Part of one of the women killed the day before was cooked on the hillside behind Mr Kemp's house; her head was cut off and rolled down the hill, and several amused themselves by throwing large stones at it until it was destroyed. Among the slaves taken to Waimate the preceding day, one - a woman who had become tired or lame and could not keep pace with the rest - was killed on the spot.
A few days later it was reported that Hongi and his people had killed more of the prisoners, bringing the number murdered in cold blood since their return to eighteen. Several heads were stuck upon poles near the mission dwellings, and the tattooed skin of a man's thigh was nailed to a board to dry, so that it might be made into the covering of a cartridge-box.
It did not occur to these people that their relatives had fallen in a fair fight, brought upon themselves by attacking those who, by comparison, were defenceless. Nor did they consider how much greater a number of the enemy had fallen than the few they mourned. Having lost their nearest relatives, they knew no other way of moderating their grief than through the indulgence of brutal revenge.
Within a few months these events were repeated again, when another large force was assembled to avenge the deaths of Tete and Pu upon the people of Waikato.
Condensed from a string of events described on pages 23-35 of "Christianity Among The New Zealanders" by The Right Rev. William Williams, DCL, Bishop of Waiapu (1867). Read the full chapter here.
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