Kiaora. Tena koutou katoa.
Toku kaupapa ki tenei ahiahi, 'TE HAKA'. He aha te Haka? Te korero o toku koroua Tipuna a Henare Teowai no Ngati Porou ki te Haka ki tenei..."Kia korero te katoa o te tinana." (The whole body should speak).

What is Haka?
My Maori people here in Aotearoa have always excelled in the art of haka, which is the generic term for Maori dance, and an ancestor of mine, Henare Teowai of Ngati Porou, was an acknowledged master of the art of haka.

 The haka stirs emotions in any kiwi especially when sung in full vitriol by the All Blacks.
For most non-Maori New Zealanders today their knowledge of Haka is perhaps limited to that most performed of Haka called "Ka mate, Ka mate" . Many sports teams and individuals travelling from Aotearoa overseas tend to have the haka "Ka mate" as part of their programme.
Perhaps the sports team that has given the haka the greatest exposure overseas has been the All Blacks, who perform it before their matches. It has become a distinctive feature of Aotearoa's premier sports team.
Haka Origin
According to Maori ethos, Tama-nui-to-ra, the Sun God, had two wives, Hine-raumati, the Summer maid, and Hine takurua, the Winter maid. The child born to him and Hine-raumati was Tane-rore, who is credited with the origin of the dance. Tane-rore is the trembling of the air as seen on the hot days of summer, and represented by the quivering of the hands in the dance.
Haka is the generic name for all Maori dance. Today, haka is defined as that part of the Maori dance repertoire where the men are to the fore with the women lending vocal support in the rear. Most haka seen today are haka taparahi, haka without weapons.
More than any aspect of Maori culture, this complex dance is an expression of the passion, vigour and identity of the race. Haka is not merely a past time of the Maori but was also a custom of high social importance in the welcoming and entertainment of visitors. Tribal reputation rose and fell on their ability to perform the haka (Hamana Mahuika).
Haka reflected the concerns and issues of the time, of defiance and protest, of factual occurrences and events at any given time.
Haka History
The centrality of the haka within All Black rugby tradition is not a recent development. Since the original "All Black" team of "New Zealand Natives" led by Joseph Warbrick the haka has been closely associated with New Zealand rugby. Its mystique has evolved along with the fierce determination, commitment and high level skill which has been the hallmark of New Zealand's National game.
The haka adds a unique component, derived from the indigenous Maori of New Zealand, and which aligns with the wider Polynesian cultures of the Pacific.
The All Blacks perform the haka with precision and intensity which underpin the All Black approach.
Another definition of 'THE HAKA' is contained in Alan Armstrong's book Maori Games and Haka (Reed, 1964) as follows.

"The haka is a composition played by many instruments. Hands, feet, legs, body, voice, tongue, and eyes all play their part in blending together to convey in their fullness the challenge, welcome, exultation, defiance or contempt of the words."
"It is disciplined, yet emotional. More than any other aspect of Maori culture, this complex dance is an expression of the passion, vigour and identity of the race. It is at it's best, truly, a message of the soul expressed by words and posture.."
One of the initial refrains which the leader of the haka utters just prior to everyone performing the haka itself is shown below. These words simply serve to remind the performers how to comport themselves when they do the haka.
They should be shouted out in a ferocious and staccato manner, designed to instil strength and determination into the performers, such that they enact the haka with the power and force required.
Ringa pakia
Uma tiraha
Turi whatia
Hope whai ake
Waewae takahia kia kino
Slap the hands against the thighs
Puff out the chest
Bend the knees
Let the hip follow
Stamp the feet as hard as you can
Also essential to the art of haka are pukana (dilating of the eyes), whetero (protruding of the tongue performed by men only), ngangahu (similar to pukana, performed by both sexes), and potete (the closing of the eyes at different points in the dance, performed by the women only).
These expressions are used at various times in the performance to lend meaning and force to the words. It is important to realise that the most exciting haka are not uniformly enacted, with all participants acting in time. The best haka involve a good deal of spontaneity and creativity as the performers interpret the words.

Different Styles of Haka

There are several styles of haka. Ka Mate was originally of the ngeri style, which is a short, free-form haka where the performers interpret as they feel fit. It is also performed without weapons, and is not therefore a war-dance as is generally supposed.
The peruperu is a style of haka for true war-dance. It involves weapons and is characterised by a high jump with legs folded under at the end.
Observers of the All Blacks will note that they perform this same jump, which is a point of irritation amongst haka purists. In fact the All Black rendition of Ka Mate may have undergone quite a few changes along the way to make it more impressive or appropriate to the game of rugby.

The Origin of Ka Mate
In around 1820 a chief by the name of Te Rauparaha composed Ka Mate, the most well known haka.
Te Rauparaha was High Chief of the Ngati Toa and held sway over lands from Porirua right up the Kapiti Coast to Levin or thereabouts, and also Kapiti Island.
"Ka mate! Ka mate!" were the words uttered by Te Rauparaha as he hid himself in a kumara pit from his pursuing enemies, the Ngati Tuwharetoa.
Fleeing for his life he came to Te Wharerangi and asked for his protection. Although reluctant, Te Wharerangi eventually agreed and bid him hide in a kumara pit. His wife, Te Rangikoaea sat over the entrance to it. There are two stories put forward as to why Te Rangikoaea sat over the entrance thus.
The first has it that no male of consequence would ever put himself in a position where he would be beneath the genital organs of a woman. Thus the hiding place would be discounted by the pursuers. Of course Te Rauparaha was willing to forego custom in order to survive.
The second tells that she sat there in order to have a neutralising effect on the incantations recited by the pursuing Chiefs; the female organs were believed to have a shielding effect.
As the pursuers arrived, Te Rauparaha muttered "Ka Mate! ka mate!" under his breath (I die! I die!), but when the Rotoaira chief indicated the man they sought had gone to Rangipo he murmured "Ka Ora! ka ora!" (I live! I live!). However when Tauteka doubted the words of Te Wharerangi he gloomily muttered "Ka mate! ka mate!" once again. Then, when his pursuers were convinced he was not in Te Wharerangi's pa, but had made for Taranaki he exclaimed "Ka ora, ka ora! Tenei te tangata puhuruhuru nana nei i tiki mai whakawhiti te ra!" (I live! I live! For this is the hairy man who has fetched the sun and caused it to shine again!).
The hairy man in the Haka refers to the chief Te Wharerangi who gave Te Raparaha protection despite his wish not to be involved. Te Wharerangi was a man of very noticeable hairy habit.
"Upane", literally means "terrace", and probably refers to the steps which were cut into the side of the pit for access to and from it. Each "upane" describes the tentative steps Te Raparaha made as he emerged from the pit to see if the coast was clear.
One could imagine his joy at not only eluding certain death by a whisker, but also coming out of the dark kumara pit into the light of the day - "Whiti te ra! Hi !"
Going on from the kumara pit to the court yard of Te Wharerangi, before Te Rangikoaea and the assembled people, Te Rauparaha then performed his famous haka, which he had composed whilst in hiding. The variation of this used by the All Blacks is given below, together with the translation. Note that the words have been split in some cases to indicate the cadence of the syllables as the haka is performed.
The Words of Ka Mate

Ka mate! Ka mate! Ka ora! Ka ora!	I die! I die! I live! I live!
Ka mate! Ka mate! Ka ora! Ka ora!	I die! I die! I live! I live!
Tenei te tangata puhuru huru	This is the hairy man
Nana nei i tiki mai	Who fetched the Sun
Whakawhiti te ra	And caused it to shine again
A upa ... ne! ka upa ... ne!	One upward step! Another upward step!
A upane kaupane whiti te ra!	An upward step, another.. the Sun shines !!!
Hi !!!	Arise

The Haka and Rugby

As far as rugby is concerned the first haka in an overseas representative match was performed by the New Zealand Native Team to tour the UK in 1888-89. It isn't clear whether or not it was Ka Mate which they performed, but it is probable. Apparently at some venues they went to some trouble to entertain, bringing out mats and other items onto the field to complement the performance. In fact this team was not entirely composed of Maori, as many assume. The tour was not 'officially' sanctioned, and cost each player the large sum of 250 pounds passage. This made it impossible to find the required number of Maori, and at least two 'dark-skinned' pakeha were included.
The first use of the haka by the All Blacks was by the "Originals" in 1905 on the first overseas tour by a full-scale New Zealand representative side. It was also on this tour that the name 'All Blacks' was used. The two most distinctive features of the New Zealand team were thus instigated right from the very beginning. The haka became a permanent fixture for the All Blacks from then on.
An interesting little anecdote is told regarding the 1924 New Zealand team which became known as the famous "Invincibles", due to their winning every match on tour.
This team had as their most famous son, a young Maori boy called George Nepia. He it was who led the All Black haka, Ka Mate, in the first match against Devon on September 13th, 1924. The haka was enthusiastically received by the crowd of 18,000, who then watched the All Blacks win 11-0, but a "prominent university sportsman" who attended was moved to write a letter which appeared in the next day's paper. In it he asserted: "Cat-calls were quite uncalled-for", and added: "South Africans do not open their games with Zulu cries!". Obviously, this gentleman had never visited either country.
The words of Ka Mate, "The Haka" do not have direct relevance to rugby, and were composed for a particular reason as told above. In the case of the All Blacks the 'loose' translation of the haka challenge, I feel, could be written down thus..
"We are the All Blacks, of the New Zealand people."
"Here we are to face you."
"We will do you the honour of playing to the limits
"that our hearts and sinews impose upon us."
"We will be very hard to beat."
Whiti te ra! Hi!

A note to those who will be our special prospective guests who will visit our country, Aotearoa (Land of the Long White Cloud) aka New Zealand, from October, 2011 for the Rugby World Cup...thats all of you ... I would urge you to investigate the Maori culture which is very rich indeed. In particular make sure that you see a 'genuine' haka performance. The sheer passion and force of a well executed haka is guaranteed to send shivers down your spine!

Hei kona (Stay Well)