Haka in Aotearoa/New Zealand

Dance or haka in Aotearoa/New Zealand forms a crucial cornerstone of Maori culture and increasingly national New Zealand identity. Haka literally translates as "fiery breath" and a fierce attitude accompanies the performance of traditional haka. Maori culture is deeply rooted in a tribal system in which the protection of land and other resources is paramount. Historically, groups were on constant alert for potential invaders. The elaborate protocol system that marks the encounter between tribes, between tangata whenua, or people of the land and manuhiri or visitors, illustrates the importance of maintaining correct relations in a situation of potential threat. This approach also characterized relations between Maori and pakeha or Europeans who migrated to the islands in the early 19th century. The signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840 between Maori chiefs and Queen Victoria provided the basis for the bicultural system that today continues to shape New Zealand governance and relations between ethnic groups.

Today there is no tribal warfare but national performance competitions and festivals allow groups to reenact historical relationships.

Dances are considered by many Maori to be ancestral treasures that carry the mana or spirit of those who have come before. The dancing body and associated chants or songs bear countless metaphors and meanings that connect contemporary Maori to a long line of ancestors, spirits, animals, landscapes and supernatural beings. Particular chants and dances also invoke pivotal events in a tribe's history. The dancing body is highly charged with larger meanings that reference relationships between the tapu or sacred and noa or secular realms.

In this essay we explore the significance of haka through the work of Maori scholar, Wira Gardiner. In pre-European time the haka was performed as part of the formal process when two parties came together. Even when the purpose of the meeting was peaceful, people had to remain on guard in case of an unexpected attack. The meeting thus had to be conducted according to the rituals of encounter beginning with a challenge in honor of the visiting group. The challenge was a mark of respect for the visitors. While the fierce and energetic body movements that constitute the haka reflect the importance of the warrior traditions, it also solidified the bonds between tribes through regular practice and performance over time.

The strong movements, facial contortions and the glaring pukana eyes of a performer served to distract or intimidate a potential enemy.

It is said that haka originates with the birth of Tanerore, child of Hine-raumati, or Summer who was born of the Sun, Ra, and Winter, Hine-takurua. The wiriwiri or trembling shimmer depicted by the fluttering fingers of a haka performer reflect Tanerore or the light dancing on summer days in honor of his mother. According to Wetini Mitai-Ngatai, choreographer for Te Matarae I Orehu, the summer is generally the time for song, dance, festivals and going to war while winter is for learning and training.

According to Wira Gardiner in the haka, the hands, feet, legs, body, voice, tongue and eyes all combine to play their part in conveying the fullness of the words in the accompanying chant. The strong movements, facial contortions and the glaring pukana eyes of a performer served to distract or intimidate an audience and especially a potential enemy. The use of the tongue for intimidation and distraction is restricted to men and in the past women mainly utilized hand gestures and the pukana to support a group of male warriors in their performance.

Haka is divided into two basic types. Haka taparahi is performed without weapons and involves chanted posture dances. Haka peruperu is performed with weapons and marked by the spectacle of synchronized leaping with tucked legs by large male groups. In the past the haka peruperu functioned as psychological and physical preparation for battle and also marked a post battle victory. All performers had to leap in the air in unity and any error was read as negatively affecting the kaupapa, meaning, purpose or outcome of a gathering.

The fierce body movements that constitute the haka solidified the bonds between tribes through regular performance over time.

Missionaries observed haka to be an essential element of the war-like ethos of Maori culture, which would hamper their efforts to convert chiefs and their followers. The head of the Church Missionary Society, Henry Williams, insisted the Maori give up their dances. They interpreted the gestures, facial contortions, glaring, poking of tongues and brandishing of weapons as a statement of defiance rather then an integral part of ritual encounter. The missionaries were not successful in their attempts to ban haka, but as Europeans continued to settle in New Zealand and culture began to change, some forms of haka and the events that occasioned them died out. For example, today there is no tribal warfare but national performance competitions and festivals allow groups to reenact historical relationships that were sometimes tense and filled with rivalry, and other times marked or consolidated alliances.

Most interesting is the significance of haka at the national New Zealand levels. The warrior traditions of the land have influenced sports and the military significantly. The national rugby team, the All Blacks, for example, perform a famous haka taparahi called Ka mate! Ka mate! which was composed by a Ngati Toa chief in the 19th century after he escaped from a hunting party. The army itself is conceived as a multicultural tribe, Ngati Tumatauenga, tribe of the war God Tumatauenga. A haka taparahi was composed for the group which begins and ends with female soldiers performing.

Haka is learned in schools, church groups, at the marae or Maori community meeting houses, in the military and even at university. The art form pervades many aspects of society and in this sense is part of a dynamic and living tradition. While careful about maintaining the basic form of the ancestral choreographies, groups such as Wetini Mitai-Ngatai's Te Matarae I Orehu continue to creatively push the boundaries and contexts of traditional haka in an attempt to maintain its significance in contemporary New Zealand. A 2002 collaboration between the group and the Royal New Zealand ballet titled Ihi Frenzy marks one such creative move.

Katerina Martina Teaiwa, PhD
University of Hawai'i at Manoa