Naked swimmming

Early reports on the nature of the Maori war dance are quite clear. Cruise, for instance in 1820 reported war dance performers as “perfectly naked”. John Morgan, a missionary from 1836 to 1838 as “nearly all naked”, and Buller, who lived in New Zealand from 1836 to 1876 as “all in a state of nudity”. Writers from the 1820s to the 1850s describe performers as “throwing off their cloaks... for the war dance”. After the middle of the 19thC the literature shows a transition from full to partial nudity, because of the conservative impact of British colonialism. The missionaries, in particular were shocked by the naked war haka and sought to end the practice of it.
The reason for the naked haka was that Maori warfare was conducted naked. J.S. Polack, who lived in the Hokianga (Northland) and the Bay of Islands between 1831 and 1837 reports a war haka performed by an entire army, entirely naked, except for a belt and cartridge box attached around the waist. He reports perhaps a thousand men. Diagnostic to the war dance is the use of weapons absent from other forms of dancing. The war haka could be performed several times in a battle, by both sides, with a haka, by the victor afterwards. Sometimes women would fight alongside men.
Fighting naked did have some advantages. It would mean that the warriors were unencumbered in battle. It would have enabled the display of body tattooing and body paint. Each moko was unique and served like a name. The complexity of the moko symbolised rank and status. Besides the facial tattoo moko could also be found on the buttocks and legs to the knees. But above all, fighting naked meant the public exposure of the warrior’s penis not only to his enemies but also to his friends. That is to say there were phallic implications.
Maori men received their first tattoo at puberty about 12. This was an indication of sexual maturity. Additions made reflected their social position, genealogy, and personal achievements. A warrior with a full tattoo was held in great regard.
Maori regarded the male organ as a symbol of virility and highly sacred. In warfare the state of penis was representative of courage. If, for instance, the leader of a war party awoke with an erection before the battle, this was taken as proof that his courage ran high and was an omen of success. Peter Buck quotes a Ngati Raukawa chant, in which the opposition are taunted with “When will your penis become enraged. When will your penis become erect?”. (Aawhea too ure ka riri : Aawhea too ure ka torta?) Another story concerns one Taketake, an 18th C chief of the Ngati Whare. His fortification above the Whirinaki River was about to be overrun by a force of Ngati Kahungungu. Takatake sprung to the breastwork naked where he could be seen by the attackers. He held his erect penis in his hands. The enemy were so filled with admiration that they withheld the attack for a while. The delay enabled Taketake’s men to work around the enthralled enemy and attack them from the rear and defeat them. Such at any rate is the account remembered by the descendants of Taketake, who are still known by the phrase “nga uri o Taketake ure roa” which translated means “the people of Taketake whose penis is long”. In general Maori regarded warriors in the haka with erections as a sign of courage and success. So it was not just the leadership that were expected to be hard and in fact were the warriors not so then that would be taken as a indication for the old men who read the signs that success was not there and the battle would be postponed.
The warrior’s erection, in Maori belief, was an index of the influence of the atuas (Gods). A warrior with an erection was quickened and favoured, and would overcome his flaccid foe. It was an indication of his courage as well. Further evidence of the atua derived power of the penis is found in the kai ure rite. If a man had reason to suspect he was the target of witchcraft he would grasp his penis, draw back the foreskin and chant “The penis eat the demons. The penis eat the tapu. The penis eat your witchcraft”. If he became erect the incantation would render powerless any spell directed at him. Another karakia is given by Barrow (1960) : “Attack the penis. Death weaken and pass by! Let what you attack. Be my penis.” As in the first karakia, he would hold his penis. An erection provided protection and so made the attack abortive. Both karakias illustrate the concept that the penis was the symbol of virility and life. In a battle there sometimes was a ritual coupling to please the atuas or for a sign, in a pause in the fighting.
The expectation was that warriors would remain erect for the duration of the fight. So how was this done given the terrifying nature of war. Evidence does suggest that the aggression of war will result in an erection in some cases. However this does not explain group erections. In this case the naked haka appears to be the key as only the power of the haka could provide the kind of motivation required. Their erections were a sign of success, an indication of courage, that they had divine support and would prevail over their foes : this would out way the fear of battle. For an individual warrior to lose his erection could be a major setback amounting to undermining of the fight. To ensure that all remained erect periodic pauses in the fight would be called by the two chiefs. On that point it was particularly essential that the chief leading his force was fully erect. His erection was perhaps was the most important as it was demonstrative of his courage, his leadership and was a symbol of the impeding success of the war party. A chief with a particularly large erection was considered especially favoured by the Gods. There is some evidence that this played a role in determining who became a chief. The story of Taketake also illustrates the point that success in a battle could indeed turn on the size of the chief's erection and for that matter on the erections of his troops since this was proof of how much support they had from the Gods and not solely on military tactics.One needs to bear in mind the Maori troops in pre-colonial times were young men led by someone only slightly older all at the peak of their sexual prowess and as such would have been aroused very quickly. An examination of a picture of a group of “warriors preparing for battle” in “New Zealanders iluustated” by George French Angas (1844) suggests they are between 18 and 25. Angas in his commentary refers to the preparation as “poukaua”. The youngest warrior is pictured naked save a shoulder bag. An erect penis in Maori society was nothing to be ashamed about, to the contrary, it was a source of pride. It was an index of the influence of the Gods and a requirement for battle. Impressing the enemy, fellow warriors, and the elders and fulfilling the requirement of being erect itself, would be of the upmost importance Doubtless there would have been a air of great excitement and erotic anticipation leading up to the haka and fight. The aggression of the situation would have played a key part anyway. Another known for the size of his penis was Kahungungu. Carved sculptures, of ancestral male figures, often very impressive, which stood on the gateway of fortified villages or storage houses, or toped posts on palisades and held up the ridge poles of roofs, included an erect penis. Gerald.

 

.... I need a drink after reading all that...

 

In the late 60’s and early 70’s my junior high and senior high boys swim classes were mandatory nude. This was in a well-off suburban Detroit school district where each junior high school and senior high school had its own indoor pool. When we went through the Red Cross instruction speedo type suits were required. I assume it was because the boys were in contact with one another during some of the rescue drills. The girls wore what was called a tank suit.

From what I have read about that area of the country the history of nude swimming was common when most people lived on farms, families bathed together, and modesty was less important or hard to maintain. After all, the swim suit did not come into fashion until the late 1800’s. My guess is those farm folks brought the practice of nude swimming to the city when they migrated.

 

that is such a great story! awesome that he would do that for u! man, what a nice dude! i hope u have no more problems with the way urs looks now. i would never shower like that until recently, a couple yrs ago, i guess now that i'm in my forties, i dont care as much, i still hope i dont get erect in there though, but , it is what it is u know!

 

So did we British when the Romans invaded us: we wore nothing but warpaint.

 

My introduction to swimming in the nude at a boys school in the UK came in the 1960s. The rule was “Boys may swim in the nude: if costumes are worn, they must be of the school's approved pattern”, so it was technically optional. However, if you were down for swimming, you swam, with or without the school-regulation swimming briefs. An unscheduled last-minute change from gym to swimming owing to the absence of the teacher put me into the “without” category. What a revelation! I enjoyed swimming naked so much more that I took that “option” many times subsequently even though it was not “Hobson's Choice”, limited only by the risk of being labelled an exhibitionist homosexual by the “moral majority” of suited boys, a fate which could befall anyone who swam naked once too often. I immediately wished nude swimming had been compulsory for this reason alone. Had it been so, peer pressure not to go naked would have been eliminated. I would have had many more chances of swimming in the nude and other boys would have had the sheer delight of doing so opened up to them. Incidentally, since the rule was a general one, it also applied to “home” fixtures of the school's team. As I was not a part of one, I never found out if anyone took advantage of it! I was in the fencing team, however, and at another school they put us to change adjacent to their swimming pool. After competition was over, a few of us took advantage of this by stripping off and diving in: nobody seemed to mind this outrage to public decency.