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Story: Take whenua – Māori land tenure

Haka

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Haka

These warriors wield both traditional weapons (tewhatewha or clubs) and European weapons (muskets and hatchets) during a haka outside Maketū . A claim to land on the basis of raupatu (conquest) needed to be defended by a strong body of warriors. This was known as ringa kaha (strength of the arm).

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Alexander Turnbull Library

Reference: A-080-051

by Horatio Gordon Robley

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

Paul Meredith, Take whenua – Māori land tenure – Discovery, ancestral right and conquest, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/artwork/18387/haka (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Paul Meredith, published 1 March 2009.