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Story: Mau rākau – Māori use of weaponry

Combat actions with koikoi

Click to move through this series of drawings showing warriors in single-handed combat using koikoi (double-pointed spears). These weapons were primarily employed to strike and parry with a two-handed grip, rather then lunging forward using the point alone. The drawings were made by Augustus Koch, a German-born artist who lived in New Zealand from the 1850s.

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library

Reference: B-110-010-1

by Augustus Koch

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page

Rangi Matamua, Mau rākau – Māori use of weaponry – Using traditional weapons, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/interactive/39760/combat-actions-with-koikoi (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Rangi Matamua, published 28 November 2012.

Comments

Alan Ngati
31 December 2017
I am 58 wanting to learn mau rakau , would i be put to the fitness as a younger , my culture was taken away from NZ Goverment 50,s60s,70s I am learning te reo in small incrimants in melbourne . Taiaha and mere . as more part of history and its use. with my heart soul and mana .