Maori Tewhatewha Club

By Crusader1307

The Tewhatewha Club was the primary hand held weapon of The Maori Tribe of New Zealand. A fierce warrior tribe, they immigrated to New Zealand around the 14th Century. The Maori were not metal workers and adapted various hard woods into effective and deadly weapons. The Tewhatewha is best described as a club/axe-like weapon which ranged no more that 3-feet long. The weapon was made on one-piece construction. The shaft of the club was slightly pointed at one end. The head of the club was axe shaped with the top blunted. The lower edge was sharpened (very much as a traditional metal head would be. Bird feathers and related adornments were also attached. These were not for decoration, but used in the fighting kata (or style) used. The head of the Tewhatewha was seldom used as a striking component. Rather, the sharped end was used as a thrusting and stabbing weapon. The feathering was used as a form of distraction tactic. Richly adorned, The Tewhatewha is still carried in traditional ceremony, with the more more elaborate clubs belonging to veteran warriors, proven in battle.