M.Hawira writes that the pre-European Maori were a peaceful people who lived according to Io. As I understand it, that must have been many centuries ago because most of them had forgotten about Io by the time the missionaries turned up. This ‘peaceful' description - are you implying there was no inter-tribal warfare until the Europeans came?
I find that impossible to match up with the fact that at least 20,000 Maori died through inter-tribal warfare, the peak years being 1832 and 1833.
Joy Z.Marks, Greerton.