An Intro to the Haka

The Haka is a traditional dance of the Maori people of New Zealand. It has roots back to the beginning of Maori culture and is deeply embedded in their mythology. As such it is a very important aspect of the Maori identity, and to this day it is used in many facets of Maori life. Some argue that the Haka has been bastardized and hijacked by the modern sports world, particularly with high-impact sports such as rugby and American football, but despite its vault into fame on the modern field of “battle”, the Haka remains as a powerful expression of Maori identity and a cross-cultural display of masculinity and strength.

Maori Tradition

The Maori people are a proud race of sea-faring Polynesians, indigenous to the island of New Zealand. It is estimated that the Maori’ ancestors arrived in what is now the home around the year 925 BC. Over the course of a millennium and then some, the Maori people have developed a rich culture and a proud heritage, one that they are devoted to preserving and passing on to the next generation. Dance is a very important aspect of Maori culture, and has been for many hundreds of years. Dances such as the Waiata-a-ringa and the Poi are parts of the kappa haka, meaning, Maori performing arts, used to display ability and tell stories. There is one important distinction to make. Haka is the Maori word for dance, and hakas are used in every aspct of Maori culture and on many occasions. The Waiata-a-ringa and the Poi are hakas, but the Haka is a dance of its own.

Haka as the whole body of Maori dance is steeped in Maori legend. The sun god Tama-nui-te-ra and one of his wives, Hine-raumati, who embodies the essence of summer, had a son named Tane-rore. In the summertime, the shimmering appearance of the air on a hot summer day is said to be Tane-rore dancing for his mother. Haka is a recreation of that dancing to please the gods, and the light rapid movement fundamental to haka is meant to represent Tane-rore’s dance. Haka performers will even tremble their hands at times, trying to mimic the shimmering of summer air. There are many different hakas for all occasions, from birthdays to weddings to funerals, and many other celebratory events. One of the traditional applications of haka was a ritual of greeting when two parties met. From this tradition of meeting another tribe with dance arose the Haka, the aggressive and challenging dance and war-cry employed when meeting enemies for battle.

A Warrior's Aesthetic

The Haka itself is a challenge and a war cry, born of a people divided into many tribes and constantly on the edge of battle. It is used as an expression of aggression or anger, and as an assertion of dominance over an opponent. It can be performed by both men and women, though the modern understanding of the Haka has been greatly influenced by the sports world where we see it as a male-only dance. In a traditional Haka, the men stand in front with the women behind. The Haka is a pan-sensational experience, with loud vocals and rhythmic declamation, and aggressive and challenging facial expressions, body movements, and overall demeanor. The men attempt to appear as menacing and threatening as possible, and employ foot-stamping and body percussion to evoke fear in their adversaries. The dancers are very grounded and percussive with their movement, and the only audio accompaniment is the sounds made by the dancers themselves. (And hopefully the whimpers of their enemies!) While seen as a traditional war dance, the Haka had many uses beyond the battlefield in pre-colonial Maori society and continues to do so today.

The Haka in Sports

In modern culture, the Haka as a war-cry has been adopted by the war-like competitors of the world’s most physical sports. Since 1988, the New Zealand national rugby team, the All Blacks, has performed the Haka, Ka mate Ka mate, before its rugby matches. This display of national pride and outright aggression has impressed many throughout the years, and undoubtedly struck fear into the hearts of opponents. Because of its popularity and rise to fame on the field of competitive sports, the Haka has come to be a major part of contact sports. Many rugby teams around the world have their own Hakas, from the literal descendants of the Maori people to the Highland rugby team of Northern Utah. American football teams have picked up on this empowering tradition, and teams such as the University of Hawaii and Brigham Young University and known to perform a Haka before games. Even basketball teams are getting into the craze of the Haka, with a performance by the New Zealand basketball team when playing against the United States at the 2014 FIBA tournament.

Translation:

’Tis death! ‘tis death! (or: I may die) ’Tis life! ‘tis life! (or: I may live)

’Tis death! ‘tis death! ’Tis life! ‘tis life!

This is the hairy man

Who brought the sun and caused it to shine

A step upward, another step upward!

A step upward, another... the Sun shines!

The Haka is Changing

This worldwide, limelight exposure has many feeling that the Haka is losing its meaning, and many Maori elders despise what they feel is the bastardization of a powerful Maori tradition. In a recent article published by the British news publication, The Telegraph, Oliver Brown, their chief sports feature writer argues that “All Black’s Haka is, for all its vibrancy as a spectacle, scarcely more than a circus display these days.” He sights the recent performance of the Haka by the New Zealand basketball team as a prime example of how the Haka has lost its potency and meaning to the beholder. According to Brown, the reaction of the United States basketball team “spoke not of quavering fear, or steely ‘let’s see what you’ve got’ defiance, but utter befuddlement.” Brown argues that the challenge of the Haka has inextricably tied with it the right of those being challenged to reply. The modern sports world begs to differ, with the International Rugby Board having protocols in place that keep an opposing team from coming closer than ten meters from the performance of the Haka, wih stiff fines in place for those who encroach. Brown states, “The Haka, sadly, is hidebound by political correctness.”

I agree with Oliver Brown. To an extent. It is true that the modern Haka has been changed and transformed by the rules and regulations sanctioned by officials trying to keep the peace before a contest even begins. As unfortunate as it is, the modern Haka simply cannot be the challenge it once was, for a challenge with no reply is no challenge at all. The response and physicality that the Haka was meant to evoke in its beholders is one that we are afraid of as a society, and one that we do not want to see. The docile man of the 21^st century is afraid and astonished to feel the animalistic instincts of war and the desire to conquer an enemy well up within his own breast.

The Haka of Today

It is my opinion that the Haka of 2015 has transformed itself to be a personal experience. No longer is it about defiance against an opponent. No more is the Haka used to frighten the enemy. In this day and age performing the Haka is a way for the individual to find his inner-warrior, to unleash the beast from within. The Haka is a way for differences of race, upbringing, religion, and social status to melt away and be replaced by the bonds of unity and a sense of belong to a larger entity than oneself. As an American football player and a team captain and leader, I have performed the Haka many times with my team. But our team, and I would argue more of the teams who perform the
Haka than not, did it behind closed doors. For us, the Haka was about mental preparation as a player and as a team. It brought us together and allowed us all to enter a state of mind where we are ready to lay it all out on the field for the people standing next to us on our own battlefield. The Haka has survived the years and become something more than it once was. It has changed into exactly what it is needed to be by hundreds upon thousands of young athletes trying to make their way in life and find a sense of belonging.