Haka of the All Blacks
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The All Blacks, the international rugby union team of New Zealand, perform a haka (Māori war dance) immediately prior to international matches [1]. Over the years they have most commonly performed the haka "Ka Mate". In the early decades of international rugby, they sometimes performed other haka[2], some of which were composed for specific tours. Since 2005 they have occasionally performed a new haka, "Kapa o Pango."
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[edit] History
The first New Zealand rugby team to tour overseas, playing eight matches in New South Wales, Australia, in 1884, performed "a Maori war cry" or haka before each of its matches.
During 1888-89, the New Zealand Native team toured the Home Nations of the United Kingdom, the first team from a colony to do so. It was originally intended that only Māori players would be selected, but four "whites" were finally included. As the "whites" were born in New Zealand, the name "Native" was considered justified. The team performed a haka before the start of their first match on 3 October 1888 against Surrey. They were described as using the words "Ake ake kia kaha" which suggests that the haka was not "Ka Mate". It was intended that before each match they would perform the haka dressed in traditional Māori costume but the costumes were soon discarded.
New Zealand played its first full international test match when it played Australia in Sydney in 1903. It has been claimed that the New Zealand team performed a haka which was evidently composed for the occasion, as it addressed the "Kangaroos".
In 1905 New Zealand made their first tour of Britain. This was the first time the team were referred to as the All Blacks and this particular team also became known as the 'Originals'. It is uncertain whether they performed a haka before every match, but they at least performed "Ka Mate" before their first test, against Scotland, and before the match against Wales. The Welsh crowd, led by the Welsh team, responded by singing the Welsh national anthem.
When a New Zealand Army team played Wales in 1916, the words of "Ka Mate" were included in the printed programme, indicating that the haka was established as an accompaniment to New Zealand rugby teams playing overseas.
The 1924-25 New Zealand rugby team which toured the United Kingdom, Ireland, France and Canada and which was nicknamed the Invincibles, performed a haka that was written for them during the voyage to England by two supporters, Judge Frank Acheson of the Native Land Court and Wiremu Rangi of Gisborne. The haka was led by star player George Nepia. It was performed before all but two of the tour matches. Reporters criticised the team for disappointing the crowd on the two occasions it was not performed.
A pre-match haka was not always performed on All Blacks tours. The team that toured Britain in 1935-36 did not perform one before matches, although they did some impromptu performances at social functions. In the early decades, haka were only rarely performed at home matches, such as the third test of the 1921 Springboks tour, played in Wellington.
On the 25th of November 2006 in Cardiff, Wales, the All Blacks refused to perform the haka due to unresolved negotiations regarding when it would be performed during the prematch ceremonies. Instead, they performed the haka in their dressing room prior to taking the field. The haka was then shown on the stadium video screen at the commencement of the game. This event overshadowed the scoreline of 45-10, to the All Blacks, a new record in the highest loss at home to Wales and the highest scoreline for the All Blacks to beat Wales by.
The performance of the haka in its current guise is coming under more pressure as opposing international teams and host organisations continue to try to find ways to nullify its rousing effect on the All Black team.
[edit] "Ka Mate"
[edit] Overview
The "Ka Mate" haka arose as a wily plan to defeat the aims of an enemy. Inspired by this, the All Blacks are believed to have first used the "Ka Mate" or "Te Rauparaha" haka in 1906. The origin of this haka dates to 1810 when chief Te Rauparaha of the Ngāti Toa iwi (clan or tribe) was being chased by enemies. In a cunning strategem, he hid in a food-storage pit under the skirt of a woman. Because this was an unthinkable thing for a chief to do, Te Rauparaha thought he would be safe. He climbed out to find someone standing over him, who, instead of killing Te Rauparaha, turned out to be another chief friendly to Te Rauparaha. In relief Te Rauparaha performed a haka with the words (translated from Māori) —
It is death, it is death: it is life, it is life; this is the man who enabled me to live as I climb up step by step toward sunlight.
These words are still used today. Te Rauparaha's escape from death is commemorated in the haka, which can be interpreted as 'a celebration of life over death (Pōmare 2006).
[edit] Performance
The "Ka Mate" haka generally opens with a set of five preparatory instructions shouted by the leader, before the whole team joins in:
| Leader: | Ringa pakia! | Slap the hands against the thighs! | |
| Uma tiraha! | Puff out the chest! | ||
| Turi whatia! | Bend the knees! | ||
| Hope whai ake! | Let the hip follow! | ||
| Waewae takahia kia kino! | Stamp the feet as hard as you can! | ||
| Leader: | Ka mate, ka mate | ’Tis death, ‘tis death (or: I may die) | |
| Team: | Ka ora, ka ora | ’Tis life, ‘tis life (or: I may live) | |
| Leader: | Ka mate, ka mate | ’Tis death, ‘tis death | |
| Team: | Ka ora, ka ora | ’Tis life, ‘tis life | |
| All: | Tēnei te tangata pūhuruhuru | This the hairy man that stands here... | |
| Nāna nei i tiki mai whakawhiti te rā | …who brought the sun and caused it to shine | ||
| Ā upane, ka upane | A step upward, another step upward | ||
| Ā upane, ka upane | A step upward, another step upward | ||
| Whiti te rā, hī! | The sun shines! |
[edit] "Kapa o Pango"
[edit] Overview
Before a Tri Nations match against South Africa on August 28, 2005 at Carisbrook in Dunedin, the All Blacks unexpectedly introduced a new haka, "Kapa o Pango". Written by Derek Lardelli of Ngati Porou, it featured an extended and aggressive introduction by team captain Tana Umaga and was highlighted by its more aggressive climax: each player performing a "throat-slitting" action directed at the opposing team. The All Blacks went on to win the match 31 to 27.
The new haka is said to have been over a year in the making, and was created in consultation with many experts in Māori culture. It will serve as a complement to "Ka Mate" rather than a replacement, to be used for 'special occasions'. The words to "Kapa o Pango" are more specific to the rugby team than "Ka Mate", referring to the warriors in black and the silver fern[1]
The All Blacks opted not to perform "Kapa o Pango" in their opening test of 2006 against Ireland, as it was requested that they perform the traditional haka, as a 'review' was conducted into "Kapa o Pango". The throat-slitting action at the end of "Kapa o Pango" drew many complaints in the lead up to the Irish test, with members of the public complaining about it to the NZRU. The NZRU said that it was not because of public pressure that it was not performed against Ireland.[2] In the run-up to the first All Blacks Test of the 2006 Tri Nations at Jade Stadium in Christchurch against Australia, the NZRU completed their review, and concluded that the "throat-slitting" gesture had a radically different meaning within Māori culture and haka traditions, specifically the drawing of vital energy into the heart and lungs.[3] "Kapa o Pango" was performed, complete with the final gesture, before the Australia test.
[edit] Performance
| Kapa o Pango kia whakawhenua au i ahau! | All Blacks, let me become one with the land | |
| Hī aue, hī! | do one | |
| Ko Aotearoa e ngunguru nei! | This is our land that rumbles | |
| Au, au, aue hā! | It’s my time! It’s my moment! | |
| Ko Kapa o Pango e ngunguru nei! | This defines us as the All Blacks | |
| Au, au, aue hā! | It’s my time! It’s my moment! | |
| I āhahā! | ||
| Ka tū te ihiihi | Our dominance | |
| Ka tū te wanawana | Our supremacy will triumph | |
| Ki runga ki te rangi e tū iho nei, tū iho nei, hī! | And be placed on high | |
| Ponga rā! | Silver fern! | |
| Kapa o Pango, aue hī! | All Blacks! | |
| Ponga rā! | Silver fern! | |
| Kapa o Pango, aue hī, hā! | All Blacks! |
[edit] Controversy
In 1997, Richard Cockerill was disciplined for responding to the haka before the start of an England V All Blacks game. Cockerill went toe-to-toe with his opposite number Norm Hewitt while they performed the Haka. Cockerill went onto say afterwards "I believe that I did the right thing that day," he said. "They were throwing down a challenge and I showed them I was ready to accept it. I'm sure they would rather we did that than walk away." [3]
In 2005, the All Blacks agreed to a request from the Welsh Rugby Union to repeat the sequence of events from the original match a century before in 1905. This involved the All Blacks performing the haka after "God Defend New Zealand" and before "Hen Wlad fy Nhadau". For the November 2006 test, the WRU demanded a repeat of this sequence. The All Blacks refused, and instead chose to perform the haka in their changing room before the match. All Blacks captain Richie McCaw defended the decision by stating that the haka was "integral to New Zealand culture and the All Blacks' heritage" and "if the other team wants to mess around, we'll just do the haka in the shed".[4] The crowd reacted negatively to the lack of the haka and then being shown brief footage of the haka on the screens at the Millenium Stadium.[5]
In December 2006 controversy arose across the Pacific ocean with "Kapa O Pango" being used by the United States NCAA Division I Football team the University of Hawaii Warriors. Senior Offensive Lineman Tala Esera and Safety Leonard Peters both helped teach the team the haka. Esera claims that while he is not of Maori descent, his wife is and says that the haka was showed to him by a in-law relative.
Esera says that their version of Kapa O Pango is not "step for step" the All Blacks haka (there are indeed small variations of the dance preceding the line "au, au, aue ha!" and during the first part of "Kapa O Pango aue hi"), but there apparently has been no alterations to the chant itself that has been specifically written for the All Blacks.
In early 2007, the Canterbury women's rugby union team from Kent, England created controversy by performing the haka in near nude. See 2007 Canterbury women's rugby union team haka controversy.
[edit] See also
- 2006 Kapa O Pango controversy
- 2007 Canterbury women's Rugby union team haka controversy
- All Blacks
- Cibi
- Haka
- Haka in popular culture
- "Ka Mate"
- Kapa haka
- Kailao
- Māori music
- Siva tau
[edit] Notes
- ^ In their 2006 test match against Wales, the All Blacks opted to perform the Haka Ka Mate within their dressing room prior to the match. This was the result of the Welsh rugby union's decision that the Welsh national anthem, Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau would be played after the Haka, not before as is traditional.
- ^ The title of this article follows the convention derived from the Māori language of not adding an s to pluralise words.
- ^ BBC News article on Englands Haka Warning
- ^ "McCaw defends private haka choice", BBC Sport, 2006-11-26. Retrieved on March 18, 2007.
- ^ Godwin, Hugh. "Wales 10 New Zealand 45: All Blacks dance to a different beat", The Independent, 2006-11-27. Retrieved on March 18, 2007.
[edit] References
- M. Pōmare, 'Ngāti Toarangatira', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, updated 9-Jun-2006. URL: www.TeAra.govt.nz
- 'The Haka - In the Beginning', New Zealand Rugby Museum.
[edit] External links
- The 2003 Schools Kapa Haka Nationals held at Hopuhopu November 28, 29 Nga Whakataetae Kapa Haka o te Motu mo nga Kura Tuatahi, Waikato 2003.
- Lyrics and history of the All Black Haka
- All Blacks Official site on the Haka (with several videos)
- History of the All Black Haka
- http://history-nz.org/rauparaha.html - Te Rauparaha and "Ka Mate"
- Video of Haka performance by All Blacks on YouTube
