tag:theconversation.com,2011:/au/topics/haka-1717/articlesHaka – The Conversation2022-03-16T02:05:02Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1789012022-03-16T02:05:02Z2022-03-16T02:05:02ZTo truly embrace diversity, university leaders sometimes need to find the humility to be students again<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/452047/original/file-20220315-13-1ei0mpk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=879%2C0%2C4176%2C2728&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Waipapa Marae, University of Auckland campus.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><blockquote>
<p>He aha te kai a te rangatira? He korerō, he korerō, he korerō.</p>
<p>What is the food of leaders? It is communication. <strong>– Māori proverb</strong></p>
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<p>Growing up on the other side of the Ditch, I had the usual dreams and even aspirations of becoming an All Black – despite my lack of size, speed and rugby skill. None of those constraints prevented me from imagining All Black glory when I learnt my first <a href="https://www.allblacks.com/the-haka/">haka</a> as a ten-year-old. I still get goose bumps whenever it’s performed, as I expect do many tourists and rugby followers around the world who know this fierce ceremonial dance as an iconic part of Aotearoa New Zealand’s Māori culture.</p>
<p>The haka is both a unique call to action and a powerful celebration of Māori identity and history. It was because of its importance that I found it confronting several years ago leading a University of Auckland faculty whose own history, specifically with the haka and with Māori more generally, was all too often fraught. Decades earlier, as part of graduation celebrations, engineering students would perform haka that over the years increasingly mocked its heritage and significance in both Māori culture and New Zealand society.</p>
<p>These tensions escalated, resulting in a <a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/kahu/haka-brawl-rivals-unite-to-remember/YOCXZ5YKXEXUY3FBFRCHQZIBZQ/">clash</a> between these students and local Māori, which was uncomfortable and confronting at the time. The offensive haka parodies stopped, but the underlying lack of respect was left unresolved. </p>
<p>Like many unresolved issues it generated constant, ongoing tension, which subtly but relentlessly undermined both an important partnership and the faculty’s aspiration to be a place of respect and inclusion. What had started off with direct conflict had transitioned over 40 years into a less confronting but arguably more insidious combination of understandable resentment on the part of Māori and at best unexpressed guilt and at worst apathetic lip service on the part of Pākehā and others.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Me Hoki Whakamuri Kia Anga Whakamua. The Faculty of Engineering and the Haka – our story.</span></figcaption>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/we-all-know-and-admire-the-haka-so-why-not-one-of-our-own-45432">We all know and admire the Haka ... so why not one of our own?</a>
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<h2>The day it dawned on me</h2>
<p>My frustration about this uneasy truce came to a head one afternoon at a university function celebrating diversity. The main speaker was a Māori member of staff. She was compellingly describing the opportunity we had to create a genuine partnership and enhance our sense of uniqueness, belonging and community in ways that very much transcended any of the many strategic plans the university had produced. </p>
<p>As I listened, I noticed an eminent professor next to me gazing out the window with an expression of polite indifference. He gave the impression of merely waiting for formalities to end so he could leave with his guilt assuaged, having supported the function simply by attending. As I considered this my frustration escalated to anger: here was a white, middle-aged male who to all appearances was simply embodying lip service – playing a proverbial dead-bat not only to the challenge but also to the opportunity.</p>
<p>Then it occurred to me: could I be certain what my colleague was really thinking? And “playing a dead bat” – why had this metaphor sprung to my mind? I had no idea if this man had grown up playing cricket on manicured lawns surrounded by peers dressed in white. </p>
<p>The reason I thought of that metaphor was that cricket was my childhood activity (notwithstanding dreams of All Black glory). The uncomfortable fact was that there was not one but two white, middle-aged men standing next to each other at the function. To all observers I suspect we looked very similar.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/most-of-australias-uni-leaders-are-white-male-and-grey-this-lack-of-diversity-could-be-a-handicap-150952">Most of Australia's uni leaders are white, male and grey. This lack of diversity could be a handicap</a>
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<p>I realised then that it was not enough just to ensure that experts had the support and resources they needed to step into the void created when (typically much less expert) leaders such as myself stepped back. Resourcing and support had to be accompanied by my own acknowledgement and celebration of the opportunity to be a student of what these colleagues had to say. </p>
<h2>Why humility and courage are needed</h2>
<p>The academic culture (and sometimes society at large) lauds and rewards expertise. However, this sometimes deters people from demonstrating ignorance or incompetence even if these states are necessary staging points of a learning process. As people acquire status and acknowledgement in one field, it often only increases the perceived risk of losing face by publicly participating, and possibly failing, when trying something completely different. </p>
<p>Once one has been cast as an expert and a leader, it can be difficult in our academic culture to adopt the humble posture of the pupil. It takes courage. Yet this humility is essential if we are ever to learn and change.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/honouring-te-tiriti-means-getting-into-the-stream-together-so-this-vice-chancellor-has-become-a-student-again-156198">Honouring Te Tiriti means ‘getting into the stream together’ — so this vice-chancellor has become a student again</a>
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<p>As I stood at that function, I realised this lack of courage had been my chief failing. By standing quietly in the background, despite my good intentions, I had done nothing to lower the risk for other staff to engage and make mistakes – key steps in their own development. I resolved to change how I did things. </p>
<p>From that point on I did engage – and I made plenty of mistakes. I asked ignorant questions that still make me blush. I stumbled over welcomes in te reo Māori – Māori language. I messed up protocols. I mispronounced names. I displayed my ignorance left and right. </p>
<p>But in time, and with the support of patient, generous and incredibly understanding expert colleagues, I learned. And, much more importantly, I saw others join me on that learning path.</p>
<p>Ultimately, that group of others became big enough for us to create and perform our own haka. This haka, with more expert help, was able to respectfully acknowledge our difficult history but also reclaim our right to move boldly into the future. </p>
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<img alt="All Black rugby union team performing the pre-match haka" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/452048/original/file-20220315-130173-1k6xt1l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/452048/original/file-20220315-130173-1k6xt1l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=330&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/452048/original/file-20220315-130173-1k6xt1l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=330&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/452048/original/file-20220315-130173-1k6xt1l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=330&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/452048/original/file-20220315-130173-1k6xt1l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=415&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/452048/original/file-20220315-130173-1k6xt1l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=415&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/452048/original/file-20220315-130173-1k6xt1l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=415&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">The All Blacks performed a traditional haka, Ka mate, until 2005, but then developed Kapa O Pango, specifically for and about the All Blacks.</span>
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<p>While that ten-year-old never became an All Black, he did get the opportunity – complete with goosebumps – to perform that haka to Māori leaders who were involved in that conflict 40 years earlier. I was surrounded by colleagues, many of whom had become my friends, students, many of whom had become my teachers, and that same eminent professor, who was certainly no longer gazing out the window. Those three minutes remain a highlight in my time as a university leader.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/178901/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nic Smith does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Childhood dreams of being an All Black helped give a senior academic leader the courage to adopt the humble posture of a pupil with much to learn.Nic Smith, Provost and Professor of Engineering, Academic Division, Queensland University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/476122015-09-18T05:40:32Z2015-09-18T05:40:32ZHaka nation: how the iconic rugby war challenge binds New Zealanders together<p>The <a href="http://www.rugbyworldcup.com/">Rugby World Cup</a> is poised to set the sporting world alight once again. England and Wales will host a total of 20 teams, which will consist of 20 pool stage matches, as well as a knockout stage of quarter and semi-final games, and the final on October 31. </p>
<p>The build-up to tournament has been nothing short of spectacular, with an estimated <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/rugbyunion/international/england/11865346/Rugby-World-Cup-2015-England-Rugby-confirms-record-ticket-sales-for-tournament.html">94% of the tournament’s 2.45 m tickets sold</a>, contributing to a <a href="http://www.ey.com/Publication/vwLUAssets/EY-rugby-world-cup-final-report/$FILE/EY-rugby-world-cup-final-report.pdf">£869m</a> in direct expenditure.</p>
<p>New Zealand’s All Blacks will be playing for back-to-back world championships – a feat not yet accomplished by any team in its 28 year history. Of course, not only will the hopes and dreams of all New Zealanders be riding high on their team winning yet another world title, but indeed the <em>mana</em>, or sense of pride, in what it means to 4.5m people to be Kiwi will be proudly on display. </p>
<p>The famous All Black haka (war challenge) <a href="http://rugby-pioneers.blogs.com/rugby/2006/06/the_maori_war_c.html">first performed in 1888 against Surrey</a>, will be seen by millions of viewers worldwide. </p>
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<h2>The history of the haka</h2>
<p>The haka is not only renowned across the sporting world for sending shivers down the opposition’s spine; it is also very much part of the social and cultural fabric of New Zealand. The haka is in the veins of every Kiwi – young and old. It makes up our Mauri (life) and ora (force). </p>
<p>Inter-tribally, Māori people traditionally competed for control over land, or to use utu (exact revenge) to maintain a sense or tribal equilibrium. This competitive nature, although an important aspect of a tribe’s ability to earn respect and mana (prestige) over land they lived on, usually did not surpass the need to achieve a common ground to work together, and to co-exist.</p>
<p>Haka, like any other ritual preparing a tribe for war, was an expression of one’s strength, pride and unity. Such was the influence of haka that it was not unusual to see children mimicking many of the actions. It was also an enjoyable pastime to see who could perform the fiercest pukana (protruding of the tongues and eyes) and to act out the moves in every manner thinkable. Haka also helped many children to improve their physical skills and prowess including balance, hand and eye co-ordination, dexterity and poise under pressure.</p>
<p>The All Black teams perform two types of haka – Ka Mate and Kapa o Pango. Ka Mate was <a href="http://www.allblacks.com/Teams/Haka">composed by the Ngāti Toa chief Te Rauparaha</a>, around 1820, as a celebration of life over death after his lucky escape from pursuing Ngāti Maniapoto and Waikato enemies. Having played only <a href="http://www.allblacks.com/Fixtures">ten test matches this year,</a> the All Blacks will be relying on a little luck to get them to the final, but as we well know luck only comes about through the rewards of hard work.</p>
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<p><a href="http://media.newzealand.com/en/story-ideas/history-of-the-all-black-haka/">Kapa o Pango</a>, developed in 2005, was introduced to complement Ka Mate and to be used on special occasions. The main message associated with Kapa o Pango is about claiming, and becoming one with, the land under one’s feet. It also serves as a reminder about our maternal relationship to the Earth, Papatuānuku, which nurtures us – and to give the All Blacks the strength they require to overcome the challenge before them.</p>
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<h2>Haka at school</h2>
<p>The haka makes up one of six cultural performing art genres associated with kapa haka - the name for a Māori dance team. Kapa haka has a place in every school in New Zealand, not only as an educational requirement helping to demonstrate the bi-cultural competency of schools and teachers, but also as an integral part of the social and cultural development of our young people.</p>
<p>This was on display in June, when moving footage of boys doing the haka at the funeral of a beloved teacher at a school in Palmsteron North made <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2015/07/28/asia/nz-school-haka/">international headlines</a>.</p>
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<p>The haka was formally recognised as an <a href="http://www.nzqa.govt.nz/maori/field-maori-assessment-support-materials/maori-performance/standards-and-assessment-guides/">academic subject</a> by the New Zealand Qualifications Authority in 2002; where students can now gain credits towards their high school National Certificate in Educational Achievement. In more recent times, teachers have used kapa haka as an effective teaching and learning assessment measure for students learning the Māori language.</p>
<p>My <a href="https://researchspace.auckland.ac.nz/bitstream/handle/2292/2377/01front.pdf?sequence=1">doctoral studies in 2007</a> explored the educational benefits associated with Maori students participating in kapa haka in public high schools in New Zealand. I found that despite the high levels of interest in the physicality of kapa haka, and the obvious talent of the students, the haka actually provides a gateway to learning te reo Māori (the Māori language). This in turn prepares many students to become successful leaders at school, and in their community. </p>
<p>The physical, social and academic attributes associated with learning the songs and actions within a group were very different to the learning they experienced in other areas of the curriculum that were more often didactic by nature. </p>
<p>Many students said that performing kapa haka was a way to protect and maintain their identity as Māori. It also helped students to solve problems as well as make adjustments to be able to better cope with the demands of school, and in their everyday lives. Being aware, and able to achieve these first two attributes, also helped them to develop positive relationships with their peers and teachers. As a result, students displayed greater levels of enthusiasm for learning, and wanted to be at school. </p>
<p>The haka breathes life into what it means to be New Zealander. It also inspires us all to stand tall, unite and move forward together as a one nation, with one dream. With that in mind, don’t be surprised to see the whole country break into a haka if the All Blacks once again make the final in Twickenham on October 31.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/47612/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Paul Whitinui does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The history and culture of rugby’s most famous tradition.Paul Whitinui, Coordinator (Māori Teacher Education), University of OtagoLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/454322015-07-30T20:16:20Z2015-07-30T20:16:20ZWe all know and admire the Haka … so why not one of our own?<p>The first I heard of the Adam Goodes Bumala-y Yuurrama-y (war dance) I was in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aotearoa">Aotearoa</a>/New Zealand. I had been watching my son play rugby. It was a carnival (under 12s) and they had just lost the grand final. After leading for the entire game, players and parents alike watched helplessly as the opposing team swept down the field from sideline to sideline, much like the legendary Mark Coyne try in State of Origin.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Mark Coyne’s match-winning try after an end-to-end passage of play is part of State of Origin folklore.</span></figcaption>
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<p>Every tackle was made but players kept offloading the ball and passes were sticking until a boy went over the try line, taking the corner post with him. We all paused, waiting, before the referee blew the whistle and raised his hand – the try had been scored.</p>
<p>Our players slumped to the ground as whānau (family) and teachers alike from the opposition ran onto the field to celebrate. </p>
<h2>An inclusive cultural identity</h2>
<p>A young man then screamed a war cry in Māori. That was the signal for parents and teachers to separate in preparation for the children to perform a Haka. As the winners approached our boys, slapping their chests and screaming to their ancestors, our boys raised to take on this second challenge. </p>
<p>The game was over; now it was about “Te Reo Māori”, each school’s representation of the local Iwi (tribe).</p>
<p>Each school has its own Haka and our boys rose to the occasion. Supported by our whānau and teachers as mobile phones immediately uploaded images to Instagram and Facebook, I watched with mana (pride) as my <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamilaraay">Kamilaroi</a> First Nation Aboriginal Australian boy participated in a celebration of Indigenous culture denied back in his homeland.</p>
<p>These were Pākehā (European), Samoan, Tongan, Cook Island, Indian, Chinese and Māori expressing the culture of Aotearoa as one inclusive cultural identity. It was inspiring and heartbreaking. As a Kamilaroi Aboriginal father, I was left wondering if we will ever see such inclusive cultural practice back in my own traditional homelands.</p>
<p>We drove home and I jumped on Facebook to discover the <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/afl/sydney-swans/sydney-swans-adam-goodes-celebrates-goal-with-indigenous-war-dance-ruffles-feathers-20150529-ghczbr.html">reaction to Adam Goodes’</a> Bumala-y Yuurrama-y. That was almost two months ago … but it’s <a href="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/sport/afl/racist-boo-row-rages-as-adam-goodes-sits-out/story-fnca0u4y-1227462430166">still making headlines</a> around Australia while the celebration of Te Reo Māori by 12-year-old schoolchildren has faded into the cultural landscape of Aotearoa.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">When Adam Goodes performed his Indigenous war dance, the responses exposed a divided Australia.</span></figcaption>
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<h2>Richer for embracing Indigenous culture</h2>
<p>Māori culture is embedded in the cultural fabric of New Zealand – it is in evidence everywhere you look, 24 hours a day. Yet, in Australia, no matter what side of the political or culture divide you sit, we all have to admit one thing – ours is a divided nation.</p>
<p>In Aotearoa, presenters, no matter what colour, continually introduce and close shows in the Māori language. My Aboriginal boys think they are in an Indigenous Heaven … or should I say an Indigenous Dreaming. The school handbooks are written in both English and Māori and “Te Reo Māori” <a href="https://theconversation.com/embracing-indigenous-languages-the-kiwis-just-do-it-better-42045">is taught</a> in both schools my boys attend.</p>
<p>In Australia, we often hear that Māori speak only one language and that it would be too difficult to implement Aboriginal languages throughout Australia. That is simply not true – Māori has a <a href="http://www.maorilanguage.info/mao_lang_faq.html">number of dialects</a> associated with various regions. The differences are overcome with the introduction of a pan-Māori that is spoken and understood throughout the country.</p>
<p>As Aboriginal children, we are taught that when on other people’s land you respect the local culture. Therefore, the fact that many <a href="https://theconversation.com/some-australian-indigenous-languages-you-should-know-40155">Aboriginal languages</a> are spoken is not problematic; you teach the local language of the region. And with language comes history and place – not just for Aboriginal people but for non-Aboriginal too. Rather than divide the culture, you all become richer.</p>
<p>It’s this easy … having returned from Aotearoa, I have made a conscious decision to speak an Indigenous language as often as I could. I end emails with many Kamilaroi terms and begin with Yammaa, which in my language means welcome. I do this with a translation after these words in English.</p>
<p>Work colleagues return in kind. I now have a collection of phrases in German, Greek, Italian and many other languages from colleagues. This builds solidarity and respect, thereby furthering understanding in the workplace. </p>
<p>Rather than Brisbane I now say <a href="http://dakibudtcha.com.au/Turrbal/index.php/history/">Meanjin</a> and instead of Sydney I say <a href="http://naabawinya.blogspot.com.au/2011/10/sydney-warrang-or-warrane-or-ngurang.html">Warrang</a>. Melbourne is <a href="http://www.theage.com.au/national/education/voice/a-different-way-of-knowing-the-world-20150105-3nlca.html">Narrm</a> and Perth is <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perth#Indigenous_history">Boorloo</a>. How and why is becoming educated within the local Indigenous culture so threatening?</p>
<h2>Ancient culture can find new expressions</h2>
<p>To return to Adam Goodes and that contentious dance of pride and defiance, there is a final important point to be made. Some argue that a major difference between the Haka and the Bumala-y Yuurrama-y is that the Haka has a long history and that the Bumala-y Yuurrama-y is a <a href="http://www.afl.com.au/news/2015-05-30/proud-goodes-stands-by-war-cry-celebration">recent invention</a>.</p>
<p>It was only ten years ago that senior All Blacks voiced serious reservations about whether the Haka was a tradition worth preserving. The issue was that some felt the Haka had become divorced from its original significance and meaning in the 21st century as Aotearoa had so many cultures represented within the All Blacks.</p>
<p>All Blacks management and the senior leaders, led by team captain Tana Umaga, held a series of discussions on how the Haka could be maintained and kept relevant. Consultations were held with the Ngāti Toa tribe to whom <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ka_Mate">Ka Mate Ka Mate</a>, the older Haka, belongs. It was decided to commission Derek Lardelli, an expert in Māori customs, to compose a new Haka tailored specifically for the All Blacks.</p>
<p>And so <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haka_(sports)#.22Kapa_o_Pango.22_2005">Kapa o Pango</a> was born. This was less than ten years ago.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">The Haka in its modern incarnation, Kapa o Pango, as performed by the All Blacks on special occasions such as the 2011 World Cup final.</span></figcaption>
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<p>The Aboriginal Bumala-y Yuurrama-y went through this exact some process, so why is it being dismissed as not having the same cultural standing? The bottom line is that when the All Blacks do the Haka it is as an entire country: Black, White, Polynesian, Māori and Asian all standing together as one. The one time we do our Bumala-y Yuurrama-y, it is in the Aboriginal All Star games of AFL and NRL and it’s our mob against the rest.</p>
<p>Cultures, no matter how ancient, are allowed to adapt and evolve, but that will not happen in Australia while we remain so divided and our Aboriginal culture excluded from mainstream education and popular culture. All Australians have a right to engage in informed discussion, but this opportunity is denied to people when the 60,000-plus years of Aboriginal occupation and culture was excluded from their formal education.</p>
<p>In finishing, I just received a phone call informing me that NRL stars Johnathan Thurston and Greg Inglis <a href="http://wwos.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=9013318">will perform</a> a traditional Aboriginal Bumala-y Yuurrama-y at matches this weekend in a rally cry of support for Adam Goodes. Now that is culture!</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/45432/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Marcus Woolombi Waters does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>While AFL player Adam Goodes polarised Australians by performing an Indigenous war dance, New Zealanders unite in celebration of the Haka. The difference in approach to Indigenous culture is telling.Marcus Woolombi Waters, Lecturer, School of Humanities, Griffith UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/39462011-10-23T00:29:25Z2011-10-23T00:29:25ZAll Blacks’ proud tradition of the haka insulted in Rugby World Cup<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/4730/original/Haka_one.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The All Blacks' haka is culturally important for everyone in New Zealand.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/AFP pool/Phil Water</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/topics/rugby-world-cup">RUGBY WORLD CUP</a> – When New Zealand’s All Blacks take on France in the final tonight, they will be proud to perform a haka. They’ve taken some criticism for it in the past, but, as André Brett of the University of Melbourne explains in the final part of our series, it’s of huge cultural importance.</em></p>
<p>After New Zealand <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/rugbyunion/rugby-world-cup/8827783/Rugby-World-Cup-2011-Australia-v-New-Zealand-live.html">bundled Australia out</a> of the 2011 Rugby World Cup in a lopsided semi-final, I expected some sour grapes in the Australian media. </p>
<p>Initially, the response was quite measured and gracious – certainly more measured and gracious than the wailing and gnashing of teeth that would have occurred in New Zealand had the All Blacks lost. </p>
<h2>Sour grapes</h2>
<p>However, when the sour grapes were <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/society-and-culture/in-the-cutthroat-world-of-sport-its-the-simple-gestures-that-tell-a-lot-20111019-1m80c.html">finally displayed</a> by Sydney Morning Herald columnist Paul Sheehan, they were of a type I never expected, going far beyond this World Cup to attack one of New Zealand’s core rugby traditions, the haka.</p>
<p>It would be one thing if he had used the stock argument of Australian sports writers, that the All Blacks – especially <a href="http://www.allblacks.com/index.cfm?layout=playerProfile&playerID=1121">Richie McCaw</a> – cheated, a charge routinely levelled as if the Wallabies are squeaky clean. It would have also been fairly inconsequential if he had followed another well-worn path and blamed the referee, but perhaps he did not want to mimic New Zealand’s response to the All Blacks’ <a href="http://www.rugbyworldcup.com/home/news/newsid=2057775.html">shock loss</a> in the 2007 quarter-finals.</p>
<p>Neither of those would have merited a reply. But calling the haka into disrepute as having “no place in sport or sportsmanship”? Making veiled insinuations about Maori people and Maori history? Such charges must be addressed and discredited.</p>
<h2>History of the haka</h2>
<p>Sheehan clearly made no effort to research the haka’s history. The All Blacks perform two haka: the traditional <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2EXDSr9Vro">Ka Mate</a> dating back to the earliest All Blacks tours in the 1900s, and <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tXvQ1aHeNk">Kapa o Pango</a>, first performed in 2005 and written especially for the All Blacks. It is Kapa o Pango that contains the violent motion Sheehan objects to: a throat-slitting motion at the end.</p>
<p>Both haka in fact have benign origins. Although haka are best known as war dances, they have many uses in Maori culture, including to welcome distinguished guests and to acknowledge significant occasions. Ka Mate has an extensive folk tradition in centuries of Maori culture, typically used as a peace-making song or a rallying cry. </p>
<p>It is best known for its appropriation by <a href="http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/1966/te-rauparaha/1">Te Rauparaha</a>, a powerful <a href="http://www.ngatitoa.iwi.nz/">Ngati Toa</a> chief of the first half of the nineteenth century, after friendly chief <a href="http://www.nzetc.org/tm/scholarly/tei-Pom01Lege-t1-body2-d29.html">Te Wharerangi</a> protected him from enemies. </p>
<p>As an English translation shows, Te Rauparaha used it to express his gratitude to “the hairy man [Te Wharerangi] who brought the sun and caused it to shine”. John Archer has presented <a href="http://folksong.org.nz/ka_mate/9ancient_origins.html">extensive research</a> on Ka Mate’s origins on the NZ Folksong website.</p>
<h2>All Blacks’ new haka</h2>
<p>Kapa o Pango has more specific thematic relevance to the All Blacks and is reserved for special occasions. </p>
<p>It expresses the team’s pride in their heritage and their team-mates, the honour to wear the black jersey with its silver fern, and that the occasion on which it is performed “defines us as All Blacks”. </p>
<p>The throat-slitting gesture, far from being an intimation of thuggish violence, represents drawing the breath of life into the heart and lungs and shows that each team member is at the cutting edge of personal performance.</p>
<p>Not that Sheehan let the facts stop him. He follows his criticism of Kapa o Pango’s gesture with the astonishing statement that it will remind the world how Maori “once engaged in unspeakable conduct”, something “we don’t discuss any more”. </p>
<p>In justification, he provides a quote from <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/empire_seapower/cook_tupaia_maori_01.shtml">Captain Cook’s journals</a> presenting the crew’s fear of Maori. This is painfully ahistorical and disappointingly perpetuates many tropes of early European writing about Maori, dramatic representations of savagery and barbarism penned largely from fear or ignorance.</p>
<h2>Maori in war</h2>
<p>Maori have a proud history of skill in warfare. Their advanced tactics thwarted British military incursions into the central and eastern North Island in the 1860s-1870s - territory later seized through the trojan horse of railway and road construction. </p>
<p>Does a legacy of wartime skill make Maori savages whose shameful conduct is exposed to the world by the haka? Of course not.</p>
<p>Did individual Maori at times engage in “unspeakable conduct” during warfare? Yes. </p>
<p>But for Sheehan to insinuate this is somehow peculiar to Maori is insulting and demonstrates a blinkered view of history. </p>
<p>Have individual Europeans and Australians also engaged in “unspeakable conduct” during history? Absolutely. </p>
<p>Maori conduct has not even approached the depths of human depravity found in European history, examples of which I should not need to list. Pot, kettle, black.</p>
<h2>Cultural importance</h2>
<p>Sheehan is not the first to complain about the haka; other precious commentators have already taken issue with Kapa o Pango. </p>
<p>It is a shame he must perpetuate this nonsense and exaggerate it into an inaccurate critique of the haka in general – all while <a href="http://m.smh.com.au/opinion/society-and-culture/in-the-cutthroat-world-of-sport-its-the-simple-gestures-that-tell-a-lot-20111019-1m80c.html">tenuously linking it</a> to the laudable conduct of Australian basketballer Lauren Jackson, as if to say “Australia good, New Zealand bad”. </p>
<p>Never mind; the haka is special to New Zealanders, both Maori and <a href="http://www.maorinews.com/writings/papers/other/pakeha.htm">Pakeha</a>, and it will not be going anywhere. </p>
<p>I remember when the All Blacks first performed Kapa o Pango at Dunedin’s <a href="http://www.newzealandatoz.com/index.php/page/display/839/">legendary cauldron Carisbrook</a> and my hairs stood on end. </p>
<p>The All Blacks had not only laid down a considerable challenge to their opponent; they had made an emphatic display of what it means to be an All Black, both for them and for New Zealanders in general.</p>
<p>A postscript to Sheehan and his editors: “Maori” is the plural of “Maori”, not “Maoris”. Like all Maori words, it does not take an ‘s’ as a plural.</p>
<p><em>See the All Blacks perform the haka when New Zealand take on France <a href="http://www.rugbyworldcup.com/home/fixtures/knockout.html">tonight</a> in the Rugby World Cup final.</em></p>
<p><strong><em>This is the final part of our Rugby World Cup series. To read the other parts, follow these links:</em></strong></p>
<p><strong>- Part one: <a href="http://theconversation.com/rugby-world-cup-all-blacks-new-zealand-maori-and-the-politics-of-the-pitch-3041">Rugby World Cup: All Blacks, New Zealand Maori and the politics of the pitch</a></strong></p>
<p><strong>- Part two: <a href="http://theconversation.com/what-will-the-rugby-world-cup-be-worth-to-new-zealand-3026">What will the Rugby World Cup be worth to New Zealand</a></strong></p>
<p><strong>- Part three: <a href="http://theconversation.com/art-or-science-decision-making-in-rugby-3119">Art or science? Decision making in rugby</a></strong></p>
<p><strong>- Part four: <a href="http://theconversation.com/rugby-world-cup-are-cheats-prospering-3416">Rugby World Cup: Are cheats prospering?</a></strong></p>
<p><strong>- Part five: <a href="http://theconversation.com/rugby-world-cup-the-australian-situation-3112">Rugby World Cup: The Australian situation</a></strong></p>
<p><strong>- Part six: <a href="http://theconversation.com/selling-the-rugby-world-cup-3070">Selling the Rugby World Cup</a></strong></p>
<p><strong>- Part seven: <a href="http://theconversation.com/rugby-world-cup-injuries-thats-gotta-hurt-3101">Rugby World Cup injuries: That’s gotta hurt</a></strong></p>
<p><strong>- Part eight: <a href="http://theconversation.com/rugby-world-cup-a-lottery-amid-refereeing-chaos-3906">Rugby World Cup a lottery amid refereeing chaos</a></strong></p>
<p><strong>- Part nine: <a href="http://theconversation.com/all-blacks-proud-tradition-of-the-haka-insulted-in-rugby-world-cup-3946">All Blacks’ proud tradition of the haka insulted in Rugby World Cup</a></strong></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/3946/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>André Brett does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>RUGBY WORLD CUP – When New Zealand’s All Blacks take on France in the final tonight, they will be proud to perform a haka. They’ve taken some criticism for it in the past, but, as André Brett of the University…André Brett, PhD candidate, New Zealand history, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.