yes so true. i really have never seen a good depection on how the mere were carried. other than stuck in the waist band. i would suspect there must have been a special flax pouch or basket for it. but all the collections ive seen any such item is absent. no maoris knowledgeable in the topic of maori weapons that ive spoken to had a really good answer either.
big problem is that photographers and artists from the 19th century liked people to unnaturally pose with weapons so it makes it hard.
yes the personal duels were a very big think in maori warfare in the 18th and early 19th centuary. but once guns got common place some poor low cast fello with a musket could kill with one shot from 100 meters even the most prestigious chiefly warrior,
sent the whole system into chaos, as you could not really avenge the death specifically with a challenge and you didnt know who killed who,
suddenly personal martial prowess was of much less importance compared to equipment and tactics..
with the guns , in n.z. you find many nicely carved muskets and breach-loaders and the odd pistol too all carved up nicely on the stocks.
but none ever attracted any prestige to them like a club or axe or taiaha because they killed from a distance and without connection to the victim..
where as some famous mere people know who was killed with it on what date where ect ect and who captures it from who when.
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