Haka

This article is about Māori dances. For other uses, see Haka (disambiguation).
Not to be confused with Hakka people.

Haka is a traditional genre of Māori dance. This painting dates from c. 1845.

Haka (/ˈhɑːkə/,[1] /ˈhækə/;[2] singular haka, in both Māori and New Zealand English) are a variety of ceremonial dances in Māori culture.[3] A performance art, haka are often performed by a group, with vigorous movements and stamping of the feet with rhythmically shouted accompaniment.[3] Haka have been traditionally performed by both men and women for a variety of social functions within Māori culture.[4][5][6] They are performed to welcome distinguished guests, or to acknowledge great achievements, occasions, or funerals.

Kapa haka groups are common in schools.[7] The main Māori performing arts competition, Te Matatini, takes place every two years.[8]

All Blacks performing a haka (Dunedin, 2014)

New Zealand sports teams' practice of performing a haka to challenge opponents before international matches has made the dance form more widely known around the world. This tradition began with the 1888–89 New Zealand Native football team tour and has been carried on by the New Zealand rugby union team (known as the All Blacks) since 1905.[9][10][11] Although popularly associated with the traditional battle preparations of male warriors, conceptions that haka are typically war dances, and the non-accurate performance of haka by non-Māori, are considered erroneous by Māori scholars.[12][13]

  1. ^ "Haka | English meaning". Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
  2. ^ "haka noun". Cambridge Dictionary. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
  3. ^ a b "haka – Māori Dictionary". Te Aka Māori Dictionary. Retrieved 10 June 2021. ...vigorous dances with actions and rhythmically shouted words. A general term for several types of such dances.
  4. ^ "Haka, Maori dance". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 26 April 2017.
  5. ^ "Haka!". Archived from the original on 20 July 2011.
  6. ^ Simon 2015.
  7. ^ Patrick, Alice (21 November 2017). "Kapa haka in mainstream schools – Affirming Māori students as Māori | School News – New Zealand". SchoolNews. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  8. ^ "Te Matatini – The Evolution of Kapa Haka" (PDF). DANZ Quarterly. No. 24. 2011. p. 6. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 September 2018. Retrieved 1 November 2018.
  9. ^ Hunt 2015.
  10. ^ Simon 2015, p. 88.
  11. ^ Hokowhitu 2014, p. 273.
  12. ^ Kāretu 1993b, p. 37.
  13. ^ "The haka isn't yours – stop performing it | Morgan Godfery". the Guardian. 23 January 2020. Retrieved 24 September 2022.