The All Blacks and the Maōri haka

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The All Blacks and the Maōri haka

1Muscogulus
Modificato: Mar 1, 2023, 1:44 pm

New Zealand’s All Blacks have just won the Rugby World Cup for the umpteenth time. And I have just been educated about the haka — a custom derived from the indigenous culture of Aotearoa (New Zealand) that has won a favored place in rugby.

First of all, I had assumed that the All Blacks got their name from the color of their uniforms. Turns out that in fact the first All Blacks team was organized in 1905 with the idea that all the players would be Maōri — “blacks” in the reductionist lingo of the day. (As it turned out, four players on the first team were “white,” and ethnic diversity has been the rule ever since. Also, an earlier team, the New Zealand Natives, toured in 1884 and performed the haka at least once.)

The tradition is this: Before each game, the All Blacks players take to the field and perform a haka, or dance. White observers often call it a “war dance,” but this appears to be inaccurate. As practiced by the All Blacks, it is a challenge to their adversaries. Because the haka has been performed for so long, and because the crowds demand it, the All Blacks have the privilege of issuing this stirring challenge to their opponents, who are expected to face the team and keep silence.

(N.B. Links in this paragraph are dead.) The team website has this page about the haka and its history in rugby, and a video page. "Haka explained" gives an account of the best known haka of all, Ka mate. It’s interesting to contrast the archival footage in “Haka history” with the video above of more recent performances, in which the intensity and seriousness are both much greater.

What I find most striking is the way in which the use of the haka in rugby has made it possible for Kiwis of any ethnic background to fully identify with this indigenous ritual. It also shows how the haka is a living tradition, as the haka Kapa o Pango (Maōri for “all blacks”) was created especially for the team.

OK, last but not least, here’s a video from the New Zealand Herald of a haka flash mob in Auckland, celebrating the world championship.

Deleted YouTube links that are no longer available.