Haka

When describing or speaking about haka, it is difficult to go past the New Zealand All Blacks rugby team and their use of the haka, Ka mate. This haka has now obtained fame internationally through its performance prior to the All Blacks playing. Often referred to as Māori War dance or Māori dance, its beginnings have a different story.

Ka mate is the final verse of a haka ngeri performed by a Ngāti Toa Chief, Te Rauparaha. Whilst escaping his pursuers, he was hidden by a kuia (elder woman) in a rua, a storage pit for kumara or sweet potato. By sitting at the entrance of the rua with her legs aside either side, Te Rauparaha was able to escape death that day because his enemies would never have believed that he would hide beneath or between the legs of a woman. However it was this factor also that saved Te Rauparaha, for it was the genitalia of his protector (Te Rangikoaea), that absorbed the karakia (prayer incantations) of his enemies as they searched for him. In the first verse of this haka, Te Rauparaha describes his feelings of readiness should he be discovered.

Johannes C.Anderson, when writing on haka, notes:

‘… the haka … was intended not only to intimidate the enemy, but also work up the performer to the pitch of excitement necessary to enable him to ‘go over the top’. (Gardiner, Wira. Haka a Living Tradition).

The following clip shows the All Blacks performing Ka mate prior to a game against Tonga, who in turn respond with their own ‘haka’ equalling the challenge and showing determination to win.