I promise this will be the last haka post for a while, but I thought it would be nice to round off the story with a final video. It shows the New Zealand basketball team, the Tall Blacks, doing a decent haka.
And so the haka spreads to other nations, and to other sports. There were a couple more video’s of various haka amateurs (volleyball, Koreans, and party freestyle), but I will spare you a direct confrontation.
Update 2011-03-14: Ha, no I won’t!, Here it is anyway:
It appears New Zealand Maori actually introduced the haka to rugby (history), in their tour of Britain in 1888/89. Although this history story describes a somewhat vaguer origin (therefore more likely?) it also credits the ‘New Zealand Natives’ with the first overseas performance of the haka by a rugby team. Since 2001 NZ Maori performs the Timatanga haka which describes the evolution of life and the creation of New Zealand from the four winds. ps. The story of the All Blacks’ haka has a good entry on Wikipedia, and there is a separate story about the Kapa o Pango throat-slitting controversy.
The haka is conquering the world of battle-like sports it seems. Rugby teams from New Zealand and other pacific islands have performed war dances like the haka for a long time already. But now football teams from Hawaii and even Texas have also adopted the haka.
The first example is of Kahuku High School’s Red Raiders (Hawaii). The second example is from the University of Hawaii Warriors. It appears the small state of Hawaii is becoming strong in American football. Perhaps because of their adoption of the haka? The third example are Trinity College Trojans. An estimated 4,000 people of Tongan descent live in Trinity’s hometown of Euless, a small city near Dallas, Texas. The Tongan students were also inspired by the traditional All Blacks’ haka (Ka Mate), and got permission to also do it. The fourth example is by the Brigham Young Univeristy (BYU) Cougars, again in Hawaii.
An interesting observation is that it appears to matter a lot whether the players directly face the opposition during the haka (as is customary) or perform in front of the audience. Regarding the UH Warriors’ haka two incidents were reported with opposition players ‘being offended’ by the haka when they were looked straight in the eye. I think the correct interpretation is that they were challenged (not insulted) by the haka, that is why they do it originally. Now, if you watch the fifth movie closely you can see the UH Warriors turning during their haka to keep facing their Purdue opponents as they are fleeing elsewhere.
Other Hawaiian high shools are also reported to perform the haka. And I think I found several on YouTube, which are added to the playlist. The last one is from the Ko’olauloa Pewees (?) and is touching rather than intimidating, as I guess the boys are about 10 years old. I think the haka is in football to stay, and I can’t wait to see where it will go next.
The New Zealand All Blacks are not the only rugby team with a challenge or warrior dance like the haka. There are for example these Pacific Islands: Fiji, Tonga, and Samoa.
The Fiji national rugby union team is a strong side that delivers the cibi before test matches (more). (Image source)
Tonga (in red) versus Samoa (in blue).
The Tonga national team , called ‘Ikale Tahi, performs the Sipitau (Sipi Tau), which is said here to be a form of Kailao. Although they are said here not be very enthusiastic about it, the Tongan national team was caught on camera giving a show at a night club and a party.
The Samoa rugby team, or Manu Samoa performs the (Manu) Siva tau.
The Pacific Islanders are an international rugby union team that represents Fiji, Samoa and Tonga all together. Their war dance looks great, but I did not find a name for it. Looking good, everyone!
A while ago there was upheaval about the All Blacks. They performed a new Haka called Kapa o Pango instead of the traditional Ka Mate.
An early performance of the new Kapa o Pango haka
The trouble was that it included a throat-slitting gesture. After a lot of fuss the haka was slightly changed and it all ended with everyone more or less saving face.
What happened since then? Not a lot apparently, there is little in the news. One recent newsflash does mention the Kapa o Pango and still refers to the ‘ending with a cut-throat gesture’, implying that in their view the ending has not really changed. Internally, they seem to have settled on keeping the Kapa o Pango for special test matches and sticking to the story about drawing breath instead of cutting throats.
Well, I will be looking forward to how they do this gesture at the end precisely. Fortunately for them, everybody is now so sensitive to the threatening gesture, that they hardly need to make it. Everyone will expect it and be looking for it. They can now afford to actually make a watered-down version, claim innocence and still get the message across. The only trouble is whether the All Blacks can accept giving an impression of having backed down. If some want to appear unwavering, firm, or just outright frightening (which is the purpose after all) they may well go for the throat.
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