Two Hakas?

Question

If one is a real special honour performed to who New Zealand regard as proper special "warrier nations" and one is a run of the mill affair..isn't the two haka approach inherently judgemental and inciteful?

And what gives New Zealand all blacks and nation the right to go around the planet adjudicating the warrier creed of nations? And how do they decided who gets what?

Answer 1

I am a kiwi, and instead of relying on the opinion on others, I go straight to the purest source, www.allblacks.com.

kapa o pago, the new haka was instituted for special occasions - it has nothing to do with who they playing. It is not meant to be judgemental at all in how it is adminstered. It is just that they wanted one that better reflected the multi-cultured nature of the All Blacks - ie. Polynesian players who are born or came to NZ when they were young - not "poached" like many antipodeans think, shouldn't that be considered judgemental?

Also, the hakas are ceremonial, they aren't purely war dances. If you want an explanation to the supposed "throat slitting" at the end of Kapa O Pango, watch the short video by it's creator, Derek Lardelli. If you can't be bothered going to the website, then isn't it wrong to make false conclusions about the intent of the haka?

Thoughts to ponder: in the 1990s, the rugby crowds in England used to clap at the end of haka, now they boo. Could it be any correlation to the success of the English team?

Also, all the Pacific Island nations have their own type of "haka". Noone complains when they perform.

Personally, I think it may not be worth doing the haka anymore  overseas anymore, if there is always going be this type of negative response. Keep it to NZ test matches.

Also, check what time you posted your question. I not sure what time zone you are in, but as I'm writing this, it says that your question was posted 19 hours ago, which was after midnight in NZ - hence the slow response in answers.

Answer 2

if you are asking that if we should do it or not, then you are being an idiot, because haka is like the national anthem to New Zealand and it has been a long tradition. if you are asking if we should only perform one kind of haka, then you have no right to judge which haka we perform. why do foreigners care about what we "LEGALLY" do anyway??

Answer 3

The Haka... regardless of what type... is a show of respect to the oposition. There is no "Run of the Mill" Haka.

  It would be deemed "Insulting" if the oposition didn't receive the Haka from any of the Pasific Nations. And yes We all have one.(a Haka). NZ, Fiji, Samoa, Tonga. We all have one and we all perform them before going into battle.(on the Field)

Answer 4

Are you jealous?

Answer 5

Are you kidding me??? Where did you hear that one Haka was better than the other?? That is purely someones preferrance. A Haka is a challenge, it is respectful because it shows that the team doing the Haka have respect for their opponnents. Ka mate is an old haka which has become a tradition for the All Blacks. Kapa o Pango is a new one written especially for them - neither has a lesser or greater value. The All Blacks perform for every country, it is not based on which cultures are warriors or which cultures deserve more respect, it is done for everyone. Only one time can I remember them not doing the haka, that was in France and only because the French wanted them to do it before the National Anthems. AB's decided not to do one at all because the Haka is always done before the battle, or the game in this instance.The other thing to note is that the Haka also serves to "psyche" the team up and get some adrenalin pumping before the game. No use getting the adrenalin pumping to sing the anthem now is there...

They choose which Haka they're gonna do and who will lead it in the changing sheds. The players decide together...

Answer 6

~ Are you looking for something along the lines of an answer you gave to a similar question?.......

"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 with-holding respect..).which again is a wierd national emblem to adopt.

So what they are essentially saying with the two Haka approach is...

We'Il visit your country enjoy all your hospitality...but won't perform the top notch respectful haka..like we did with the other chaps (the other chaps being your lifelong enemies down the road btw) we played last week....because - hey...we talked about how deserving your nation is before the match...and as.we are now the self styled adjudicators of bravery, history and warrier traditions of nations worldwide, we're sorry but we decided your nation doesn't measure up - or isn't deserving of the proper Haka..

It is actually quite surprising the cheeky arrogant insulting tossers don't get run out of town frankly."

Yawn....its tiresome Nonenzedder!

Answer 7

it beats me.

Answer 8

I absolutely agree with a the Kiwi supporters who have commented b4 me, so not much 2 say, but what I will say is, why do u care just worry about the game mann thats the main thing......

Answer 9

You are displaying breathtaking ignorance of Maori (and Melanesian) culture.

The right (for rugby) was conferred to the Maoris when then they continually asked to perform it when they toured in the 1890's and early 1900's.

Answer 10

If Piri Weepu pulls on the number nine jumper this weekend we may see the "new" one.

Really depends on who is there to lead it. And Piri leads better than most.

I don't think too many of the pakeha boys spent much time in the kapa haka group at school.

Edit: Bro, you are over complicating things. I reckon it is much more likely that the choice to do one or the other haka depends on the confidence of the team to do one or the other, rather than anything to with a special honor.

Most young ABs have grown up seeing "kamate" performed by their all black idols so it's not a huge ask to get up to speed with that haka. Most 6 year old kiwi kids and any number of drunk supporters abroad will give it a good nudge with out having to think very hard.

Kapa opango is a step up, so need to spend a bit of time getting it down and doing it justice so to speak. (wont see too many drunk kiwi fans pulling that haka off )

With the massive drain of ABs heading off shore, fewer and fewer ABs have had the chance to put the hard yards in, in terms of kapa haka. Half the pakeha fellas can't even sing half the anthem in te reo so  . . . confidence with kapa haka is understandably shakey.

Only a very experienced team could actually make a decision to perform one or the other based on mood or what ever.

Fact is, there are so many new faces in the current team, kamate is all we have been seeing of late. Many think this is a shame because it would have to be one of the lamest haka ever seen and has zero relavance for the ABs (other than the fact that it is easy for a bunch of white guys to learn)

Lets hope by the end of the year we can extend ourselves and go beyond the kamate haka - The home nations deserve more.

Answer 11

You really shudent dis our haka they are both important and there may be more in the future, the one we choose 2 use has more 2 do with how our team feels rather than how we feel about our oponents.

Answer 12

Its a common mistake to think the haka is done to intimidate the other team its done as a sign of respect a challenge if you will

The all blacks have been doing it for 100 years whats changed now thats got you all worked up