Wahaika is a type of traditional hand weapon of the Māori, the indigenous people of New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

.

A wahaika is a short club normally made of wood or whalebone. Its name can be translated to mean "the mouth of the fish". The club has a notch on one side which is used to catch an opponent's weapon. It is used for thrusting and striking in close quarter, hand to hand fighting.

External links

• Wahaika from the collection of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
  Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
  The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa is the national museum and art gallery of New Zealand, located in Wellington. It is branded and commonly known as Te Papa and Our Place; "Te Papa Tongarewa" is broadly translatable as "the place of treasures of this land".The museum's principles...