The All Blacks and Haka

I was only young when my loved ones moved to New Zealand, and those early days are now mainly a blur of attempting to match in, find out a new language and uncover buddies.  But 1 issue does nevertheless stick in my memory and will remain there forever.  And that moment has to be the initial time I saw and heard the New Zealand national rugby team, the All Blacks, execute the Haka prior to a game.

Image from rugbyuncut.blogspot.com

I can nevertheless keep in mind exactly where I was, outside of course, when my mother appeared and stated ‘Come speedily, the All Blacks are going to do the Haka’.  My thought was – “The who are going to do the what?”  She was nonetheless insisting that I came in so reluctantly I wandered inside to uncover my father on the edge of his seat, the television on very loud and my mother pointing to it saying ‘watch, watch’.

Properly, when those players formed a semi-circle and crouched down, their ‘leader’ walking around psyching them up the hair on the back of my neck stood up.  It nevertheless does to this day.  It is such an incredible sight, such a really New Zealand issue, that no matter where in the planet I would locate myself in the years following that, the sound of the Haka always takes me back home, it fills my heart with pride to be a kiwi and brings tears to my eyes.  I do not normally watch the rugby match, but the Haka I attempt not to miss.

The All Blacks had been 1st formed as a team in 1884 but it wasn’t till 1905-1906 that the name ‘All Blacks’ was very first utilized to describe our national rugby team.  There is some debate no matter whether the name came from a misprint in a newspaper or since of the ‘all black’ strip the team plays in, but regardless of that technicality, the name became a permanent fixture.  And I’m proud to say that the All Blacks have won 75% of all rugby matches they played in considering that 1903, but that is just me displaying off!

The Haka of course dates back considerably further than the All Blacks, it is said to date back to 1810, when it was composed by Te Raupahara of Ngati Toa (which is a Maori Iwi or tribe).  The Haka is a traditional Maori war dance that was employed to prepare a war party for battle.  The All Blacks use it for a comparable result in, to unify the group, motivate them mentally and yes, to intimidate the opponent (often with spectacular benefits).

The All Blacks performed the more standard ‘Ka Mate, Ka Mate’ haka from 1888 until 2005, when there was some controversy more than its use and the new Haka ‘Kapa O Pango’ was written specially for the All Blacks.  I have certainly seen both Hakas used, and I need to say I favor the ‘Ka Mate’ more.

The standard Haka (‘Ka Mate’) has a leader who will shout out a set of guidelines to his ‘warriors’ before they all join with each other.  Its translation is as follows (I by no means knew the translation till years ago, but knew each and every word in Maori):

Leader:

Ringa Pakia! (Slap the hands against the thighs!)

Uma Tiraha! (Puff out the chest!)

Turi Whattia! (Bend the knees!)

Hope Whai Ake! (Let the hip adhere to!)

Waewae Takahia Kia Kino! (Stomp the feet as tough as you can!)

Then the Haka itself:

Ka mate, ka mate! (‘Tis death! ‘tis death)

Ka ora! Ka ora! (‘Tis life! ‘tis life!)

Ka mate, ka mate! (‘Tis death! ‘tis death)

Ka ora! Ka ora! (‘Tis life! ‘tis life!)

Tenei te tangata puhuruhuru (This is the hairy man)

Nana nei I tiki (Who brought the sun)

Mai whakawhiti te ra (And caused it to shine)

A upane! Ka upane! (A step upward, another step upward!)

A upane, ka upane (A step upward, another step upward)

Whiti t era! (The sun shines!)

Hi! (Rise)

Image © Spring O’Brien

The Haka is broadly accepted as a tradition regarding the All Blacks and many men and women get pleasure from seeing it.  Some feel of it as an unsportsmanlike try to intimidate the opposing group, while this is somewhat true, it is clear that opposing teams are also motivated by it as effectively, seeing they are close to the Haka, typically just 10 meters away.  Some teams have been recognized to link arms whilst the All Blacks are doing the Haka and inch slowly toward them, the Irish did this famously in 1989 (I keep in mind this one particular).

In 2005 it was decided that the All Blacks must use a Haka designed for them, and the resulting ‘Kapa o Pango’ was performed amidst controversy about the ‘throat slashing’ action in the final movement.  Soon after much debate the All Blacks kept the movement but have continued to use ‘Ka Mate’ for most matches and only perform ‘Kapa o Pango’ on particular occasions (along with the almost ‘banned’ action).

The translation for ‘Kapa o Pango’ seems somewhat subdued, but it mentions a couple of more New Zealand icon pictures.

Kapa o Pango (All Blacks)

kia whakawhenua au I ahau (Let me become 1 with the land)

Hi aue hi

Ko Aotearoa e ngunguru nei! (This is our land that rumbles!)

Au, au, aue ha! (It’s my time! It’s my moment!)

Ko Kapa o Pango e ngunguru nei! (This defines us as the All Blacks!)

Au, au, aue ha! (It’s my time! It’s my moment!)

I ahaha!

Ka Tu te ihiihi (Our dominance)

Ka Tu te wanawang (Our supremacy will triumph)

Ki runga kit e rangi e tu iho nei

Tu iho nei, hi! (And be placed on high)

Ponga ra! (Silver Fern!)

Kapa o Pango, aue hi! (All Blacks!)

Ponga ra! (Silver Fern!)

Kapa o Pango, aue hi, ha! (All Blacks!)

But no matter whether it is ‘Ka Mate’ or ‘Kapa o Pango’, the Haka and the All Blacks go hand in hand in New Zealand.  It not only unifies the team prior to games, but it unifies all Kiwis and tends to make us, even for just that moment, component of some thing really specific.

About the Author:

Monica Toretto is a writer, painter, photographer and blogger. She lives with her two young sons in Invercargill close to Bluff. She has travelled widely in Canada and the US and worked as a veterinary technician just before returning to New Zealand. Her operate has appeared in many magazines in the UK and New Zealand. She has also authored a book of poetry and photography referred to as ‘Words’.