A History of the Haka, a Traditional Māori Dance

In brief, the Māori are an indigenous Polynesian group who make up just under a fifth of New Zealand’s current population. Jacob Whitehead of The New York Times elaborates that “New Zealand is one of the most recently inhabited parts of the globe, with the Māori arriving from the surrounding Pacific islands in around the 13th-14th century.”

The haka is a term for a ceremonial performance or dance that originates with the Māori. The term derives from the Māori words “ha” (translating as breath) and “ka” (to ignite or energize).

That means, unlike my initial conception, the haka is not necessarily a dance only for war time—but that is where it started! 

One major tour group of Māori history says that “the first hakas were…an ancestral war cry,” and it even goes on to state the haka’s intended purpose at the start of war: “It was performed on the battlefields for two reasons. Firstly, it was done to scare their opponents; the warriors would use aggressive facial expressions such as bulging eyes and poking of their tongues. They would grunt and cry in an intimidating way, while beating and waving their weapons.”

Other sources confirm even the techniques of the facial contortions, describing “often showing the whites of the eyes (pukano) and poking out the tongue (whetero, performed by men only)”.

But intimidation is not the only purpose behind performing the Peruperu Haka, or the haka intended for war: “The second reason…was for their own morale; they believed that they were calling upon the god of war to help them win the battle. They were heavily choreographed and performed in time. It gave them courage and strength.”

I mean…you try to watch this performance without getting riled up.

The best known version of the ceremonial Peruperu Haka was “composed by the Māori tribe Ngati Toa's warrior chief Te Rauparaha.” It’s called the “Ka Mate,” and it celebrates “life triumphing over death. Te Rauparaha created the haka after he narrowly escaped death at the hands of enemy tribes from Ngāti Maniapoto and Waikato by hiding in a dark food storage pit. When he came out of it, he was greeted by light and a friendly tribe chief. The famous first line, ‘Ka mate, ka mate! ka ora! ka ora!’ translates into ‘I might die! I might die! I may live! I may live!’ And the last line, ‘Ā, upane, ka upane, whiti te ra! Hi!’ translates into ‘A step upward, another…the Sun shines! Rise!’”

You can hear a full recording of Te Rauparaha’s chant here.

But the Ka Mate Haka wasn’t always as well-recognized as it is today. The New York Times states, “It took until the Māori renaissance—and two indigenous players, Buck Shelford and Hika Reid—for the style in which it was being delivered to be revolutionized. Non-Māori players were also taught how to perform it properly. Generally, however, a Māori player is still the leader, or kaea.” The article goes on to say that, naturally, “It can be seen as disrespectful for non-Māoris to perform the haka if they have not been invited to do so—especially given the colonial backdrop to the haka’s reemergence. The assimilation of Māori culture into wider culture has been a concern of indigenous leaders.”

But the rugby team is not solely responsible for the haka’s reemergence into popular culture. Since the 1960s, the Te matatini Kapa Haka Aotearoa festival has celebrated many forms of the haka dance. The festival happens every two years, and you can watch videos of the competition’s winners through their website…and even start preparing your trip to attend the event next year, if you’re as enthralled as I am! 

In 1840, the Māori and European arrivals signed the Treaty of Waitangi. In the English version, “Māori cede the sovereignty of New Zealand to Britain; Māori give the Crown an exclusive right to buy lands they wish to sell, and, in return, are guaranteed full rights of ownership of their lands, forests, fisheries and other possessions; and Māori are given the rights and privileges of British subjects.” There are some key differences in the translation, though, most importantly that “the word ‘sovereignty’ was translated as ‘kawanatanga’ (governance). Some Māori believed they were giving up government over their lands but retaining the right to manage their own affairs.”

And although Europeans placed greater value on the written word, to the Māori, as a society that had long valued the spoken word and oral tradition, what someone said they would do was just as important as how they wrote it down. The intention, explanation, and understanding of this document has been a problem since its inception.

A new film, The Convert, takes place just before this treaty, in 1825, during serious early resistance to oppressive colonialization. The Convert is the most authentic depiction of this era to ever grace the big screen. The production designer Nick Williams says, “We had to make everything.”

Costume Designer Liz McGregor consulted Dr. Patricia Tearapo Wallace, who specializes in pre-colonial Māori kākahu and textiles. “She has been my guidance through the whole process,” McGregor says, “I have referred to her on every level - the adornment, the different types of taonga that people wear, what they mean, all the way through to the korowai, the kahu kuri (war cloaks made from the prized hide and hair of the kuri, a Pacific breed of dog).”

It should come as no surprise that the Peruperu Haka as performed by both of the warring Māori tribes in this film is also incredibly historically accurate, and its presentation is cinematic like no other. The depiction is epic and unmissable. No offense to The Rock or Jason Momoa, but with the actors’ traditional face tattoos that “tell the story of their lives…so far,” the virgin landscape set on the Pacific Ocean, and the fearsome costuming and weapons…it’s sure to get any viewer’s blood pumping.

The Convert released wide July 12.

Sources: The New York Times, Haka Tours New Zealand, The Guardian, Te Ara- the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, Manatū Taonga- Ministry for Culture and Heritage