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| Members of New Zealand's All Blacks national rugby team perform a aka before each of their games. |
WAS THERE any doubt? Of course New Zealand's All Blacks won the world rugby championship played last month in England in a historic performance.
Hailed as the greatest team to have played the game, New Zealand was the first team to win the World Cup three times and the first to retain the trophy after their 34-17 victory over Australia at Twickenham on Oct. 31.
Hailed as the greatest team to have played the game, New Zealand was the first team to win the World Cup three times and the first to retain the trophy after their 34-17 victory over Australia at Twickenham on Oct. 31.
Many credit the pregame ritual and use of the haka, traditional Maori war chant, for firing up the kiwis for their awesome performance on the rugby field. Usually, the opposing team just has to stand there and watch. How can anyone respond to that?
Details of the match.
When they returned home yesterday, they were welcomed home with a series of hakas performed by the airport maintenance crew, school girls and, of course, by the New Zealand's native Maori's.
The haka, a traditional “war dance” of New Zealand’s native Māori people that New Zealand's All Blacks perform before each game. The All Blacks may be credited for exposing the haka to the world beyond the Pacific peoples.
The haka is generally thought of as way to spook and intimidate opponents. But the haka most commonly performed by the All Blacks, the Ka Mate, has an entirely different meaning if you consider the lyrics.
The song was composed by Te Rauparaha, war leader of the Ngāti Toa tribe, after he hid from his enemies, says Paraone Gloyne, a well-known haka dance performer, teacher and composer.
“That certain haka is actually about being victorious because the person who composed it, he was actually being hunted at the time by a rival tribe," says Gloyne. "That haka was actually a haka of celebration that he was still alive,”
“We respect and endear the haka. It is esteemed. It’s not something we poke fun of. We won’t do that to any other culture. We’re very conscious of the fact that haka is being commercialized and is being used as a marketing tool by people that don’t know anything about the haka, or taken the time to really research the haka."
The song was composed by Te Rauparaha, war leader of the Ngāti Toa tribe, after he hid from his enemies, says Paraone Gloyne, a well-known haka dance performer, teacher and composer.
“That certain haka is actually about being victorious because the person who composed it, he was actually being hunted at the time by a rival tribe," says Gloyne. "That haka was actually a haka of celebration that he was still alive,”
“We respect and endear the haka. It is esteemed. It’s not something we poke fun of. We won’t do that to any other culture. We’re very conscious of the fact that haka is being commercialized and is being used as a marketing tool by people that don’t know anything about the haka, or taken the time to really research the haka."
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