Kapa haka

Māori topics
History Polynesian navigation Māori migration canoes Musket Wars Treaty of Waitangi New Zealand Wars Land confiscations Māori protest movement
Culture Cuisine Funerals Kapa haka Music Mythology Naming customs Poetry Religion Mātauranga Māori Taha Māori Tapu Textiles Tikanga Māori Whakapapa
Politics Mana Motuhake Mana Movement Māori electorates Māori King movement Te Pāti Māori (Māori Party) Te Puni Kōkiri Minister for Māori Development Tino rangatiratanga Treaty of Waitangi claims and settlements Co-governance
Language Influence on New Zealand English Language immersion schools Māori Language Commission Māori language revival Te Wiki o te Reo Māori Māori Television
Society Conservation Hauora Iwi (tribes) Hapū (subtribes) Marae Tangata whenua ("people of the land") Whānau (families)
Lists List of Māori List of iwi List of Māori waka
New Zealand portal
v t e

Kapa haka is the term for Māori action songs and the groups who perform them. The phrase translates to 'group' (kapa) 'dance' (haka). Kapa haka is an important avenue for Māori people to express and showcase their heritage and cultural Polynesian identity through song and dance.

Modern kapa haka traces back to pre-European times where it developed from traditional forms of Māori performing art; haka, mau rākau (weaponry), poi (ball attached to rope or string) and mōteatea (traditional Māori songs). There is a regular national kapa haka competition currently called Te Matatini that has been running since 1972.^[1]

A kapa haka performance involves choral singing, dance and movements associated with the hand-to-hand combat practised by Māori in mainly precolonial times, presented in a synchronisation of action, timing, posture, footwork and sound. The genre evolved out of a combination of European and Māori musical principles. The current form relates to kapa haka concert groups that first appeared in the 1860s especially in Rotorua to cater to tourists.^[1]