Haka

A haka is a Maori war dance designed to ready warriors for battle and strike fear into their enemy. It is a really powerful routine. I usually think of the New Zealand All-Blacks rugby team when I usually think of the haka being performed. If you follow American pro wrestling, you may have seen that The Usos have adopted a haka routine before their matches in World Wrestling Entertainment. One other thing- it is considered disrespectful to laugh or taunt at someone if the haka is being performed.

If you've never seen or experienced the haka being performed, this blog post will introduce you to this Polynesian war dance. I will show you some videos showcasing the haka routine. The blog post mostly showcases the haka routine being performed and isn't really supposed to be a completely educational look at the haka.

Since expanding my blog horizons to the South Pacific, I have tried to come up with more posts that may interest my readers from the South Pacific. I am really sorry I haven't done more blog posts to cater to my South Pacific and Pacific Islander audiences.

--- Haka in Videos ---

Here are some videos showcasing the haka. I'd like to thank all the YouTube channels that have allowed for video embedding.

Haka: An Informative Look.

A PBS documentary kicks off a look at the haka. The haka has been a ritual for over 50,000 years. Have a look at this video to gain insight on the haka:



I had actually learned long ago that what most of the world know as New Zealand is Aotearoa to the Maori. That was my sort of reminder of Aotearoa if you saw the above video.

Haka: New Zealand All Blacks.

Because I mentioned the All Blacks, I will continue discussing them. What you are about to witness in this video is the haka routine performed by the All Blacks. There were actually those who wanted to ban the All Blacks from performing the haka. I know very little about Maori culture. I actually planned on blogging about Maori culture as part of my "Pacific and Oceania" label. Anyhow, here are the All Blacks performing the haka before a rugby test:



I told you it was powerful. BLOGGING NOTE: I actually tried to post a blog entry about rubgy football, but I've never completed it. I do want to introduce that topic to John's Blog Space eventually for my readers.

Haka: University of Hawaii [Rainbow] Warriors' Football.

Now for a different kind of football. The University of Hawaii/Hawai'i at Manoa is known for their haka routine in the realm of college football. A lot of football players who play for the University of Hawaii mostly come from Hawaii, Samoa, American Samoa, and some other South Pacific island nations. Here is a look at the Warriors performing the haka:



On the other hand, though, there are those who disapprove of Hawaii doing the haka. I read that Hawaii has a similar routine called the ha'a. One time in a game, Hawaii received an Unsportsmanlike Conduct penalty for performing the haka. Some Hawaii types felt it was some sort of targeting against the Warriors in performing this routine. A lot of others feel that while it's great to see Hawaii perform the haka war dance, that not as many tend to credit that the Maori were the ones to originate the haka.

Here is another video showcasing the origin of the haka by mentioning the University of Hawaii's football team. It is a video featuring the the haka as well as some insight on what the haka is meant to incite. Check this out:

Haka: The Usos.

This video showcases pro wrestlers, Jimmy and Jey Uso, performing the haka before a match. Have a look:



This is already a powerful tag team. They are even more so readying themselves for matches with the haka performance.

--- Final Thoughts... ---

All in all, celebrate and honor your culture and heritage. Just learning about the haka and the power and story behind it really enhanced my knowledge of this war dance. I had once planned on blogging about the Maori culture as an educational deal, and I was going to include the haka as part of the discussion.





If you are of Maori descent, you probably know MUCH more about the haka (and other rituals and customs) than I do. So feel free to supplement your input to help enhance my knowledge as well as the knowledge of my readers/subscribers. Thank you for reading!

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