A "taiaha".
Anybody coming at me with one of these while I'm in my own home is going to find him or her self rapidly collecting .45 diameter holes in their chest and skull.
And I won't stop till they're dead, Maori sickness or no.
L
Posted on 03/10/2007 1:14:45 AM PST by DieHard the Hunter
A man who smashed his way into a suburban Christchurch house after threatening a woman occupant was suffering from "Maori sickness" at the time, a minister says.
The Rev Whare Kawa Kaa told Christchurch District Court judge Colin Doherty yesterday that after he diagnosed Adam Daniel Cooper's problem, and took action, the young man was cured.
"He's now got his memory back, got his mind back," said Mr Kaa, minister at the Phillipstown church, who has known Cooper for many years.
Mr Kaa said that the problem stemmed from Cooper's carrying a taiaha (long club) and a tokotoko (walking stick).
"It is only elders who carry these things around. The Maori sickness was upon him. That is the sacredness of carrying these things. It was like a curse had been laid upon him."
He asked Cooper's mother and father to bring the items to his house so that they could be blessed, and then he had them send the items away.
"Maori sickness was pretty strong in the time of our fathers and grandfathers. It is still happening if things are not done in the right manner."
Cooper, 23, had pleaded guilty to a charge of burglary, and was appearing for sentence.
He had met a drunken cousin who was arguing with two women outside a Linwood house.
Cooper threatened one woman and, when they retreated into the house, he and his cousin smashed the front door and windows and went in.
A male occupant fired a shotgun down the hallway. No one was hit. The man who allegedly fired the gun is awaiting trial.
Judge Doherty gave Cooper a substantial reduction on his sentence for his previous good character, his late guilty plea and because he had good support from his whanau. He jailed him for nine months, with leave to apply for home detention.
In 2000, Tariana Turia, who was then associate Maori affairs minister, questioned whether psychologists had the appropriate training to deal with issues such as Maori sickness (mate Maori).
Victoria University's head of Maori studies, Peter Adds, said mate Maori was a fairly common condition. "It's usually brought on when people believe they have broken a tapu and are paying the consequences."
The article mentions a "taiaha" as being a "long club" -- it isn't, really: the "long club" is a very different weapon.
The "taiaha" is about the length of a quarter-staff, is elaborately carved, and has a sharpened wooden "paddle-shaped" blade on one end, and a sharp "spear-point" shaped blade on the other (sometimes made of greenstone or jade, just as often carved out of wood). It is made of dense, heavy an strong hardwood, often manuka (one of the trees that renders tea tree oil). The spearpoint end is surrounded by a feather collar, which is used both as a distraction and as a means of stopping blood from making the rest of the taiaha slippery.
It is used something like a quarterstaff, something like a Japanese Katana, and something like a bayonet, something like a baseball bat and something unlike any other weapon I've ever encountered or am aware of.
There is an entire Maori martial art surrounding its usage. In skilled hands, it is much more effective than a rifle/bayonet combination as the British colonial soldiers often found out to their cost. It is supposed to be one of the most lethal edged hand-weapons known to mankind.
The martial art dedicated to its use looks much like a dance (well, it is, sorta -- a very real, very dangerous dance). Quite frightening to watch, while being very entertaining and thoroughly effective as well.
So, this burglar packing one of these should have been treated as seriously as any person carrying, say, a large edged weapon to the scene of a crime: it isn't just for decoration. It will be interesting to see if his defense is successful.
The article also mentions a "tapu" -- as I understand it, a "tapu" is something like a curse, something like a societal convention, something like a "taboo".
(I am not Maori, so the concept doesn't easily translate for me. But, like I said, I believe there may be a grain or two of truth in these concepts -- at very least.)
*DieHard*
Tonight, having drunk about 22/3 third of a 5th of jack danials I believe this to be absolutely true. So help me God.
Sorry in meant 2/3
Good night.
Otis.
A crazed native violently enters an occupied dwelling armed with a slashing weapon intent on doing violence to the innocent occupants of said dwelling.
The dwelling occupants fire a shot at this miscreant who by his own admission is out of his mind at the time.
And your authorities have charged the folks who were defending themselves because they fired a shotgun?
Is that about right?
I'll wait for your answer before I state categorically that your legal system is stark, raving, gibbering, slobbering mad.
L
A "taiaha".
Anybody coming at me with one of these while I'm in my own home is going to find him or her self rapidly collecting .45 diameter holes in their chest and skull.
And I won't stop till they're dead, Maori sickness or no.
L
You mean Jack Denalius...Danilas...Danelis....whatever! :)
> Sorry in meant 2/3
(big grin!) I was just thinking "wow!" and marveling at the obvious skill and capacity for Indiana guys holding their likker -- and resolving to never get into a drinking match with folk from the Midwest!
Goodnite!
*DieHard*
> I'll wait for your answer before I state categorically that your legal system is stark, raving, gibbering, slobbering mad.
You've got it nailed in one: our legal system *is* stark, raving, gibbering, slobbering mad. And this was on a *good* day: this past couple monts have seen some really crazy legal outcomes from our system -- "Maori Madness" is one of the more mild tales!
I kid you not, wish I was...
*DieHard*
You might just change your opinion as to the utility of a handgun.
At least for a couple of seconds anyway.
After that I don't think you'd be thinking about anything and the world would be a much poorer place.
Is this sickness contagious? Is there any treatment, other than a couple of 12 gauge rounds I mean?
L
Makes you wonder what the courts would have done if the homeowner had actually killed the dirtbag in question.
>Well I certainly hope you never find yourself up against two or three 'Maori sick' individuals armed with these weapons.
>
> You might just change your opinion as to the utility of a handgun.
Two or three crazies armed with taiahas intent on bloodshed and skilled in the ways of the martial art that goes with a taiaha's proper use? A fast motorbike going in the opposite direction would be my first choice.
For those who'd prefer an armed response to showing a clean pair of heels, a crate of Mills Bombs and a Thompson Submachinegun (both used from cover) might work better than an handgun. (None of the above armaments are easily legally available in NZ: whereas you can make a tiaha in a few evenings).
However armed it would be easy to get surrounded and chopped to bits -- and unpleasant. The taiaha, used by skilled hands, is a truly frightening weapon: perfectly balanced, with an incredible reach and speed: 25 feet just wouldn't leave enough space.
Used in group combat (as Maori warriors tended to fight) with perfect teamwork... I shudder to think. Remember, in its heyday during the 1800's the taiaha was considered and often proved superior to and decisive over a rifle-bayonet combination as a hand-to-hand infantry weapon. Absolutely fit-for-purpose.
Not a bad accomplishment for what was essentially a stone-age and savage culture (Maori never discovered metal or even the wheel, and never learned to cultivate cattle, and never used any form of transportation save only by foot and by dugout canoe prior to introduction to Western society).
In a way I'm glad that I didn't' hang out too long with that beaut of a Maori babe from NZ, whom I met in Nepal. She was quite the stunner, and had the NZ accent which IMO works better for women than the Aussie version.
But there were some oddities about her which I've always thought were cultural rather than personal or individual.
Here in the US we teach LE and armed civvie types the '21 foot rule'.
Briefly it states that an assailant armed with an edged weapon who is within 21 feet of someone with a holstered firearm will kill that person every single time.
There's just no way one can draw a firearm and bring it to bear before the assailant splits you from 'the nave to the chops'.
I've seen it demonstrated time and again and it never fails to open the eyes of someone who hasn't seen it demonstrated.
Not a bad accomplishment for what was essentially a stone-age and savage culture
People often mistake 'primitive' for 'stupid' when there's absolutely no correlation between the two. Simply because they lacked technology doesn't mean they couldn't use other means to overcome their environment.
Or come up with some truly wickedly effective weapons.
L
Here in the US we have the "Twinkie" defense.
> Makes you wonder what the courts would have done if the homeowner had actually killed the dirtbag in question.
Reasonable force is permitted in the Crimes Act 1961 S.48 if used in defense of one's self or another person (but not property). The test for reasonableness is "...such force as, in the circumstances as he believes them to be, it is reasonable to use."
Conceivably that might include lethal force.
That said, by default the Police seem to tend to prosecute and let the matter be settled in court. "Reasonableness" is a very hi hurdle, and is therefore more prudently interpreted to be "minimal force".
That said, there are several recent instances where the jury has declined to convict -- even when a firearm has been used in defense of self. Naturally, a very expensive form of acquittal, it can ruin the defendent.
Between posts 4 and 5, you speak for me on this.
Sheesh! That's a nasty looking piece of hardware.
It certainly seems reasonable to me to resist being killed with an edged weapon by discharging a firearm at the assailant.
Especially when one has retreated into ones own home and that home has been violently entered by an armed assailant.
That said, by default the Police seem to tend to prosecute
Just so I'm clear on your rules, do the Police make the decision to prosecute or do you have prosecutors or Grand Juries who decide that?
L
It looks like it could split a skull or open one up like a fish without any trouble at all.
A few years back after an accident I took to using a 'walking stick' made from a nice piece of hickory with a lovely burl on top for a grip.
It looked innocent enough but between the blunt end, the hard rounded burl, and a good stiff shaft I felt pretty well armed and confident I could handle almost anyone who was not armed with a firearm.
"There's nothing like a nice piece of hickory." Clint Eastwood in Pale Rider.
L
Hmmmm. I may have to be on the lookout for such an artifact. Might not be a bad thing to keep in the umbrella stand. In fact, we're going to a high-end artists' guild show on Sunday, where there will be some woodworkers who might have something like that on hand, or a least have materials for and be able to make, a nice one.
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