Maybe you have seen the dance that “All Blacks” team
performs before a game and how powerful and terrifying they look. But, did you
know that this kind of dance is also performed in social events?
Haka means dance
and originally was a war dance meant to intimidate and scare the enemy, showing
the passion and strength of the tribe. The legend has it that Tamanui-to-ra (The
sun god) had two wives: Hine-ramauti (summer) and Hine-takurua (winter).
Tamanui-to-ra and Hine-raumati had a son called Tane-rore who is the trembling
of the air that is observable in the hot days of summer; his presence is
represented by the quivering of the hands in the dance.
In a performance, the haka dancers show the white of
their eyes and their tongue, while clapping hands, rhythmically slapping them
against their body and violently stomping with their
feet. Male and female can dance it, in fact, there are some haka specially made
for women (ka panapana).
In the past,
they grunted and cried to the ancestors asking for help so they could win the
battle, while using their weapons and doing fierce facial expression; this was
the peruperu. But nowadays, the weapons are not used anymore, because the dance
takes place in other type of celebrations such as welcoming visitors, important
events and even funerals; this type of haka is named taparahi.
The haka is not
only a dance, actually it’s a meaningful expression of pride and unity. What
this practice represents should be an example for us to appreciate our own
cultural origins and to preserve them as part of our identity.
Would you
imagine us dancing or watching a group performing the pürún (Mapuche’s dance) during an important celebration? We may
dance cueca, but what about our
indigenous origins?
Before finishing
this entry, I’d like you to read this definition of Haka provided by Alan
Armstrong in 1964. Even though he’s not
Māori, I consider that what he says can improve our understanding of the
importance of this practice for Māori people and its meaning:
“Hands, feet, legs, body, voice, eyes and
tongue all play their part in joining together to bring 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 vigor, passion and identity of the race.
It is at its best, truly, a message of the soul expressed by posture and words.’’
And finally, here
you have some pictures of a typical Māori welcoming (including the haka, of course), but pay attention to the visitors.
Do you think this symbolizes national versus foreign identity?
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| Louis Moeau, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Hiria Hape |
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