Haka performed by non-New Zealand sports teams

Although the haka is a traditional dance form of the Māori of New Zealand, the use of a haka by the All Blacks rugby team before matches has made it familiar worldwide, and various haka have been adopted by sports teams with no strong New Zealand connections.

Brigham Young University

The "Ka Mate" Haka has become well-known in the Mountain West Conference, and among the fans and opponents of the Brigham Young University football team. Prior to the BYU Cougars taking on Boston College, their season-opener in 2005, the Cougars instituted a new tradition when they performed the "Ka Mate" Haka. Minutes before kickoff, members of the BYU football team lined up on the southeast corner of the field and performed "Ka Mate" for a stadium full of cheering fans. Planned and prepared under a tight veil of secrecy for months, this new tradition was inspired by Bryce Mahuika, the team’s only player of Māori descent. [http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/1/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10345999]

Mahuika had recently lost his father, Michael K. Mahuika (the son of Nepia Mahuika, chief of the Māori Ngati Porou iwi (tribe)). As a boy, Michael K. Mahuika, his father's oldest son and next in line to become the chief of his iwi, was taught everything about his tribe's culture. When he attended the Church College of Hawaii, now Brigham Young University Hawaii, he was employed at the Polynesian Cultural Center (PCC), where he performed haka and other dances of his people at the Maori Village for tourists. He passed these cultural dances on to his children, teaching them how important they were to his people and his forefathers. On March 27, 2005, Michael K. Mahuika died in Vancouver, Washington due to Hodgkin's disease. Over a thousand mourners attended his funeral, including Curtis Brown, the Cougars' star running back, to honor the fallen chief. Kyle and Bryce Mahuika, his sons, led them in a haka at the gravesite prior to lowering Michael K. Mahuika's casket into the ground. After returning from his father's funeral, Bryce Mahuika attended a team meeting where Bronco Mendenhall, the head coach, asked the team for personal requests that might help the team reach their goals in 2006. Bryce Mahuika went up to the front to thank everybody for their support, when he had the idea to do the Haka to fire up the crowd and prepare for football games. He explained the origins and significance of the Haka to the team, and they enthusiastically supported the idea. On September 3, 2005, the BYU Football team instituted the new tradition, and a little over a year later, on November 18, 2006, the Cougars became undefeated (in conference play) Mountain West Conference champions. The BYU Cougars went on to win the rest of their games that season, including crushing the Oregon Ducks 38-8 in the Pioneer PureVision Las Vegas Bowl.

There have been two occasions where the BYU Haka caused a near-altercation with the opposition. Both incidents flared because of perceptions that the haka was directed at the opposing team, rather than serving a more benign role of exciting the team and fans. The first instance was before BYU's game against rival University of Utah in 2005, when the team did the dance while facing the opposing team instead of in front of a student body. The second incident occurred during a shared pep-rally at the Fremont Street Experience before the 2006 Las Vegas Bowl against the University of Oregon. According to media reports, several BYU players performed the dance, provoking one of Oregon's Polynesian players to jump a crowd barrier. [http://www.sltrib.com/ci_4871113?source=rss] The player later explained his motivation, "They looked right at us. It would have been different if it had been on stage intended for everybody. Instead, it felt like it was intended for us." [http://www.registerguard.com/news/2006/12/21/e5.sp.vegasnotes.1221.p1.php?section=sports] Although the confrontation was heated, it didn't turn violent, and BYU quarterback John Beck later apologized for any perceived disrespect.

In an interesting departure from their normal pre-game "Ka Mate" performance, on Saturday, 25 November, 2006, the Cougars performed "Ka Mate" both prior to their historic rivalry football game with Utah, and upon winning a come-from-behind, extremely hard-fought game, breaking Utah's four-year winning streak in the series, BYU's football team performed an additional impromptu rendition of "Ka Mate" to the delight of their fans in attendance.

Kahuhu "Red Raiders"

Kahuku High School "Red Raiders" football team [http://www.usatoday.com/sports/football/2004-11-09-hawaii-football_x.htm] [http://www.k12.hi.us/~kahukuhs/khs_index.htm] may have been the first American sports team to regularlly perform a haka. Kahuku is home to Brigham Young University, Hawaii which has Polynesian students from througout the Pacific, and both the student body and local community includes many Fijians, Tongans, Maori, Tahitians and Hawaiians.

University of Hawaii

During a hugely successful 2006 football season, it became tradition for the University of Hawaiokinai Warriors football team to perform the Haka. It was introduced to the team by Tala Esera, who had performed tha haka as a member of the Kahuku "Red Raiders", high school football team.

Typically, the Warriors performed their version of the "Kapa O Pango" haka 20 minutes before the opening kickoff. After home wins, the team also performed a post-game version. However, before its final regular season game against Oregon State, the team was alerted by a university professor that the team may be infringing upon a copyright by performing the dance. The team ended up doing a 'variation' of the Haka before the Oregon State game, and planned on unveiling a 'new haka' before the team's Hawaiokinai Bowl appearance against Arizona State on December 24. The All-Blacks rugby team does their Haka with permission from the Ngati Porou iwi.

Through a spokeswoman, Hawaiokinai's athletic director said: "Our legal department is looking into the issue. We don't believe we're violating any copyright laws at this time." Players on the team add that their version of the dance is not 'step for step' with the All-Blacks Haka. [http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2006/Nov/29/sp/FP611290353.html]

While the team has adopted the "Kapa O Pango" as its game day ritual haka, the words speak of a black jersey, which is the official home color of the UH Warriors. However, the black jersey refers specifically to the All Blacks jersey, for whom the haka was written. The original version of the haka also mentions "Aotearoa", which is Māori for New Zealand, and "Ponga-Ra" meaning silver fern, both not applicable to the University of Hawaiokinai football team. However, these words are dropped when the Warriors perform their version.Fact|date=August 2007

2006 Heisman Trophy Candidate Quarterback Colt Brennan was also filmed saying that he was learning the Samoan words to the haka when the haka is clearly Māori. (It should noted that Brennan meant learning Samoan would assist him in learning to pronounce the Māori words, not that this haka was in Samoan. Also the Warriors do not say "Aotearoa" or New Zealand when they perform their version)Fact|date=August 2007.

On December 24, 2006 the Warriors performed a haka prior to the Sheraton Hawaiokinai Bowl game. in contrary to what was stated prior to the game,the Warriors, did not perform an entirely new haka but used the same gestures as "Kapa O Pango" as they have done all season. However, the chant itself could not be identified and it could not be confirmed if it remains the same or if certain words were changed to accommodate the team and the university specifically as the haka was not televisedFact|date=August 2007. YouTube hosts several clips of the Warriors' haka prior to the 2006 Hawaiokinai Bowl game, but none have audio of sufficient quality to allow their chant at that time to be deciphered.

In 2007, linebacker Timo Paepule has now taken the leadership duties of the haka. The Warriors performed their usual version of "Kapa O Pango" for over 4,000 fans in attendance at their annual "Football Ohana Festival" which included a 90-minute practice session.

Paepule was quoted in saying that they plan to adjust the haka before the start of the 2007 fall season. Paepule also noted that the team actually prefers to perform the haka just for themselves and not as an attraction for the teamFact|date=August 2007.

In August 2007 the team announced [http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2007/Aug/18/sp/hawaii708180353.html] that they would be dropping the Maori haka, in favour of a new Hawaiian war chant, which was ultimately named the haokinaa. Linebacker Brad Kalilimoku,defensive back Guyton Galdeira and defensive tackle Keala Watson worked together to write the words and create the movements for the ritual. The three players are native Hawaiians and have experience with the language. Galdeira's training in hula also added cultural flavor to the haokinaa. Although many fans have asked for the lyrics so that they could join in,the lyrics are kept within the team as a means of keeping the team unified. [http://media.www.dailyorange.com/media/storage/paper522/news/2007/11/06/Sports/Race-Chant.Gives.No.16.Hawaii.Good.Vibes-3080526.shtml]

Trinity High School, Euless, Texas

Trinity High School of Euless, Texas first performed the "Ka Mate" haka for fans at the beginning of the 2005 season, copying from the New Zealand's All Blacks rugby team. Several famous All Blacks such as Jonah Lomu, Doug Howlett, and Pita Alatini have been of Tongan birth or descent, and Tongan players have helped transform Trinity High School into a Texas football powerhouse. The Euless area is home to an estimated 4,000 people of Tongan descent.

"We do the haka to ignite the breath of competition. It means that I've got your back and you've got mine," said Mr. Kautai, a player who stands convert|6|ft|m|1|sing=on and weighs 280 pounds (127 kg). [http://www.trinitytrojanfootball.com/SB116364486631624627.html]

On 10 June 2008, First Lady Laura Bush was greeted with a haka by the New Zealand Provincial Reconstruction Team in Bamyan Province, Afghanistan. She explained later in an interview that she was able to keep her cool because she is a fan of Texas football..."I actually know about the haka because there's one football team in Texas that won state last year that happens to have a lot of Tongans ... in Dallas-Fort Worth," she said. "And they do the haka. If I didn't already know about it and hadn't already seen this football team on television do this, I might have been really surprised by it." [http://www.stuff.co.nz/4579451a12.html]

Jefferson High School, Portland, Oregon

Jefferson High School (Portland, Oregon) has performed the "Ka Mate" haka beginning in the 2007 season. As with some other schools, the haka was introduced by Tongan students, of which there are fewer than 20 at Jefferson. [http://www.oregonlive.com/prepsports/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/119562095047660.xml&coll=7] The school is predominantly African-American. "We are defending our land," said Tongan player Leni Feaomoeata, 15. "Jefferson has the reputation for losing, being dismissed. We wanted to defend our school, to show we have heart."

The team and school have embraced the haka despite opposition from other Oregon schools and sports administrators, who consider the haka intimidating [http://blog.oregonlive.com/multimedia/2007/11/jefferson_football_team_dance.html] . This has led to an ongoing controversy, and has resulted in imposed penalties on the school's team. Other coaches complained to Jefferson's athletic director, labelling the haka "scary" and the moves "gang signs.. [the opposition] ... left the team's staff exasperated and disappointed...The Oregon School Activities Association ultimately decided the ritual amounted to taunting and said the players must do the dance with their backs to the opposing team or face a 15-yard penalty at the start of each game." [http://www.oregonlive.com/prepsports/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/119562095047660.xml&coll=7] . Opposition has not deterred the team, despite the penalties, and Jefferson has persevered with their new tradition. News of the controversy has spread even to New Zealand. [http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/536641/1459688]

Others

* Menlo-Atherton High School, Atherton, California [http://www.rockvideos.us/BEARS-07/HAKA-07.htm]
* Long Beach Poly, Long Beach, California [http://www.dailynews.com/preps/ci_7208660]
* Birmingham High School, Los Angeles, California [http://www.dailynews.com/preps/ci_7208660]
* Helix Charter High School, La Mesa, California
* American Fork High School football team Fact|date=October 2007
* [http://www.borregostec.com.mx/futbolamericano/inicio.asp Los Borregos Salvajes] (Borregios)de Monterrey (México) and other colleague football teams in Mexico (UDLA, Los Aztecas, etc)Fact|date=October 2007
* Edmond Rugby Club [http://www.edmondrugbyclub.com] , a high school club in Edmond, Oklahoma - both coaches and 2 players are from New Zealand
* Redlands East Valley High School football teamFact|date=November 2007
* In Ville Platte, a small cajun-creole town in the bayou land of South Loisiana, two high school football teams, the predominately black "Ville Platte High Bulldogs" and the all white "Sacred Heart Trojans" perform their own haka, the "Kajun Ka Mate", to each other before their annual meeting in the Tee Cotton Bowl as a sign of respect [http://www.rockylane.org/RL_NZ_Hero.html] .
* The male fencing team of Livingston High School, in Livingston, New Jersey chants the Ka Mate Haka before every matchFact|date=December 2007.

See also

* All Blacks
* Cibi
* Haka in popular culture
* "Ka Mate"
* Kapa haka
* Kailao
* Siva tau