Whats a haka?

Question

rugby players do it but why do it ?

Answer 1

its a New Zeland war dance

Answer 2

a Hakka is a kind of war dance the the new zealand team do before their matches

Answer 3

it's maori wardance they use to perform before a battle but now they use it in rugby and traditional maori shows

Answer 4

Its a war dance/cry that the All Blacks do. Its a native New Zealand thing and other Islands around the area do the same sort of things. Like in 2003 the All Blacks were doing the haka and then the Tongans did another war dance that the refs weren't told of.

Answer 5

It is a traditional wardance representing my native people of newzealand, by performing the haka it is our way of laying down a challenge =}

Answer 6

A challenge to the other team.. normally the team playing the All Blacks.. lol  (New Zealand Rugby Union Team) to BRING IT!!.. that's the best i can explain it lmao

Answer 7

Its showing the other team you have respect for them and for the tough match about to come

Anyone who says its designed to intimidate the other peron is an idiot that needs to come to new zealand and see what it means to Maori culture

Answer 8

Its the NZers way of making their oponents $*** theirs pants b4 the game.

Answer 9

I know I am biased but I can tell you that one of the most complete answers is that written by the avatar, malice. I think that without being formally taught what a haka is by a Maori authority - people will form an incorrect opinion or half truth about the haka.

Also, no offence to nonenzedder, but his/her opinion is quite off the mark. ie ".It's also about paying respect to the opposition..or importantly withholding respect to the opposition..(there are two hakas..one more important than the other..so inevitably ones about witholding respect..).which again is a wierd national emblem to adopt."

This is untrue. No haka is greater than the other one and it is not about withholding respect for a team. I think that the new haka was probably performed against every team the All Blacks played. I not sure where enzedder got that information but ironically he/she posted this same information in another question - casting doubt over his/her own opinion maybe?

Answer 10

Its a kind of tribal chant that is used to inspire & boist the spirits of the players, so that they play well. It is also very intimidating for their opponents.

The All Blacks perform a haka (Māori dance) before each international match. The haka has been closely associated with New Zealand rugby ever since a tour of New South Wales in 1884. The New Zealand native team that toured Britain in 1889/89 used Ake Ake Kia Kaha and the 1903 team in Australia used a mocking haka, Tupoto koe, Kangaru!. The 1905 All Blacks began the tradition of using Ka Mate and by 1914 this was firmly established as part of New Zealand rugby. The 1924 All Blacks used a specially composed haka Kia Whaka-ngawari, but later All Blacks reverted back to Ka Mate. it is cool

Answer 11

ITs A Hawaiian War Dance That Many Teams Use  Before A game to intimidate there opponents

Answer 12

you have to understand what the dance is first:

http://with-malice.com/2007/08/06/unders...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haka

Answer 13

the haka has derived from the traditional ancestors of Aotearoa, the land of the long white cloud , new zealand, this tribal dance was used when they would go into there brutal battles with the English or earlier against the maori-oris as to drive away the evil spirits,  not to confused with today Maori's the maori-ori was probably one of the last cannibalistic tribes, even in death, the maori is quite spiritual, when the passing of an elder it is custom for the males to sleep on the floor around the open coffin to keep away the evil spirits and not uncommon for a funeral to go for 4 days or more,as a kiwi this and my national anthem still today bring tears of pride and the swell of emotion inside of me,and lastly as a proud kiwi i congratulate the wallaby's on a well deserved win against us, well done Robbie deans.

Answer 14

Given I'm the author of the article linked earlier... I'll copy/paste wholesale from it.

"The Haka is simply a traditional dance native to New Zealand’s Māori people, and there are many different kinds of haka. But for all intents & purposes, we’ll be looking at the ones performed by the New Zealand national rugby team: The All Blacks.

The All Blacks perform two haka - the ‘Ka Mate’ and the ‘Kapa O Pango’. The Ka Mate is the traditional haka, and it was first performed as part of the pre-match ritual for the All Blacks in 1906, and is basically a celebration of ‘life over death’.

The Kapa o Pango is a recent creation, and is more related to the All Blacks as an entity than the Ka Mate Haka, tho’ many would argue that the Ka Mate is a more integral part of who the All Blacks are. Although Māori cultural experts were consulted in it’s creation, it initially upset many people. Some argued that it didn’t truly reflect Māori culture, as it’s newly created. Some thought that it was far too aggressive - initially it did incorporate a throat-slitting gesture, which has an entirely different meaning in Māori culture - the drawing of vital energy into the heart and lungs, but that has since disappeared, being replaced with raking the right arm across the body.

Now… as to why. Watching the Haka is a pretty amazing experience. It is an aggressive display, regardless of the meanings of the actual words - and it really fires the players up, readying them for the clash ahead. However, the All Blacks haka is backed up by their amazing on-field success, the sheer brutal force of will that the All Blacks assert upon the game. Samoa has the Manu Siva Tau, Fiji has the Cibi and Tonga has the Kailao - an awesome clip here of the Tongans performing the Kailao right back at the All Blacks - and all three of these are actually war dances: all far more warlike in origins & motions than the haka… but it’s the Haka that has the impact. Purely because not one of these island nations enjoys the success that the All Blacks do.

As such, the haka is intimidating. Every performance is a reminder of just how good this team is. Without a doubt, one of the most dominating presences in any sport."

Answer 15

Not all the players do it. Its only the New Zealand National Rugby League & Union teams that do it. You see, the Haka is performed by the New Zealand team to scare & itimidate their oppenents.

Answer 16

They do it to intimidate there opponents

Answer 17

Its a kind of tribal chant that is used to inspire & boist the spirits of the players, so that they play well. It is also very intimidating for their opponents.

The All Blacks perform a haka (Māori dance) before each international match. The haka has been closely associated with New Zealand rugby ever since a tour of New South Wales in 1884. The New Zealand native team that toured Britain in 1889/89 used Ake Ake Kia Kaha and the 1903 team in Australia used a mocking haka, Tupoto koe, Kangaru!. The 1905 All Blacks began the tradition of using Ka Mate and by 1914 this was firmly established as part of New Zealand rugby. The 1924 All Blacks used a specially composed haka Kia Whaka-ngawari, but later All Blacks reverted back to Ka Mate.

Answer 18

It is a dance that people do to intimidate their opponents.

It was used as a battle/war dance, and is now mainly and most famously used in rugby.

Answer 19

They do it to intimidate the opposition.....

( but their fans won't admit this because they want to make it more  mystical or important  than just pulling silly faces...so it won't get banned or ignored).

But if you for example say it should be banned (or put before the anthems)  and your home teams cultural displays should go last, their fans and their media and press will call you and your nation cowards..and say you are frightened of it.?

It's also about paying respect to the opposition..or importantly withholding respect to the opposition..(there are two hakas..one more important than the other..so inevitably ones about witholding respect..).which again is a wierd national emblem to adopt.

So what they are essentially saying is...

We'Il visit your country enjoy all your hopitality...but won't perform the top notch respectful haka..like we did with the other chaps because - hey...we talked about how deserving your nation is before the match...and as.we are now  the adjudicators of the bravery and history of nations worldwide,  we're sorry but you don't measure up or deserve the proper Haka..

Answer 20

Rugby players in New Zealand this is like

their national Maori antham but played out

as a dance to ward off the opposing team:

anyway something along those lines.

And if you didn't know the "Maori" race is the

indigineous race of New Zealand.

Answer 21

Someone that maliciously gains access to something they shouldn't. E.g. a hacker may be granted control over a person's pc by way of virus. Oh and it's also a traditional war dance originating from New Zealand. It is thought to intimidate opponents to give New Zealand a psychological advantage which is why they very often win their matches. You'll see it in the Tri Nations today where New Zealand take on Australia in around 30 minutes time. IF you can't watch it on TV why not try out watchliverugby.com

Answer 22

It's a traditional Maaori war dance that was preformed before intertribal battles in pre-colonialNew Zealand. The tradition was adopted by the NZ Rugby team and it has morphed into a challenge laid down by the all blacks to opposing teams as well as being used by all sorts of other NZ teams, both professional, semi professional and school grade. This is a link to possibly one of the best ever All Black hakas the first performance of Kapa O Pango http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOjp8M6XH... Enjoy