Haka of the All Blacks

The All Blacks, the international rugby union team of New Zealand, perform a haka (Māori traditional dance) immediately prior to international matches. The Haka is also performed by some other New Zealand national teams, such as the Kiwis (rugby league) and the Tall Blacks (men's basketball). [cite web|url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/inside_game/alexander_wolff/news/2002/08/31/hoop_life/ |title=Thunder from Down Under |first=Alexander |last=Woolf |publisher="SportsIllustrated.com" |date=2002-08-31 |accessdate=2007-12-22] [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.] Over the years they have most commonly performed the haka "Ka Mate". In the early decades of international rugby, they sometimes performed other haka, [The title of this article follows the convention derived from the Māori language of not adding an "s" to pluralise words.] some of which were composed for specific tours. Since 2005 they have occasionally performed a new haka, "Kapa o Pango."

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 August 1903. The New Zealanders' warcry was "Tena Koe Kangaroo." (full details below)

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 [ [http://www.teara.govt.nz/1966/H/Haka/AllBlackshaka/en An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand, 1966] ] . The haka was led by star player George Nepia. It was performed before all but two of the tour matches. Reporters criticized 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.

"Ka Mate"

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 stratagem, 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) —

"I die, I die: I live, I live; this is the hairy 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).

Performance

The "Ka Mate" haka generally opens with a set of five preparatory instructions shouted by the leader, before the whole team joins in:

Newspaper reports of early games spoke of the "weird war cry of the visitors" in response to the crowds' singing. Thus the fifth game at Swansea began with 40,000 waiting Welshmen singing Cwm Rhondda, Sospan Fach, Land of My Fathers and then God save the Queen, to which the All Blacks responded with a "weird chant led by Nepia."

But as fame of their unbeaten status spread, so did the status of their haka. At the beginning of their 22nd game in Wales at Llanelly, we read

"On the appearance of the men in red, "Sosban Fach" was sung with great enthusiasm. Nepia then led the All Blacks in their famous war dance, which was very impressive. One could almost hear a pin drop while it was rendered. The crowd again sang 'Sosban Fach' in reply."

Source, "The Triumphant Tour! : the All Blacks in England, Ireland and Wales, 1924-1925." This rugby treasure is mostly reprints of extensive newspaper reports of each match of the tour.

The haka in "Finnegans Wake"

Irish writer James Joyce heard this haka performed at the Invincibles' match at Paris in January 1925. He modified some of the words and used them in his word-play novel "Finnegans Wake."

"Let us propel us for the frey of the fray! Us, us, beraddy!
"Ko Niutirenis hauru leish! A lala!
"Ko Niutirenis haururu laleish! Ala lala!
"The Wullingthund sturm is breaking.
"The sound of maormaoring
"The Wellingthund sturm waxes fuercilier."
Finnegan's Wake, 2nd ed. 1950, Book II chap ii, page 335.

"Kapa o Pango" 2005

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". It featured an extended and aggressive introduction by team captain Tana Umaga and was highlighted by its more aggressive climax, a drawing of the thumb down the throat. This was interpreted by many as a "throat-slitting" action directed at the opposing team. The All Blacks went on to win the match 31 to 27.

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. [http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/waikatotimes/0,2106,3391883a6648,00.html]

The new haka was developed by Derek Lardelli of Ngāti Porou by modifying the first verse of "Ko Niu Tirini," the haka used by the 1924 All Blacks. An NZRU press release stated that

Kapa o Pango has 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'.

However, the NZRU failed to acknowledge their debt to the creativity and mana of members of the 1924 Invincibles, and the high status that the Invincibles' haka had attained by the end of 1925 was damaged by the public-relations disaster during the haka's 2005 re-incarnarnaion.

The All Blacks opted not to perform "Kapa o Pango" in their opening test of 2006 against nrut|Ireland. It was requested that they perform their usual Ka Mate haka while a review was conducted into "Kapa o Pango". The throat-slitting action at the end of "Kapa o Pango" had drawn 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. [http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3694383a1823,00.html]

In the run-up to the first All Blacks Test of the 2006 Tri Nations at Jade Stadium in Christchurch against nrut|Australia, the NZRU completed their review, and concluded that the gesture had a radically different meaning within Māori culture and haka traditions, indicating the drawing of "hauora", the breath of life into the heart and lungs. [http://www.planet-rugby.com/News/story_52333.shtml] And so "Kapa o Pango" was performed, complete with the final gesture, before the Australia test.

Despite this, the controversial gesture appears to have been withdrawn in 2007, with a modified action (raking the right arm from the left hip to over the right shoulder) performed in the challenge when "Kapa o Pango" was performed in test matches against France and South Africa.

Published words and the NZRU explanation

Words chanted on field, and their literal interpretation

The words of both 'Kapa o Pango' and 'Ko Niu Tireni' are taken from the haka of the earthquake god Ruaumoko, "Ko Ruaumoko e ngunguru nei." The lines beginning "Ka tū te ihi-ihi..." are found in many old haka."Ponga ra, ponga ra" is the opening line of 'Te Kiri Ngutu,' an 1880s lament for stolen territory.

Controversies

The haka, whilst normally enjoyed by spectators, has been criticised as an unsporting attempt to intimidate the opposition before the match begins. However, most teams accept that the Haka is a legitimate part of Rugby's Heritage and face up to the All Blacks during its performance, with both teams standing about 10 metres apart. The 2007 Portuguese Rugby team Captain Vasco Uva said of the Haka that " [We] "faced it, gave it the respect it deserved and it gave us motivation and we knew if it gave them strength, it was also a point of strength for us"." [cite news
url=http://www.planet-rugby.com/Story/0,18259,3551_2731287,00.html
title=Uva looking ahead already
work=Planet Rugby
date=2007-09-15
accessdate=2007-09-23]

Ignoring the Haka is a tactic sometimes used by opposing teams. Famously, the Australian rugby team did a warm up drill well away from the All Blacks during their 1996 Test Match in Wellington, and were beaten by a record score. More recently, the Italian rugby team ignored the Haka during a 2007 World Cup Pool Match, and the All Blacks then went on to beat them by a larger than expected score. All Black hooker, Keven Mealamu, said later that the snub had backfired and provided motivation to his team. [cite news
url=http://www.stuff.co.nz/4195726a15599.html
first=David
last=Long
title=Haka snub sparks All Black fury
work=Sunday News
date=2007-09-09
accessdate=2007-09-23]

In 1997, Richard Cockerill was disciplined for responding to the haka before the start of an England vs All Blacks game. Cockerill went toe-to-toe with his opposite number Norm Hewitt while they performed the Haka. The Referee became so concerned that Hewitt and Cockerill would begin fighting that he pushed Cockerill away from Hewitt. 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"." [cite news
url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sport/rugby_world_cup/teams/england/468273.stm
title=England receive 'Haka' warning
work=BBC News
date=1999-10-07
accessdate=2007-09-23]

At the 1999 Bledisloe Cup match at Telstra Stadium, Sydney, 107,000 voices sang Waltzing Matilda as a response to the New Zealand haka. The Australian players responded by delivering New Zealand a record 28-7 defeat culminating in the cup being retained by Australia.

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. [cite news
url=http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/11/25/sports/EU_SPT_RUGU_New_Zealand_Haka.php
title=All Blacks perform haka in changing room to protest Welsh Rugby Union
work=International Herald Tribune
date=2006-11-25
accessdate=2007-07-11] 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". [cite news
url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/rugby_union/6184642.stm
title=McCaw defends private haka choice
date=2006-11-26
accessdate=2007-03-18
publisher=BBC Sport] The crowd reacted negatively to the lack of the haka and then being shown brief footage of the haka on the screens at the Millennium Stadium. [cite news
last=Godwin
first=Hugh
url=http://sport.independent.co.uk/rugby_union/article2016119.ece
title= Wales 10 New Zealand 45: All Blacks dance to a different beat
publisher=The Independent
date=2006-11-27
accessdate=2007-03-18]

In the 2007 Rugby World Cup quarter-finals, France, after having won the coin toss for the choice of uniforms, famously wore the blue/white/red of the French flag and walked up to within a metre of the Haka performance, forming a line of opposition to the performance by the All-Blacks, who were wearing a predominantly silver uniform (as opposed to the traditional all black). France went on to defeat the All-Blacks 20-18.

Use by other teams

The high-profile of the All Blacks, and their use of the haka has led to other Pacific teams to use similar dances from their own cultures, such as the Cibi, Kailao, and Siva tau. Other teams from the Pacific and elsewhere however have performed the Ka Mate or Kapa O Pango haka; something generally felt to be inappropriate at best. For instance, the "Kapa O Pango" haka was used by the University of Hawaii Warriors in 2006, before they created their own war dance, the "Haokinaa", in the Hawaiian language with original movements.

ee also

* 2006 Kapa O Pango controversy
* All Blacks
* Cibi
* Haka
* Haka in popular culture
* "Ka Mate"
* Kapa haka
* Kailao
* Māori music
* Siva tau

Notes

References

*M. Pōmare, 'Ngāti Toarangatira', "Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand", updated 9-Jun-2006. URL: [http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/NewZealanders/MaoriNewZealanders/NgatiToarangatira/en www.TeAra.govt.nz]
*' [http://www.rugbymuseum.co.nz/asp/container_pages/normal_menu/rmArticle.asp?IDID=137 The Haka - In the Beginning] ', New Zealand Rugby Museum.

External links

* [http://www.tainui.co.nz/kapahaka/haka.htm 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."
* [http://folksong.org.nz/ka_mate/ Words and history of the Ka Mate ]
* [http://folksong.org.nz/kapa_o_pango/ Origins of Kapa o Pango]
* [http://folksong.org.nz/ko_niu_tireni/ Words and history of Ko Niu Tireni]
* [http://muse.jhu.edu/demo/james_joyce_quarterly/v044/44.1corballis.html The haka in Finnegan's Wake]
* [http://www.allblacks.com/index.cfm?layout=haka All Blacks Official site on the Haka (with several videos)]
* [http://www.haka.co.nz/haka.php/ History of the All Black Haka]
* [http://history-nz.org/rauparaha.html Te Rauparaha and "Ka Mate"]