Haka in popular culture

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.

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), basketball (Tall Blacks) and wheelchair rugby (Wheel Blacks) [cite web |url= http://tvnz.co.nz/content/2059166 |title= Time heals |accessdate= 2008-09-16 |last= Palmer |first= Curtis |date= September 11, 2008 |publisher= OneSport |quote= September 5: Haka and honours ] teams.

In addition to this planned, formalised usage, teams and supporters now often perform impromptu haka as a celebration or encouragement. [ [http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/4/story.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=10414579 Sports Leaders of the year: Moss Burmester] ] At the Sydney Olympics in 2000 these uses of the haka were numerous enough to draw some negative comment. [ [http://www.nzherald.co.nz/category/story.cfm?c_id=105&objectid=10373263 Now it's a new haka for every sport] ] [ [http://www.smh.com.au/news/Sport/Kiwis-deny-overdoing-haka-at-Games/2006/03/21/1142703334225.html Kiwis deny overdoing haka at Games] ]

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.

Military

*New Zealand Army: The New Zealand Army has a haka composed specifically for them, "Tu Taua a Tumatauenga".

chools

* A large proportion of New Zealand schools have kapa haka groups, and several have their own designated school haka [http://www.npbhs.school.nz/sportculture/haka.php] [http://rotoruaboyshigh.school.nz/news/6news57.pdf] , including at least one all-girls school [http://www.rangiruru.school.nz/studentcommunity.shtml] .
*Trinity Grammar School, in New South Wales, is an Australian school with their own hakaFact|date=October 2007.
*Liberty High School, in Las Vegas Nevada, is an American school with it's own specific Haka, created by the Taeao family.Fact|date=October 2007.

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 "", 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.

Other uses

*Haka in the Guinness Book of Records: The world record for numbers of participants in a single haka was set in the UL sports arena in Limerick, Ireland on 6 October 2008 with almost 3,000 taking part.Fact|date=October 2008 A previous record is mentioned on page 88 of the Guinness Book of Records, where it states that 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 not the same version as the one the All Blacks use.
*In their Domus Mundi song "Reprisal (Malis Avibus)" by the Austrian black metal band Hollenthon
*In the Doctor Who episode "The Sontaran Stratagem", the Sontarans perform a ritual quite similar to a haka

ee also

* Cibi
* Kapa haka
* Kailao
* Māori music
* Siva tau

References

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
* [http://www.theworld.org/?q=taxonomy_by_date/1/20061123 Story about haka at Texas high school] , from "The World" radio program