Author(s): Angela Ballara

History

'Musket wars', 'land wars' or tikanga?; Warfare in Maori Society in the Early Nineteenth Century. Taua is the first major study of Maori warfare for decades. It asks the question: what if the nature of Maori society itself was the cause of the wars - not the introduction of new and destructive military technology? Only after prolonged contact, argues Angela Ballara, did the cultural context of Maori warfare change. Drawing on Maori writers and sources and not just on earlier Pakeha scholars, this book re-examines some fundamental questions. Ballara's fascinating new analysis is of vital importance at a time when issues of Maori land loss and redress are being debated in the public arena.