gateway of a maori pah paii of fort at maketu new zealand 1867 Māori village tribal group fortified
The word pā (pronounced pah) refers to a Māori village, generally one from the 19th century or earlier that was fortified for defence. In Māori society, a great pā represented the mana of a tribal group, as personified by a chief or rangatira. Nearly all pā were built in defensible locations to protect dwelling sites or gardens, almost always on prominent, raised ground which was then terraced; as for example in the Auckland region, where dormant volcanic cones were used. While built for defence, many were also primarily residential, and often quite extensive. Māori pā played a significant role in the New Zealand Land Wars, though they are known from earlier periods of Maori history. They were mostly absent, however, until around 500 years ago, suggesting scarcity of resources through environmental damage and population pressure began to bring about warfare, leading to a period of pā building. Their main defence was the use of earth ramparts (or terraced hillsides), topped with stakes or wicker barriers. The historically later versions were constructed by people who were fighting with muskets and hand weapons (such as spear, taiaha and mere) against the British Army and armed constabulary, who were armed with swords, rifles, and heavy weapons such as howitzers and rocket artillery. Pā were often put in place in very limited time scales, sometimes less than two days, and resisted attack for many hours and, sometimes, weeks. Military historians like John Keegan have noted that Māori recognition of the strong resistance of earth fortifications against modern weapons (especially artillery) predates the successful defensive use of trenches and sloped earth ramparts in World War I by many decades. Warrior chiefs like Kawiti realised these properties as a good counter to the greater firepower of the British. With that in mind, they sometimes built pā purposefully to resist the British Empire's forces, like at Ruapekapeka, which was constructed specifically to draw
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Photo credit: © 19th era / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
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