Haka in popular culture
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The haka is a traditional Māori dance form. The use of haka in popular culture is a growing phenomenon, especially in New Zealand. Traditionally, haka were used only in Māori cultural contexts, but today haka are used in a wide range of public occasions to impart a sense of importance of the event.
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[edit] New Zealand sports teams
For over 100 years the All Blacks have had a tradition of performing a haka before games (see Haka of the All Blacks). This has become the most widely known use of the haka, but several other New Zealand sports teams now perform the haka before commencing a game. These include rugby league (the Kiwis), Australian rules football (the Falcons) and basketball (Tall Blacks) teams[citation needed].
In addition to this planned, formalised usage, teams and supporters now often perform impromptu haka as a celebration or encouragement[1]. At the Sydney Olympics in 2000 these uses of the haka were numerous enough to drew some negative comment.[2][3]
[edit] Use by non-New Zealand sports teams
A number of sports teams outside of New Zealand have adopted the haka, most notably the American football teams of Brigham Young University, University of Hawaii and Trinity High School in Euless, Texas.
[edit] Military
- New Zealand Army: The New Zealand Army has a haka composed specifically for them, Tu Taua a Tumatauenga.
[edit] Schools
- A large proportion of New Zealand schools have kapa haka groups, and several have their own designated school haka[4][5], including at least one all-girls school[6].
- Trinity Grammar School, in New South Wales, is an Australian school with their own haka[citation needed].
[edit] Film
- British actor Jamie Foreman performs the Haka briefly in order to intimidate a rival in the 2000 film Gangster No. 1.
- Pai performs a haka at a school performance in Whale Rider.
- Boogie performs the Haka while at a detainment center in Once Were Warriors.
- At the end of filming pick-ups for The Return of the King, Viggo Mortensen (who had just finished his final shot) and Bernard Hill (two "Kings of Men"—Aragorn and Théoden, respectively) were given a haka performed by the LOTR stunt team.
[edit] Other uses
- Haka in the Guinness Book of Records: On page 88 of the Guinness Book of Records it states 2,200 people performed the biggest haka in Federation Square, Melbourne, Australia, on 3 September 2005. It was run by Gene Elder and the New Zealand Victoria Business Group (NZVBG). The previous record was 800.
- In 1998, a British TV advert for National Lottery Instant scratchcards showed a team of bowlers perform the Haka against another team.
- From 2002 until 2005, a BBC One "Rhythm and Movement" ident showed a Maori rugby player and fourteen Welsh rugby players performing a haka.
- A recent commercial for William Lawson's Scotch whisky featured a rugby team (presumably the All Blacks) performing a haka to intimidate a kilted Scottish team. The Scots "answered" the haka by flashing the opposing team.
- Due to a resemblance of a certain hand movement performed in haka to bent elbow, popular Turkish TV presenter Metin Uca used footage from a haka performance for his social and political criticism targeted at some people and establishments, with a catch phrase: "Here, we're sending a haka dance to....."
- In the comic strip Get Fuzzy, Bucky Katt on one occasion does the traditional Ka Mate haka, to which his roommates Rob and Satchel react by agreeing to stay out of his way. Comic creator Darby Conley is a rugby fan and has referenced the All Blacks in other strips. However, Bucky's version is the traditional Kia Ora and not the one the All Blacks use.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- http://photo.byu.edu:16080/markImages/Multimedia/BYUvsUNM/ - Multimedia slideshow of the 2006 #23 BYU vs. UNM football game, including a performance of the "Ka Mate" haka prior to the game
- Story about haka at Texas high school, from The World radio program
