Why are americans mocking the haka?

Question

why do i see american football teams, performing the haka the native war dance of the maori people of new zeland.

theres tongans on some of these teams, tonga has its own dance. why can't u have some respect and no do the dance with doesn't represent your culture and hertiage, because its a insult and im disgusted in the way its being protrayed

Answer 1

They say imitation is the best form of flattery.  That being said...I have never seen this and if i had i would be embarassed to be an American.  I assume your speaking of the NFL, and if that is the case, it is probably the simple fact that we as Americans have been taught that NFL football is the only football that matters and we can take what belongs to someone else and make it our own.

Also, the people doing it are probably ignorant of what it is and don't realize what it represents when they are doing it.

Answer 2

they are sacred of the all blacks .that is why they  were mocking the haka

Answer 3

well its quite obvious the Americans are jealous because the kiwis (The "All Blacks") are good and the Americans can only imitate us, but never be us....

Answer 4

boh

Answer 5

I'm an American, and I hate American football! So I'm not aware of this, but I don't doubt it. All people and cultures can be ethnocentric, and insensitive, not just Americans! I think the real reason is that American football players are jealous of Rugby. As we say, "it takes balls to play rugby"!! Go Ireland!!!!!

Answer 6

I do not think they are mocking the haka.  It is their version of their own traditional war dance and not an imitation of the haka.

There is and will be only one haka.

Answer 7

Well they can imitate the haka.But in reallity what there doing is mocking there own traditions.By coping someone elses.Go the All Blacks

Answer 8

Calm down - if the current New Zealand team were to do a dance that was truly representative of their ethnicity it would be a combination of the Piri (for their two Fijian wingers Sivivatu and Rokococo), an Irish jig for Ryan, some Samoan boogeying by Nonu, Collins et al, a Scottish fling for MacDonald and some kind of Welsh dance involving a sheep for Williams. If the "ethnic" dance of New Zealand were to give play time in exchange for degree of ethnicity then the haka itself would comprise only a very short 'ka mate' before warping into a mainly Scotto-Polynesian hybrid reel.

Until the early nineties Scotland had to sing God Save the Queen at rugby matches so stop complaining that some people in the NFL have decided to cash in on the Haka's charm - whilst impressive to see on a rugby field, the mixed ethnicity and mainly European/Polynesian (and not Maori) make-up of the All Blacks rugby team at the moment detracts from its impact and nobody is trying to "instult" or "disgust" you - if it were truly a sacred dance then you wouldn't have it led by a bloke called Richie McCaw. This said, the guy has a lot of mana.

Answer 9

What American football team was doing the Haka?  Living in the U.S. I've seen many club rugby teams do weak imitations of the Haka but never a football team.

Answer 10

All good points, a couple corrections though.

There isnt 'one' haka, haka is a term used to describe a maori war dance. so there are alot of haka's.

And Richie doesnt lead the haka, normally piri or rico does.