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Haka (; plural ''haka'', in both
Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...
and
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...
) are a variety of ceremonial
performance art Performance art is an artwork or art exhibition created through actions executed by the artist or other participants. It may be witnessed live or through documentation, spontaneously developed or written, and is traditionally presented to a pu ...
in
Māori culture Māori culture () is the customs, cultural practices, and beliefs of the indigenous Māori people of New Zealand. It originated from, and is still part of, Eastern Polynesian culture. Māori culture forms a distinctive part of New Zealand cu ...
. It is often performed by a group, with vigorous movements and stamping of the feet with rhythmically shouted or chanted accompaniment. Haka are performed to welcome distinguished guests, or to acknowledge great achievements, occasions, or funerals. Haka have been traditionally performed by both men and women and for a variety of social functions within Māori culture.
Kapa haka Kapa haka is the term for Māori action songs and the groups who perform them. It literally means 'group' () and 'dance' (). Kapa haka is an important avenue for Māori people to express and showcase their heritage and cultural Polynesian identi ...
groups are common in schools. The main Māori
performing arts The performing arts are arts such as music, dance, and drama which are performed for an audience. They are different from the visual arts, which are the use of paint, canvas or various materials to create physical or static art objects. Perform ...
competition,
Te Matatini Te Matatini is a nation-wide Māori performing arts festival and competition for '' kapa haka'' performers from all of New Zealand. The name was given by Professor Wharehuia Milroy, a composite of ''Te Mata'' meaning ''the face'' and ''tini'' de ...
, takes place every two years. New Zealand sports teams' practice of performing a haka before their international matches has made haka more widely known around the world. This tradition began with the 1888–89 New Zealand Native football team tour and has been carried on by the
New Zealand rugby union team The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987, ...
(known as the All Blacks) since 1905. Although popularly associated with the traditional battle preparations of male
warrior A warrior is a person specializing in combat or warfare, especially within the context of a tribal or clan-based warrior culture society that recognizes a separate warrior aristocracies, class, or caste. History Warriors seem to have be ...
s, conceptions that haka is a "war dance", and the non-accurate performance of haka by non-Māori, are considered erroneous and sometimes offensive by Māori scholars.


Etymology

The group of people performing a haka is referred to as a ''
kapa haka Kapa haka is the term for Māori action songs and the groups who perform them. It literally means 'group' () and 'dance' (). Kapa haka is an important avenue for Māori people to express and showcase their heritage and cultural Polynesian identi ...
'' (''kapa'' meaning ''group'' or ''team'', and also ''rank'' or ''row''). The Māori word ''haka'' has cognates in other
Polynesian languages The Polynesian languages form a genealogical group of languages, itself part of the Oceanic branch of the Austronesian family. There are 38 Polynesian languages, representing 7 percent of the 522 Oceanic languages, and 3 percent of the Austro ...
, for example: Samoan ''saʻa'' ( saʻasaʻa), Tokelauan ''haka'', Rarotongan ''ʻaka'', Hawaiian ''haʻa'', Marquesan ''haka'', meaning 'to be short-legged' or 'dance'; all from
Proto-Polynesian Proto-Polynesian (abbreviated PPn) is the hypothetical proto-language from which all the modern Polynesian languages descend. It is a daughter language of the Proto-Austronesian language. Historical linguists have reconstructed the language using ...
''saka'', from
Proto-Malayo-Polynesian Proto-Malayo-Polynesian (PMP) is the reconstructed ancestor of the Malayo-Polynesian languages, which is by far the largest branch (by current speakers) of the Austronesian language family. Proto-Malayo-Polynesian is ancestral to all Austronesi ...
''sakaŋ'', meaning 'bowlegged'.


History and practice


Origins

According to Maori scholar
Tīmoti Kāretu Sir Tīmoti Samuel Kāretu (born 29 April 1937) is a New Zealand academic of Māori language and performing arts. He served as the inaugural head of the Department of Māori at the University of Waikato, and rose to the rank of professor. He w ...
, haka have been "erroneously defined by generations of uninformed as 'war dances'", while
Māori mythology Māori mythology and Māori traditions are two major categories into which the remote oral history of New Zealand's Māori may be divided. Māori myths concern fantastic tales relating to the origins of what was the observable world for the pr ...
places haka as a dance "about the celebration of life". Following a creation story, the sun god,
Tama-nui-te-rā In Māori mythology, Tama-nui-te-rā (Tamanuiterā) is the personification of the Sun. Etymology In the Māori language, ''Tama-nui-te-rā'' means "Great Son of the Sun". The Māori word for "sun" or "day" is ''rā'', deriving from Proto-Po ...
, had two wives, the Summer Maid,
Hine-raumati In Maori mythology, Tane-Rore is the personification of shimmering air as he performs a ''haka'' for his mother Hine-raumati. Family Tama-nui-te-ra had two wives, Hine-takurua and Hine-raumati. The child of Tama-nui-te-ra and Hine-raumati, Tane ...
, and the Winter Maid, Hine-takurua. Haka originated in the coming of Hine-raumati, whose presence on still, hot days was revealed in a quivering appearance in the air. This was haka of
Tāne-rore In Maori mythology, Tane-Rore is the personification of shimmering air as he performs a ''haka'' for his mother Hine-raumati. Family Tama-nui-te-ra had two wives, Hine-takurua and Hine-raumati. The child of Tama-nui-te-ra and Hine-raumati, Tane ...
, the son of Hine-raumati and Tama-nui-te-rā. Hyland comments that " e haka is (and also represents) a natural phenomena ic on hot summer days, the 'shimmering' atmospheric distortion of air emanating from the ground is personified as 'Te Haka a Tānerore'". Jackson and Hokowhitu state, "haka is the generic name for all types of dance or ceremonial performance that involve movement." The various types of haka include ''whakatū waewae'', ''tūtū ngārahu'' and ''peruperu''. The ''tūtū ngārahu'' involves jumping from side to side, while in the ''whakatū waewae'' no jumping occurs. Another kind of haka performed without weapons is the ''ngeri'', the purpose of which was to motivate a warrior psychologically. The movements are very free, and each performer is expected to be expressive of their feelings. ''Manawa wera'' haka were generally associated with funerals or other occasions involving death. Like the ''ngeri'' they were performed without weapons, and there was little or no choreographed movement. War haka (') were originally performed by warriors before a battle, proclaiming their strength and prowess in order to intimidate the opposition. Various actions are employed in the course of a performance, including facial contortions such as showing the whites of the eyes ('), and poking out the tongue (', performed by men only), and a wide variety of vigorous body actions such as slapping the hands against the body and stomping of the feet. As well as chanted words, a variety of cries and grunts are used. Haka may be understood as a kind of symphony in which the different parts of the body represent many instruments. The hands, arms, legs, feet, voice, eyes, tongue and the body as a whole combine to express courage, annoyance, joy or other feelings relevant to the purpose of the occasion.


18th and 19th centuries

The earliest Europeans to witness haka described them as being "vigorous" and "ferocious".
Joseph Banks Sir Joseph Banks, 1st Baronet, (19 June 1820) was an English naturalist, botanist, and patron of the natural sciences. Banks made his name on the 1766 natural-history expedition to Newfoundland and Labrador. He took part in Captain James ...
, who accompanied James Cook on his first voyage to New Zealand in 1769, later recorded: :"The War Song and dance consists of Various contortions of the limbs during which the tongue is frequently thrust out incredibly far and the orbits of the eyes enlarged so much that a circle of white is distinctly seen round the Iris: in short nothing is omitted which can render a human shape frightful and deformed, which I suppose they think terrible." From their arrival in the early 19th century, Christian missionaries tried unsuccessfully to eradicate haka, along with other forms of Māori culture that they saw as conflicting with Christian beliefs and practice.
Henry Williams Henry Williams may refer to: Politicians * Henry Williams (activist) (born 2000), chief of staff of the Mike Gravel 2020 presidential campaign * Henry Williams (MP for Northamptonshire) (died 1558), Member of Parliament (MP) for Northamptonshire ...
, the leader of the
Church Missionary Society The Church Mission Society (CMS), formerly known as the Church Missionary Society, is a British mission society working with the Christians around the world. Founded in 1799, CMS has attracted over nine thousand men and women to serve as mission ...
mission in New Zealand, aimed to replace haka and traditional Māori chants (''waiata'') with
hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' ...
s. Missionaries also encouraged European harmonic singing as part of the process of conversion. The use of haka in welcoming ceremonies for members of British royal family helped to improve its standing among Europeans. Prince Alfred, the Duke of Edinburgh, was the first royal to visit New Zealand, in 1869. Upon the Duke's arrival at the wharf in
Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...
, he was greeted by a vigorous haka. The ''Wellington Independent'' reported, "The excitement of the Maoris becomes uncontrollable. They gesticulate, they dance, they throw their weapons wildly in the air, while they yell like fiends let loose. But all this fierce yelling is of the most friendly character. They are bidding the Duke welcome."


Modern haka

In modern times, various haka have been composed to be performed by women and even children. Haka are performed for various reasons: for welcoming distinguished guests, or to acknowledge great achievements, occasions or funerals. The 1888–89 New Zealand Native football team began a tradition by performing haka during an international tour. The common use of haka by the national rugby union team before matches, beginning with
The Original All Blacks The Original All Blacks (also known simply as "The Originals") were the first New Zealand national rugby union team to tour outside Australasia. They toured the British Isles, France and the United States of America during 1905–1906. Their op ...
in 1905, has made one type of haka familiar. Some events have caused protests. The 1979 annual "haka party" parade at the
University of Auckland , mottoeng = By natural ability and hard work , established = 1883; years ago , endowment = NZD $293 million (31 December 2021) , budget = NZD $1.281 billion (31 December 2021) , chancellor = Cecilia Tarrant , vice_chancellor = Dawn F ...
– in which engineering students persisted in parodying haka by painting male genitals on their body and performing with sexually obscene gestures – was disrupted by a collection of Māori and Pacific Island students (''He Taua'', or The War Party) headed by Ngā Tamatoa, a prominent Māori activist group. For two decades people including Māori students at the university had asked the university and the engineering department to stop the tradition. In 1979 the protesters included
Hone Harawira Hone Pani Tamati Waka Nene Harawira is a New Zealand Māori activist and former parliamentarian. He was elected to parliament as the member for the Māori electorate of Te Tai Tokerau in 2005 as the Māori Party candidate. In 2011, following ...
, later a
Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
. Several of the engineering students were assaulted, and members of ''He Taua'' were arrested. Their court case in Auckland sparked anti-racism protests outside the courthouse and was supported by a range of people including the president of the Auckland University Students Association. The choreographed dance and chant popularized around the world by the
All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987 ...
derives from "
Ka Mate "Ka Mate" () is a Māori haka composed by Te Rauparaha, war leader of the Ngāti Toa tribe of the North Island of New Zealand. Composition Te Rauparaha composed "Ka Mate" circa 1820 as a celebration of life over death after his lucky escape fro ...
", a brief haka previously intended for extemporaneous, non-synchronized performance, whose composition is attributed to
Te Rauparaha Te Rauparaha (c.1768 – 27 November 1849) was a Māori rangatira (chief) and war leader of the Ngāti Toa tribe who took a leading part in the Musket Wars, receiving the nickname "the Napoleon of the South". He was influential in the origina ...
(1760s–1849), a war leader of the
Ngāti Toa Ngāti Toa, Ngāti Toarangatira or Ngāti Toa Rangatira, is a Māori '' iwi'' (tribe) based in the southern North Island and in the northern South Island of New Zealand. Its '' rohe'' (tribal area) extends from Whanganui in the north, Palmerston ...
tribe. The "Ka Mate" haka is classified as a ''haka taparahi'' – a ceremonial haka. "Ka Mate" is about the cunning ruse Te Rauparaha used to outwit his enemies, and may be interpreted as "a celebration of the triumph of life over death". Concerns were expressed that the authorship and significance of this haka to the Ngāti Toa were being lost and that it had "become the most performed, the most maligned, the most abused of all haka", and was now "the most globally recognised form of cultural appropriation". Specific legal challenges regarding the rights of the Ngāti Toa to be acknowledged as the authors and owners of "Ka Mate" were eventually settled in a Deed of Settlement between Ngāti Toa and the New Zealand Government and
New Zealand Rugby Union New Zealand Rugby (NZR) is the governing body of rugby union in New Zealand. It was founded in 1892 as the New Zealand Rugby Football Union (NZRFU), 12 years after the first provincial unions in New Zealand. In 1949 it became an affiliate to t ...
agreed in 2009 and signed in 2012.


Cultural influence

In the 21st century, kapa haka has been offered as a subject in universities, including the study of haka, and is practiced in schools and military institutions. In addition to the national
Te Matatini Te Matatini is a nation-wide Māori performing arts festival and competition for '' kapa haka'' performers from all of New Zealand. The name was given by Professor Wharehuia Milroy, a composite of ''Te Mata'' meaning ''the face'' and ''tini'' de ...
("many faces") festival, local and regional competitions attract dozens of teams and thousands of spectators. The All Blacks' use of haka has become the most widely known, but several other New Zealand sports teams now perform haka before commencing a game. These include the national rugby league team ("the Kiwis"), and the men's national basketball team ("Tall Blacks"). In the lead up to the
Rugby World Cup The Rugby World Cup is a men's rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams. The tournament is administered by World Rugby, the sport's international governing body. The winners are awarded the Webb E ...
in 2011, flashmob haka became a popular way of expressing support for the All Blacks. Some Māori leaders thought it was "inappropriate" and a "bastardisation" of haka. Sizeable flashmob haka were performed in Wellington and Auckland, as well as London, which has a large New Zealander immigrant community. In November 2012, a Māori kapa haka group from
Rotorua Rotorua () is a city in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand's North Island. The city lies on the southern shores of Lake Rotorua, from which it takes its name. It is the seat of the Rotorua Lakes District, a territorial authority encompass ...
performed a version of the " Gangnam Style" dance mixed with a traditional haka in
Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...
, celebrating 50 years of diplomatic relations between South Korea and New Zealand. On 7 December 2014, at the 2014 Roller Derby World Cup in
Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
,
Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
,
Team New Zealand Team New Zealand or TNZ is a sailing team based in Auckland, New Zealand representing the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron. Team New Zealand became a household name in their home country following their consecutive wins in the America's Cup i ...
performed a haka on roller skates to the Australian Roller Derby team before their bout in the quarter-finals. Team New Zealand performed a haka before their debut game against
Team USA The United States national team or Team USA may refer to any of a number of sports team representing the United States in international competitions. Olympic teams Additionally, these teams may compete in other international competitions such as ...
at the 2011 Roller Derby World Cup, on 1 December 2011; however, it was unexpected and the arena music was still playing. It has since become an expected tradition. In March 2019, following the
Christchurch mosque shootings On 15 March 2019, two consecutive mass shootings occurred in a terrorist attack on two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand. The attacks, carried out by a lone gunman who entered both mosques during Friday prayer, began at the Al Noor Mosque ...
, school pupils and other groups performed haka to honour those killed in the attacks. The choreography in the " Miroh" music video by K-pop group
Stray Kids Stray Kids (; often abbreviated as SKZ) is a South Korean boy band formed by JYP Entertainment through the 2017 reality show of the same name. The group is composed of eight members: Bang Chan, Lee Know, Changbin, Hyunjin, Han, Felix, Seungmi ...
featured haka elements. Three or four American football teams are known to perform haka as a pregame rite. This appears to have begun at
Kahuku High School Kahuku High & Intermediate School, located in Kahuku CDP, City and County of Honolulu, Hawaii, United States, on the island of Oahu, serves approximately 1,850 students in grades seven through twelve and is part of the Windward District on the is ...
where both the student body and local community includes many Polynesian Hawaiians, Māori, Samoans, Tahitians, and Tongans. The
University of Hawaii A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...
Rainbow Warriors football team also adopted haka as a pregame rite during the 2006 season, and the practice has spread to a number of other teams overseas; there has, however, been some criticism of this as inappropriate and disrespectful. Non-traditional or inaccurate haka performances have been criticised by Māori academics, such as Morgan Godfrey.


See also

*
Kapa haka Kapa haka is the term for Māori action songs and the groups who perform them. It literally means 'group' () and 'dance' (). Kapa haka is an important avenue for Māori people to express and showcase their heritage and cultural Polynesian identi ...
*
Māori music Traditional Māori music, or pūoro Māori, is composed or performed by Māori people, Māori, the indigenous people of New Zealand, and includes a wide variety of folk music styles, often integrated with poetry and dance. In addition to these trad ...
*
War song A war song is a musical composition that relates to war, or a society's attitudes towards war. They may be pro-war, anti-war, or simply a description of everyday life during war times. It is possible to classify these songs by historical confl ...
; Similar dances * Cibi *
Hoko (dance) Hoko is the tribal war dance of Easter Island, a dance of welcome and a sign of hospitality. It is also used before sports matches in the same way that the Haka (sports), Haka is performed by the New Zealand national rugby union team, similar to th ...
*
Hula Hula () is a Hawaiian dance form accompanied by chant (oli) or song ( mele). It was developed in the Hawaiian Islands by the Native Hawaiians who originally settled there. The hula dramatizes or portrays the words of the oli or mele in a visua ...
*
Kailao The kailao is a cultural dance from the South Pacific country of Tonga. It originates from Wallis and Futuna. History The kailao originated on the island collectivity of Wallis and Futuna, where it is still performed in public ceremonies. In Tonga ...
*
Siva Tau __NOTOC__ The Manu Siva Tau is a Samoan war dance, performed by the Samoan sporting teams before each match. The national rugby union team used to perform the traditional ' Maulu'ulu Moa' on tour. Prior to the 1991 World Cup, the 'Manu' war ...


References


Inline citations


General references

* * * * * * * * * McLean, Mervyn (1996). ''Maori music''. Auckland: Auckland University Press. * * Pōmare, Mīria (3 March 2017)
"Ngāti Toarangatira – Chant composed by Te Rauparaha"
Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand. * * * * * *


External links


Haka – A New Zealand icon
* Waihere Dance Group
Original Maori Haka Dance
via
YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
{{Authority control Dances of Polynesia Group dances Māori culture Partial squatting position Ritual dances War dances