Across Many Different Sports
Wedding Haka - Subtitled & translated
Haka
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The haka is a traditional genre of Māori dance. This picture
dates from c. 1845.
The haka (plural haka, as in Māori,
so in English) is a traditional
war cry,
dance, or
challenge from the Māori people of New
Zealand. It is a posture dance performed by a group, with vigorous
movements and stamping of the feet with rhythmically shouted accompaniment.[1]War haka were originally performed by warriors before a battle, proclaiming their strength and prowess in order to intimidate the opposition, but haka are also performed for various reasons: for welcoming distinguished guests, or to acknowledge great achievements, occasions or funerals, and kapa haka performance groups are very common in schools.
The New Zealand sports teams' practice of performing a haka before their international matches has made the haka 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 team since 1905.
… Various actions are employed in the course of a performance, including facial contortions such as showing the whites of the eyes and poking out the tongue, and a wide variety of vigorous body actions such as slapping the hands against the body and stomping of the feet. As well as chanted words, a variety of cries and grunts are used. Haka may be understood as a kind of symphony in which the different parts of the body represent many instruments. The hands, arms, legs, feet, voice, eyes, tongue and the body as a whole combine to express courage, annoyance, joy or other feelings relevant to the purpose of the occasion.
