Based on materials from Wikipedia:

Haka (Maori haka) is a New Zealand Maori ritual dance in which performers stomp their feet, hit themselves on the hips and chest, and shout out the accompaniment. It is one of the most famous forms of Maori music, thanks to the All Blacks rugby team, most New Zealanders are familiar with the haka.

The word "haka" in the Maori language means "dance in general" and also "song accompanying the dance". Haku cannot be attributed exclusively to "dances" or "songs": in the words of Alan Armstrong, haka is a composition in which each instrument - hands, feet, body, tongue, eyes - performs its own part.

Characteristic details of khaki - the dance is performed simultaneously by all participants and is accompanied by grimaces. Grimaces (movements of the eyes and tongue) are very important, and it is from them that it is determined how well the dance is performed. The women who performed the haku did not stick out their tongues. Non-military hacks can contain undulating movements of the fingers or hands]. The dance leader (male or female) shouts out one or two lines of text, after which the rest of the chorus responds with a chorus.

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The Maori - the indigenous people of New Zealand - have always had a rich repertoire of cultural traditions - from myths, legends, songs and dances, to rituals and beliefs. The Haka dance is one of the most famous Maori traditions.

The origins of the hack are hidden in the mists of time. The history of the dance is rich in folklore and legends. In fact, it can be argued that New Zealand grew out of the haka tradition, dating back to the first meeting between Maori and early European explorers, missionaries and settlers.

Although recent dance traditions suggest that Haka was exclusively a male preserve, legends and stories reflect other facts. In fact, the story of the most famous hack - Ka mate - is a story about the power of female sexuality. According to legend, Haka was obtained from the sun god Ra, who had two wives: Hain-Raumati, who was the essence of summer, and Hain-Takurua, who was the essence of winter.
But, nevertheless, for most people, haka is a military dance. This is understandable by the fact that many have seen the haka performed before a fight or competition.

While there are many differences between the types of war dance, they all have a common feature in that they are all performed with weapons. At a time when Europeans had not yet discovered New Zealand, haka was used as part of the formal process when tribes met.

Currently, the Maori dance haka without traditional weapons, but at the same time, various aggressive and intimidating actions remain in the dance: such as clapping hands on the hips, active grimaces, protruding tongue, stamping feet, rolling eyes. These actions are performed along with choral chants and warlike shouts.
How is this dance used now? New Zealanders are used to the hack used by sports teams. For example, it is an absolutely unforgettable sight when the New Zealand national rugby team, All Blacks, performs a hack before the start of their matches. Haka has become a symbol of the All Blacks' strength and status in the rugby world. The team leaves an impression of invincibility and brutality. Also today, the New Zealand Army also has its own unique haka, which is performed by female soldiers. New Zealand trade delegations and other official missions overseas are increasingly requesting groups of Haqa performers to accompany them. It can be argued beyond question that haka has become a unique form of national expression.

Not all ritual dances of different peoples are lucky to find application in our time. The exception was the national dance of the New Zealand Maori tribe, which they themselves call "haka".

Haka dance history

The Maori themselves consider the haka ritual dance to be their national art form. Haka is not just dance movements, these movements include a certain plasticity of the whole body and even the dancer's eyes. Haka is performed to old tunes, the pattern of the dance consists of clapping hands on the body and hips, as well as stamping feet under the furious shouts of the people performing it.

In addition to the arms, legs, and head, the hack involves the tongue and eyeballs. Each body element in this dance has a separate part. The Maori used haku before fighting the enemy. They danced in everyday life as well. The dance variety has never been a purely masculine prerogative among the Maori. Haka could be feminine, mixed, and also childish.

According to one of the legends of the tribe, the dance appeared thanks to a woman who was looking for a man who killed the leader's personal whale. Eyewitnesses told the woman that the offender had crooked teeth. A long search was in vain, until the woman began to grimace in front of the crowd, which made everyone laugh. So she saw a man with crooked teeth in front of her, and took him to the leader.

Until the 18th century, Europeans in New Zealand reacted negatively to the haka dance. Then they got used to it, and even began to invite the natives to perform their dance in front of the royal family.

Haka currently

Today dance has become an integral part of the culture of the New Zealand Armed Forces. It is also played by rugby teams on the field. Since 1972, New Zealanders have held festivals and competitions dedicated to this dance twice a year.

There are several types of dance in Maori culture. Let's consider them in more detail:

• Peruperu is a war dance performed by wars before battle. Sometimes he was shown to his enemies completely naked;
• Toya Mai - a communal dance that was always performed in front of a general meeting of the Maori;
• Tumoto is a dance of rage, which was shown by wars after defeat in battle;
• Poi - female version of khaki, calmer and smoother;
• Horuhoru - dance for men and women;
• Ka-mate is a modern version of khaki for athletes.

Thanks to the New Zealand national rugby team, khaki-like dances have been performed by many teams before the game. Until the early 20th century, New Zealand rugby players almost always beat their rivals on the field. It was believed that this haka gave them such power.

Since 1892, the New Zealand national team wore only black uniforms, and all team members had to be able to perform Maori ritual dances. This behavior was typical of the first New Zealanders from those distant times when their canoes moored to the island shores. There is information that the Maori were greeted by the Haka team of Cook himself, as well as the traveler Abel Tasman.

Former Polynesians see in their ritual dance a connection with their ancestors, a manifestation of masculinity and courage, as well as a way to intimidate the enemy. It was intimidation that was the original purpose of the creation of khaki. The convulsive movements of the warriors could frighten anyone, and the protruding tongues gave the Maori a completely insane look. By the way, when women dance this dance, they limit themselves to active rotation of their eyes, and leave their tongues behind their teeth. Haka is the popular culture of New Zealand that has become known to the world through rugby teams. The dance is impressive, frightening and mesmerizing, because it is as ancient as the history of the settlement of the New Zealand islands.

The haka dance is not just a formidable performance by New Zealand rugby players before the match. First of all, it is the culture, traditions and heritage of the Maori, the indigenous people of New Zealand. However, it is thanks to rugby and the All Blacks that hack has gained popularity in the world.

Haka dance - Maori heritage

According to history, the haka was performed by the Maori tribes before the battle, in order to intimidate the enemy. Haka includes formidable stomping, waving and punching, and various grimaces. In our time, conflicts are no longer resolved in the open field in fights face to face with the enemy, but military traditions remain alive, only flowing into a peaceful channel.

Rugby is also a kind of war. Unlike many other team sports, here the game is played bone to bone, shoulder to shoulder, and all this is within the framework of the rules. At times, rugby battles really look tough and even brutal. Therefore, it is not surprising that it was from this game that the introduction of hacks into the sports world began.

New Zealand performs haku before the match with South Africa. Photo EPA / NIC BOTHMA

But haka is much more important to New Zealanders than just dancing before a match. This is a tribute to tradition, a part of culture. Even in ancient times, haka was performed not only before battles, but also on other occasions, for example, when receiving important guests or when achieving something outstanding. And now it is difficult to imagine this country without khaki, the haka dance has become a brand of New Zealand, its symbol, along with the All Blacks. Haku is performed at sports events and receptions, at weddings, and when bidding farewell to the departed. Haku is taught in the army and at school.

Maori celebrate the return of a Maori battalion from World War I. 1920 year

The most famous hack is Ka Mate. According to legend, it was invented by Te Rauparaha, the leader of the Ngati Toa tribe. He hid from enemies in a food storage pit, and then, got out, where he met the leader of a friendly tribe. It is these events that are reflected in the text of the Ka Mate khaki, which is dedicated to the celebration of the victory of life over death.

The New Zealand rugby team first performed the hack during the 1888-1889 away tour. Then it was not yet the official New Zealand national team, but a team called the New Zealand Natives (natives of New Zealand). During their tour, they played 107! rugby matches, as well as several matches according to other rules of football.

New Zealand Natives - Natives of New Zealand. 1887 year. Photo by S. Mercer

The first khaki variations of New Zealand rugby players did not look as impressive as the modern versions. Not all players knew exactly what to do, and the movements were not as clear and precise as they are now. Even in the famous 1973 match Barbarians against New Zealand, the New Zealanders' dance is very far from fighting. But even then, haka was a special event that the audience was waiting for.

In our years, rugby players have become much more like warriors, and the hack has become more formidable, and the movements of the players are synchronized and perfected. Players understand the meaning of this ritual and take it seriously. And for the opponents, the hack is really a challenge.

Khaki evolution

Although it should be said that haka, according to Maori concepts, is not addressed to the enemy at all. Hakoi wars showed and praised their own strength, and made it clear to the enemy that they were going to destroy him. That is, this is not a challenge, but a statement. We don't dance haku to challenge you. We dance a haku to say that we are going to kill you. Naturally, everything is not so radical in rugby, but the meaning is about the same.

Although haku is also performed by representatives of other team sports, including even such interesting options as hockey or baseball, it still gained the bulk of its popularity in the world thanks to rugby. The reason is obvious, the All Blacks are one of the most successful teams in the world, regardless of the sport. The percentage of won official matches is 76. And so hack is the equivalent of winning. If New Zealanders performed a dance and then lost, then the haku could really be taken as a joke. But knowing the strength of the team, the opponent, watching the haka, understands that they are serious, and after the whistle about the start of the match there will be no time for jokes.

Haka in various sports

But it's not just Maori who have their martial rituals, and it's not just New Zealanders who brought them to the field. Representatives of other Polynesian countries were also not averse to dancing before the fight, and now before the match. However, it is a mistake to call these dances haka, each of them has its own name. For Samoa, this is siwa tau, for Tonga it is kailao (sipi tau is a rugby dance of Tonga, a kind of kailao), for Fiji it is sibi, for Hawaii it is hula.

Opponents did not always perceive haku as just a tribute to tradition. For the opponents of the New Zealand national team, this is truly a challenge. And they didn’t always just watch the New Zealanders “traditionally” run their fingers down their throats and stick their tongues out at the same time.

Haka capa o pango

In 1997, while performing a hack, Richard Kokkeril went to his New Zealand counterpart, as a result, Norm Hewitt completed a private hack face to face with an Englishman. English captain Martin Johnson then quietly said to his player "What have you done?" ... As a result, angry New Zealanders defeated the British 25-8.

Of course, everyone remembers the French national team, which twice met the haku face to face. At the 2007 World Cup in the quarterfinals, the French team came close to the New Zealanders, creating a unique moment. Moreover, the French won a sensational victory 20-18. The French were not averse to repeating this and. Despite the ban, they again moved towards the rival, for which they later paid a fine. And this time they almost managed to repeat the miracle, the New Zealanders barely kept the winning 8-7 score.

New Zealand - France. 2007. Photo ROSS LAND / AFP

I have seen the hack live several times. , and in 2013 in Moscow, when the New Zealanders won the Rugby 7 World Cup. It is an impressive sight ... and it was no longer so delightful. But I think any aspiring rugby player dreams of performing a hack and then taking the field to win. Therefore, if you wish, you can try.

Learn Haku

But to win, you need to train first!

This is how the teacher is seen off.

Probably, our traditions are assessed by someone as something strange and even scary. I would like to remember - what for example? This is what a New Zealand citizen can perceive of our traditions as we do their haka tradition.

Haka (Maori haka) is a New Zealand Maori ritual dance in which performers stomp their feet, hit themselves on the hips and chest, and shout out the accompaniment.

The word "haka" in the Maori language means "dance in general" and also "song accompanying the dance". Haka cannot be attributed exclusively to "dances" or "songs": in the words of Alan Armstrong, haka is a composition in which each instrument - hands, feet, body, tongue, eyes - performs its own part.

The characteristic details of the hack are that the dance is performed simultaneously by all participants and is accompanied by grimaces. Grimaces (movements of the eyes and tongue) are very important, and it is from them that it is determined how well the dance is performed. The women who performed the haku did not stick out their tongues. Non-military hacks can contain undulating movements of the fingers or hands. The dance leader (man or woman) shouts out one or two lines of text, after which the rest of the chorus responds with a chorus

Dance at a wedding:

Players of the New Zealand national rugby team performed the traditional national ritual dance of haka before their first World Cup match in 2015 against Argentina. Impressive execution helped and the All Blacks won 26:16. And this video on YouTube has been watched more than 145 thousand times in two days:

There are several different legends about the origin of the hack. According to one of them, this dance was first performed by women who were looking for a certain Kae, who killed a whale belonging to the leader of the tribe. The women did not know what he looked like, but they knew that he had crooked teeth. Kae was among other people, and to identify him in the crowd, the women performed a funny dance with comic movements. Seeing the haku, Kae laughed and was recognized.

Haka was performed mainly in the evening for entertainment; there were purely male haka, female, children's, and also suitable for adults of both sexes. Guests were also welcomed with this dance. Welcoming dances usually began belligerently, since the greeters did not know the intentions of the arrivals. It was with this warlike dance that the armed Maori met James Cook in 1769.

Christian missionary Henry Williams wrote: “It is necessary to ban all the old customs, dancing, singing and tattoos, the main local orgy. In Auckland, people like to get together in big groups to showcase their horrific dances. " Over time, the attitude towards dancing on the part of Europeans improved, haku began to be regularly performed when visiting the royal family.

In the 21st century, haka is regularly performed in the New Zealand Armed Forces. Twice a year, since 1972, the Te Matatini Haka Festival has been held. Since the end of the 19th century, rugby teams have performed this dance before the competition, in the 2000s this tradition has caused many controversies and accusations of the "All Blacks" in the "devaluation" of the hack.

Seeing off the deceased soldier on his last journey.

New Zealand's Black Haka dance is one of the most revered and controversial forms of aggression. Many people like this tradition, others consider it "unsportsmanlike". In any case, dance has already become an integral part of the Rugby Union. Let's take a look at the history of this war dance, as well as the strange reactions it evokes.

Haka is a traditional war dance, invented and performed by the Maori people before battle in order to intimidate the enemy. However, the dance was used not only in war, it was performed throughout New Zealand as a sign of respect and greeting. Moreover, haka can be performed not only by men - there are many haka dancers in the country, as well as mixed groups.

New Zealand's first national team to play away (in New South Wales in 1884) performed a hack before each match. The traditional haka is called Ka-Mate, created in 1810 by Te Rauparaha from the Ngati Toa Rangatira tribe. It was based on the haka that has been performed in the Aotearoa region for many centuries.

The first hacks, of course, were not as organized in terms of choreography as they are today, they were more improvised and much less aggressive. But as the New Zealand national rugby team began to establish their dominance in the sport, the Blacks mythology grew and the haka dance began to become more and more important to the team's personality. The rivals were fascinated by this dance, and the "blacks" were even criticized if the team, for some reason, did not perform their famous dance.

In 2005, a new hack appeared - "Capa o Pango", in which there was a gesture of "cutting the throat", which caused a lot of controversy and scandals. According to the New Zealand Rugby Union, this gesture symbolized the attraction of energy to the body and is quite common among Maori.

Of course, haka is very popular with rugby fans. In Italy, for example, the introduction of the hack helped sell out all tickets for the 2009 international friendly match at the San Siro Stadium. But what's most interesting, besides the cultural and traditional aspects of dance, is how the haka has swept the New Zealand national rugby team. And also that once the match organizers realized that the whole world liked haka, they made it part of their laws in the international rugby community. Haka has become almost as important as the team itself. But if he is honored by those who watch the match, then the feelings and behavior of those who play this match are completely different.

Opponents have long criticized the hack, arguing that the dance gives the New Zealand team an unfair psychological advantage of intimidating an opponent before the match. Many players just didn't know how to respond to this challenge. Some stood respectfully and waited patiently, some decided to "accept" the challenge, others simply ignored the dance. For example, the famous Australian national team player David Kampis did not pay attention to the hack at all, warming up at the edge of the field. In any case, haka has become an integral part of the game, it adds drama and tradition and quite a few contradictions to international matches.

The New Zealand All Blacks rugby team is now, without a doubt, the best team in the world, and perhaps of all time. That is why it seems to some that this is the last team in the world that should have included such a provocative act in their rules of conduct. And while the New Zealand Rugby Union is often accused of being too fierce about tradition, it cannot be denied that the haka adds a touch of beauty to rugby. In the world of sports, there is no longer such an element that makes your hair stand on end every time you watch it. And there is no end to it.

Ireland v New Zealand 1989

In 1989, at Lansdowne Road Stadium, before the match against Ireland, the Irish joined hands and began to approach the dancing New Zealanders in the shape of the letter V. As a result, Irish captain Willie Anderson stood just a couple of centimeters from Buck Shelford's face.

1995 World Cup Final

Before the final match in 1995 between the national teams of South Africa and New Zealand at the Ellis Park stadium in Johannesburg, the Springboks, led by captain François Piennaar, decided to defend their positions in front of the New Zealanders dancing hack. As a result, the teams came together to one meter.

England vs New Zealand in 1997

Before the match at Old Trafford Stadium, English center-forward Richard Cockerill (by the way, it was his debut in sports) decided to intimidate his opponent during a hack. The referee was afraid that it would come to a fight, so he simply pushed Cockerill away, who stood in the way of the dancers.

New Zealand v Tonga 2003

In the World Cup match between the two Pacific nations, the All Balcks kicked off as usual with their hack dance. The Tonga national team responded with the Sipi Tau war dance.

France v New Zealand 2007

In 2007, in the quarterfinals of the World Cup in Cardiff, the French national team won the right to choose a kit. The French chose their red, white and blue uniforms (the colors of the national flag) and began to approach the New Zealanders while they performed Capa o Pango. Pay attention to Shabal's visual tactics in the video.

Wales v New Zealand 2008

In 2008, the Wales squad stood still after the hack, hoping the New Zealanders would retreat first. As a result, referee Jonathan Kaplan reprimanded both teams for two whole minutes, until the captain of New Zealanders McCaw ordered his team to disperse. All this time, the Millennium stadium did not quiet down for a minute.

Munster v. New Zealand 2009

When the New Zealand national team was in Thomand Park on their Northern Hemisphere tour, they had to play against Munster, an Irish province. The Irish also decided to perform their own version of khaki. Three New Zealanders play in the first line of Munster's national team, they consulted with their elders and decided to perform their own version of the hack. Then the entire stadium fell into almost complete silence, and the New Zealanders performed their traditional haka. That was interesting.

France v New Zealand 2011

Before the final of the 2011 World Cup, the French national team, led by captain Thierry Dussatua, crossed the 10-meter line, approaching the opponents dancing haka, which is prohibited according to the established rules. The most interesting thing is that after that the French national team was fined 10,000 euros, and many called it "defilement".