21 Jun Rugby, the All Blacks, and the Haka
As a dedicated fan of NFL football, I always thought rugby was a silly game. For the record: I was wrong. The denizens of my newly-adopted country are rugby mad, and having watched two tests between New Zealand’s All Blacks — the world’s best rugby team — and Ireland, I now understand why. It’s an amazing game, far faster and more strategic than I ever realized. Kind of a cross between soccer and football (“gridiron,” as many kiwis call American football). And no commercials, except at halftime!
As I’ve noted before, Maori culture and Pakeha culture — the culture of non-Maori and non-Polynesian New Zealanders — are deeply intertwined. One example involves the All Blacks themselves, who perform a version of the Haka, the generic term for Maori dance, before every test. The version is known as “Ka mate,” and goes as follows:
Ka mate! Ka mate! Ka ora! Ka ora!
I die! I die! I live! I live!
Ka mate! Ka mate! Ka ora! Ka ora!
I die! I die! I live! I live!
Tenei te tangata puhuru huru
This is the hairy man
Nana nei i tiki mai
Who fetched the Sun
Whakawhiti te ra
And caused it to shine again
A upa … ne! ka upa … ne!
One upward step! Another upward step!
A upane kaupane whiti te ra!
An upward step, another.. the Sun shines!!
Hi !!!
Bare words on the page cannot do justice to the All Blacks’ Haka, which New Zealand rugby teams have been performing since 1888. A Canadian colleague of mine describes it as the best pre-game ritual in sports, and I agree. It’s simply awesome. See for yourself — a link to the All Blacks web page, which offers two different videos of the team performing the Haka, is here.
I true Irish style I feel obliged to say ‘we were robbed’ (twice) but apart from that I’m glad you’re getting into the maul of things (yes, bad rugby joke…) down in New Zealand. The Haka is awesome – I hope you managed to see it in person by now. As well as bouying the All Blacks up to ritually play some team into the ground it also has the added bonus of making everyone in the vicinity feel absolutely in love with each other and rugby. It’s the greatest ritual in sport – this is true, and it makes rugby. I think Fiji or Samoa do a Haka as well but it doesn’t have the same legendary status!!
It’s just amazing, isn’t it! My partner’s cousin has a little boy who can do a great haka. They are white, but the Maori kids from next door come over and they all do it for us when we visit (from Australia). The kiwis are much better advanced in their race relations than are Australians, and the way that white kiwis adopt the haka as a NEW ZEALAND tradition, rather than a Maori one, shows this well.