Recounting tales of Ma¯ori slaves
Pakeha Slaves, Maori Masters By Trevor Bentley, New Holland, $39.99 .. .. .. .. .. ..
Subtitled The Forgotten Story of New Zealand’s White Slaves, this book comes with a juicy warning on the cover: ‘contains content that may offend some readers'.
Turns out Ma¯ ori — shock, horror — had slaves, including Pa¯keha¯ ones. They tormented, tortured and beat them; had sex with them; sometimes ate them — although it sounds like Pa¯keha¯ didn't taste all that good, a bit salty apparently, while AfricanAmerican sailors tasted of tobacco. Possibly even worse, the Ma¯ ori masters tattooed faces of some Pa¯keha¯ slaves to supply the burgeoning shrunken-head trade.
Slavery, or versions of it, seemed to fit the hierarchal tendencies of tangata whenua, and the ones who weren't useful, or were bolshy, or sometimes unwittingly breached tapu or offended local customs, risked being summarily despatched. Visitors to these shores, especially sailors, were terrified of the gettingeaten bit, and tales of the horrors potentially awaiting them reached biblical proportions.
In a generally ignored part of our history, as the mighty British Empire was reluctant to make a big deal out of its subjects being treated worse than dogs, Bentley is thorough, delving into as many accounts and sources as he can find.
He certainly doesn't take sides, and you're left with the impression that the Pa¯ keha¯ visitors often got what they deserved. He explains the indigenous customs such as utu and mana that helped justify slavery, and recounts examples where slaves were treated with compassion.
Some of it is pretty brutal, but if you've watched or read, say, Game of Thrones then you should be able to handle it.
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Peter Shand