Morcan Books & Films

The following excerpt from the historical adventure New Zealand: A Novel describes a Maori raid on an East Coast pa (fortified village) and reveals the victors’ lust for the flesh of their enemies. It was the age of cannibalism…

Excerpt begins:

The Te Arawa flotilla’s appearance in the bay caused considerable panic on shore. Armed warriors took up defensive positions while others prepared to launch wakas [canoes] to intercept the enemy’s flotilla. They evidently had second thoughts when they saw the size of the fleet, retreating instead behind their fortifications to await the invaders’ arrival, which could now be measured in heartbeats.

As the leading waka caught a wave and surfed the last forty yards to the beach, Apera studied the pa’s defences. He was pleased to note the stockade was in a state of disrepair, and there was no sign of the trenches, lookout towers or other defences that were a hallmark of bigger, well-defended pas like the Te Arawa’s own one at Rotorua and their allies’ pa at Maketu.

The Te Arawa raiders were among the very first outsiders to have visited Tokomaru Bay in such numbers, so remote was it, and the villagers believed their isolation kept them safely removed from the conflicts that raged elsewhere – until today. The conflict that followed was as bloody as it was brief; resistance was weak and short-lived because the villagers had little experience of war.

Apera’s raiders killed almost every villager, sparing only the rangatira Rawiri, his two wives, thirty warriors and twenty-five nubile wahines. The warriors, all big men, were considered suitable candidates for slavery while the wahines would be used by the raiders for pleasure before being enslaved or killed.

As darkness fell, flames lit up the night sky after the raiders set fire to the whares [huts] and other structures. It wasn’t long before Rawiri’s whare was the only one left standing. Warriors wandered amongst the fallen, dispatching survivors with a savage thrust of a spear or blow from a club. The larger, meatier corpses – males and females – were stacked in a pile on the marae, a communal meeting place in the middle of the pa. These would be cooked, and the flesh and organs of many would be eaten before the night was over. Uneaten flesh would be cut into strips then smoked, packed and saved for eating in the days and weeks ahead.

The cries of the wounded faded. The only sounds were the crackling of flames and the triumphant shouts of the victorious Te Arawa warriors. Those same warriors then performed an impromptu haka to celebrate their triumph. Chanting, gyrating, leaping and stamping the ground in unison, the war dance was awesome, gut-wrenching and terrifying all at the same time. Between chants, the participants poked out their tongues, a chilling reminder that those vanquished would be eaten. Warriors needed no such reminding for all were aware, regardless of which iwi they belonged to, that that was the likely fate of those killed or enslaved. Maoris believed they inherited their enemies’ strength when they ate them.

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The print versions of New Zealand: A Novel are available via Waterstones UK & Europe bookstores, Mighty Ape NZ and Amazon. Global review rating: 4.7 out of 5 stars.

The novel’s Kindle ebook link is: 

https://www.amazon.com/New-Zealand-Novel-Lance-Morcan-ebook/dp/B0DPTJTDCQ

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