Haka

The haka is a generic term used to describe any of several types of group posture dances used for various social purposes by the Māori people of New Zealand. The term "haka" is the Māori word for "dance." The haka is among the best-known cultural traditions of the Māori and is often performed by athletic teams from New Zealand before competitions. The haka is characterized by a group of performers using synchronized body movements and chants. The performers' synchronized movements are the key to a proper performance and may include loud chants, foot-stamping, thigh-slapping, striking facial expressions, and aggressive gesturing. Traditional haka requires dancers to use their whole body, including their face, body, hands, and feet. The haka retains vital ceremonial importance among the Māori, who use the traditional dance as a means of welcome, celebration, war, and protest.

Description

Māori tradition holds that the haka was initially the creation of the gods: Tane-rore was the son of Tama-nui-te-ra, the sun god, and Hine-raumati was the physical incarnation of summer. Haka dancers make a trembling motion with their hands. This is meant to simulate the shimmering appearance of air in the heat of summer, which was believed to be a physical sign of the dance Taner-rore does for his mother.

The haka dance has five distinct forms: haka taparahi, tūtūngārahu, peruperu, puha, and ngeri. The haka taparahi is primarily used for ceremonial functions and is performed without weapons. The tūtūngārahu and peruperu, on the other hand, are war dances performed with weapons such as the taiaha (a spear-like staff) and the patu (a thick club). The tūtūngārahu was once performed by warriors for members of their own Indigenous group before battle as a demonstration of their readiness for war, while the peruperu was used when confronting the enemy. Fighters preparing for war would indicate their solidarity in battle by performing a highly synchronized tūtūngārahu; if the village elders sensed that the dance was out of synch or lacked sufficient energy, they considered it a bad omen and called off the campaign. The peruperu dance was meant to demonstrate the ferociousness of the group when encountering its rivals. Peruperu performers made their eyes bulge, poked out their tongues, and yelled loudly while waving their weapons. The puha was used as an alert for the people, such as when a village was threatened with attack. It is sometimes regarded as a type of peruperu. The most common form of haka is the ngeri, and like the haka taparahi, it is performed without weapons. The ngeri was used to celebrate community, express a desire for a communal goal, or rouse public support for a project. As opposed to some types of haka, participants in a ngeri are allowed to show individual movements that express their own character.

Perhaps the best-known haka is the Ka Mate dance, which has been made famous by the All Blacks, New Zealand's national rugby team. The Ka Mate is a type of haka taparahi that was created by chief Te Rauparaha of the Ngāti Toa in the early nineteenth century. According to tradition, Te Rauparaha was preparing for a potential war with the neighboring Waikato and Ngāti Maniapoto Indigenous groups. While seeking allies, he learned the Ngāti Te Aho had sent a hunting party after him. Te Rauparaha sought protection with his relative Te Wharerangi, who reluctantly agreed to hide him in a food pit over which his wife sat. While hiding, Te Rauparaha began to quietly chant the words "Ka mate, ka mate, ka ora, ka ora," meaning "Will I die, I die, will I live, I live?" The Ngāti Te Aho were unable to find him. In relief, Te Rauparaha emerged and performed the first Ka Mate.

The haka has several aspects, including timing, footwork, stance, facial expressions, and wiri (the term for the quivering motion of the hands). Dancers are focused on presenting a synchronized performance that demonstrates the group's unity and harmony. With footing, it is essential that each performer be linked in step to avoid throwing off the group's synchronization. Stance reflects the intent of the performance. War dances, in particular, require an aggressive, firm stance. The dancers' facial expressions (called pūkana) are one of the most distinctive parts of a haka. Men will often bare their teeth and stick out their tongues grotesquely as a way of expressing strength and intimidation. Women will open their eyes widely and jut their chins.

Topic Today

The haka was first introduced to a broad Western audience when local politician James Carroll, who was of mixed Irish and Māori ancestry, performed the dance for the Duke of York during his 1901 tour of New Zealand. However, it was the All Blacks rugby team that earned the haka worldwide fame. The All Blacks have been performing the Ka Mate before their matches since 1888. In the 1980s, the All Blacks made an increased effort to correctly perform the dance out of respect for the Māori people. However, some critics have accused such performances as being an appropriation of an important cultural artifact.

The haka has increasingly been performed outside its native New Zealand. The University of Arizona football team, for instance, began performing the Ka Mate at games in 2015. However, such performances are considered potentially insulting to the Māori because they lack the ceremonial functions Māori attach to the dance. In addition, most haka performers have undergone years of training; people who lack such training are unlikely to be able to replicate the fine movements associated with a proper performance, thus offering what may be regarded as a mockery of a sacred institution. Partly out of respect for such concerns, the All Blacks have been performing their own haka dance since 2005. Created by a Māori cultural expert, the Kapa O Pango (meaning "team in black") was explicitly made for the All Blacks and has become a mainstay of their pre-match ceremonies.

The Māori continue to perform the haka in contemporary New Zealand. Māori dancers perform the haka competitively at the biennial Te Matatini Arts Festival and as part of the country's tourist industry. The haka is also used as a form of political protest in support of Māori rights and environmental causes. In 2024, Māori politicians performed the haka in Parliament to protest a bill that sought to redefine the Treaty of Waitangi, a foundational document in New Zealand's history, and Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke, New Zealand's youngest member of Parliament, performed the haka in Parliament multiple times. Although the haka continued to receive global recognition, concerns about cultural appropriation by others lingered.

Bibliography

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Gray, Tanemahuta. "Kaumatua Kapa Haka—Dancing Through the Ages." Danz Magazine, vol. 39, 2015, pp. 2–3.

Kara, Scott. "Legend of the Haka: When First Shout Rang Out." New Zealand Herald, 23 Sept. 2011, www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/news/article.cfm?c‗id=1501119&objectid=10753993. Accessed 11 Dec. 2024.

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