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- This page concerns a traditional Māori dance form. For the pre-game challenge of the New Zealand national rugby team see Haka of the All Blacks. For other uses, see Haka (disambiguation).
Haka is the generic name for Māori group dance or performance. The haka is often described as a "war dance", but it is more correctly a chant with hand gestures and foot stamping, originally performed by warriors before a battle, proclaiming their strength and prowess in order to intimidate the opposition. The haka may be understood as a kind of symphony in which the different parts of the body represent the many instruments. The hands, arm, legs, feet, voice, eyes, tongue and the body as a whole combine to express courage, annoyance, joy, or whatever feelings are relevant to the occasion.
Women and the haka
In Māori culture women play an important role in the presentation of haka. There are even hakas which are performed only by women. Most often, however, the female role in the haka is to provide support by singing in the background. Women were also strongly involved in the traditional origin of haka. According to Māori mythology, the sun god, Tama-nui-te-rā, had two wives, the Summer maid, Hine-raumati, and the Winter maid, Hine-takurua. The child of Tama-nui-te-ra and Hine-raumati, Tane-rore is credited with the origin of the dance.
Types of haka
The various types of war include whakatu waewae, tutu ngarahu and peruperu. The peruperu is characterised by leaps during which the legs are pressed under the body. In former times, the peruperu was performed before a battle. Its purpose was to invoke the god of war and to discourage and frighten the enemy. It involved fierce facial expressions and grimaces, poking out of the tongue, eye bulging, grunts and cries, and the waving of weapons. If the haka was not performed in total unison, this was regarded as a bad omen for the battle. Often, warriors went naked into battle, apart from a plaited flax belt around the waist. The aim of the warriors was to kill all the members of the enemy war party, so that no survivors would remain to undertake revenge.
The tutu ngarahu also involves jumping, but rather from side to side, while in the whakatu waewae no jumping occurs. Another kind of haka performed without weapons is the ngeri, the purpose of which was to motivate the warriors psychologically. The movements are very free, and each performer is expected to be expressive of their feelings. Manawa wera haka were generally associated with funerals or other occasions involving death. Like the ngeri they were performed without weapons, and there was little or no choreographed movement.
Haka today
In today's environment, however, haka constitute an integral part of formal or official welcome ceremonies for distinguished visitors or foreign dignitaries, serving to impart a sense of the importance of the occasion. The most famous modern use is its regular performance by New Zealand's national rugby union team, the All Blacks, who perform a haka before international matches not only as a reflection of the importance of the game that is about to be played but also to motivate themselves and their supporters to greater efforts; indirectly then, as in days of old on the Māori battlefield, they are paying a compliment to the perceived skills of their opponents. Other sports that perform haka before commencing a game include Rugby League (the Kiwis), Australian Rules Football (the Falcons) and basketball (Tall Blacks) teams.
See also
Haka | Haka | Haka | Haka | Haka | האקה | Haka | ハカ (ダンス) | Haka | Haka | Haka (dans) | 戰舞
"Haka"