7 Day culture challenge - day 2 - The Haka
Welcome to my second day of the #7dayculturechallenge - for the rundown of why I started this new challenge check the introduction post here
Today I thought I would share a huge part of New Zealand culture and identity - The Haka
The Haka
The haka is a traditional war dance or challenge performed in Māori culture, and is performed in the native langauge of the Maori people of New Zealand, Te Reo Māori. It is known for the fierce and aggresive challenge, and the movements associated with the dance.
As mentioned above the haka was origianlly performed before going into battle, but today haka are often performed to welcome guests, and before important event such as sports matches (to lay a challenge to the opposite team)
It has become a tradition for some New Zealand sports teams to perform a haka before the start of the match - particularly with the New Zealand Rugby team The All Blacks. Here is the haka The All Blacks before the final of the 2011 Rubgy World Cup Final (which New Zealand won!):
Although the haka is well know and respected in rugby, in other sports in the past there has been some confusion as to what the haka is and why they are doing this before the match. For me the haka is just as important a part of our national identity as our national anthem. Whenever I watch a game of rugby it often seems like the haka sets the tone for the match, and it brings chills down my spine.
If you ever come to New Zealand you might well see a haka - especially if you go onto a marae (Māori meeting grounds) as the haka is often used as a way to greet people on to the marae.
The rules:
- Write a post about an aspect of your culture - e.g. food, arts, dance, economy, money, governement etc
- Do this for 7 days in a row if you get nominated
- Mention three people who should do this on each day.
- Tag it with #7dayculturechallenge and include these rules at the bottom of your post
- Include a picture of something from your culutre related to yoru story if possible
- Post these rules at the bottom of your post
Note - if you like the idea of this and would like to participate but werent nominated, feel free to join in and just mention that I nominated you :)
If you are still doing a different challenge and are nominated feel free to start this one once you have finished the last one!
Today I nominate:
@antimetica
@practicalthought
@dee-y
I look forward to learning about all the different cultures here on Steemit :)
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That is a really cool way of involving ancestral history into the present! I enjoyed watching the video of the dance, all the players seemed very serious about performing the ritual correctly and with a sense of reverence.
Thanks! Yes its a very serious dance - its sets the tone for the match!
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That was great, I watched the video and I can see where you get the chills. Very intense. I can see where some might be confused about it. There's so many questions I have about this... if that's ok?
sorry for the tough questions.
Yeah its a pretty emotional thing with a lot of feeling behind it!
In my experience the Māori are fine with with people performing the haka as long as it is done properly and with respect.
In rugby yes its sportsman like and accepted - as I said in the post it is essentailly laying down the challenge for the game. I am unsure on other sports and how it is percieved but some countries just dont understand so act in what looks disrespect, even though I think it is just their lack of understanding
Awesome thank you for explaining! I'm so glad the Māori are fine with it. I like it a lot and feel it really suits the sport and challenge. I did not perceive the dance as disrespectful since it was pre-game and looked traditional to me.
No problem - I can see why you would ask though because I think it is confusing to alot of people