1835: The Moriori Genocide
April 30, 2019
By AHNZ
It is no longer Politically Correct to point out the genocide of the Moriori at the hands of Maori. Worse than that, there is a contradictory narrative now that no such thing happened and if you say otherwise prepare to be burned..
I’m confused. So there were Moriori and they were killed by Maori, or is this (or parts of this) a myth? Just seeking further clarification.
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Thank you for the clarification. I had no idea that there is still some Moriori alive! I had been told at school that they were wiped out.- Kathleen commenting on NZHistory page; Facebook
Perfectly decent honest question by the above. Here are two contrasting responses. One from The State, the other from The Anarchist. They don’t want you to read the latter but fortunately I can preserve it here.
NZHistory Kia ora Kathleen, you can read more about the history of Moriori on Te Ara here (the entry is co-authored by Māui Solomon): https://teara.govt.nz/en/moriori
The myth has two main parts – the first is the idea that Moriori were a pre-Māori people. There is no evidence for this, and current evidence shows they either arrived with the main polynesian migration to New Zealand before heading to Rēkohu (Chatham Island), or at the same time as the people who would later be called Māori.
The second part is the myth that the Moriori, as a group of people, were entirely killed by Māori. A group of about 900 people from Ngāti Mutunga and Ngāti Tama (who had been displaced from their lands during the musket wars) did go to Rēkohu where they killed and enslaved a large number of Moriori people. By 1870 almost all Māori had returned to Taranaki.
In spite of this there were – and are – Moriori still living on Rēkohu.
And now, the Anarchist answer
Anarchist History of New Zealand Hi Kathleen, you can read more about the history of Moriori at http://ahnz.anarkiwi.co.nz/among-the-trees/
The myth has two main parts – the first is the idea that Moriori were a pre-Maori people. All received history says that they were, including what this people said of itself. That is why you were taught it in school. Only in the last decade or so has this idea been flipped and not for scholarly reason but political.
The second part is the myth that the Moriori, as a group of people, were entirely killed by Maori. They were. Wiped out like cattle. As you were taught. This truth went unrevised until recently when the definition of what a Moriori was relaxed in include some of the mixed race descendants of Moriori who had been raped or otherwise assimilated into the invading tribe. These people may be perfectly noble and decent with a special identity (and government pay-out) all their own in 2019 but they do not insubstantiate what happened in New Zealand history.
So that’s what The Government wont let you read because it “veered off into racism.” I do realise there is much more to unpack depending on what a reader already does or does not know. But they must ask if there’s something here to further explore or deepen.
While I’m rescuing the records from censorship oblivion here’s another important observation NZHistory.govt performed a memory wipe upon..
Shirley Emmerson-Moleta: This is just one example of what Maori did to Maori to gain land. It happened all over. If you were stronger than your neighbour you killed them or enslaved and took their land. It was genocide. That was how it was. As for Europeans not holding it against all Maori. That’s a two way street.
AHNZ: Yes. And least it get in the way of anyone being able to own up to this truth remember that it was the same all over. Every culture has gone though this kill/enslave/rape phase or else been wiped out in the process of being on the receiving end.
Shirley: Exactly.. People forget that Maori were not a United people.. Basically had separate nations. Are still not united.
AHNZ: I think they’re ‘helped’ to forget. That’s why we need a non-official renegade history voice.
I guess it’s a good thing that The State Historians can’t bear Anarchist History. Must be doing something right. But it is a great shame we can’t be an open society and discuss these very important events and diverse views.
- See also
1842: Crown admits failing to stop Maori from ‘enslaving’ Moriori
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image ref. RELICS OF A FAST VANISHING RACE: MORIORI SKULLS ON THE NINE-MILE BEACH. CHATHAM ISLANDS, Auckland Weekly News, 1907; Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections
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