Haka
The Haka (plural: the Haka) is a ritual dance of the Māori . Often interpreted exclusively as a war dance, however, haka means nothing more than "dance" or "song with dance" and is therefore a general term for all types of Māori dances . The haka was performed on the one hand to greet and entertain guests, here by men or women, or in mixed groups. On the other hand, it was also used to intimidate opponents before a military conflict and was then presented exclusively by armed men.
According to a Māori legend, the origin of the haka goes back to Hine-Raumati , the summer girl. It is said to have revealed itself as a trembling apparition in the air on a warm summer day. This is said to have been the haka of Tane-rore , whose fatherhood she attributed to Tama-nui-te-rā , the god of the sun.
The haka is seen as a kind of symphony in which the different parts of the body represent the many instruments. The hands, arms, legs, feet, voice, eyes, tongue and the body as a whole combine their individual expressions into one statement. Courage, anger, joy and other feelings are expressed through the movements of each part of the body. The outside expresses the inside.
Haka species
For many, the haka is just a type of war dance , which is not the essence of many types of haka . There are also a number of other dances that have their meaning in the Māori culture. The most frequently listed haka is the " Haka Taparahi " . This dance was always a ceremonial dance and in no way a war dance . Therefore he is also performed without weapons.
The three most important war dances are: the " Whakatu Waewae " , the " Tutu Ngarahu " and the " Peruperu " . Each of these haka has characteristics that distinguish it from the others. They are all terrifying spectacles to show the physical superiority and condition of the warriors, as well as to frighten the enemy. These ritual haka all involve the carrying of weapons. The " Peruperu " is characterized by the high jumps in which the legs are pressed under the body. In “ Tutu Ngarahu ” there is also jumping, but rather from side to side, while “ Whakatu Waewae ” does not jump at all.
Another type of haka is the “ ngeri ” . With him it is important to motivate the warriors psychologically. The choreography is very free, so that every dancer can express it himself. This haka is usually danced without weapons.
The " Manawa Wera " is usually danced at funerals or on other death-related occasions. Similar to the " Ngeri " it has no choreography and is performed without weapons.
To express hatred of another Māori tribe , there is the " Kaioraora " . Each tribe has designed a haka for another tribe.
Tika Tonu
The haka " Tika Tonu " from Hawkes Bay is aimed primarily at young people, with the invitation to look inward in order to find the answer to problems within themselves. This haka , composed in 1914 by Chief Waimarama Putara for his 15-year-old son Moana , contains a message of challenge, struggle, perseverance and overcoming. It is traditionally performed on reaching the 21st birthday, or for professional or academic degrees. It is also popular at weddings. After all, it is also often used at Tangihanga (a funeral ceremony) to honor the deceased, in order to appreciate that he has accompanied young people in difficult times.
Tahu Pōtiki
The Haka Tahu Pōtiki comes from the South Island of New Zealand, from Te Waipounamu, It has an old history, but gained particular fame through its frequent performance in Christchurch after the severe earthquakes of 2011 . At that time, he was supposed to help the population, especially the schoolchildren, to deal with a natural disaster that had cost 185 lives. It was subsequently also used to show respect for those who lost loved ones in the March 15, 2019 terrorist attacks in Christchurch . On March 18, 2019, it was spontaneously performed at a memorial by several local schools. Two days later, Cashmere High School performed the haka as a welcoming ceremony for Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern , who was visiting Christchurch.
According to Te Hurinui Clarke, a teacher at the University of Christchurch, Ngai Tahu, the local Maori tribe, prefer this haka to the haka ka mate for historical reasons. Tahu Pōtiki is named after the ancestor of the Ngai Tahu tribe and celebrates this. The dance can be used to celebrate events, highlight important decisions and, above all, to evoke unity (Kotahitanga) in times of sadness.
Women and the haka
In the traditional Māori culture, women play an important role in the performance of the haka. They appear both in haka and solo. There are haka that are only performed by women. They play a large role in the ceremonies and entertainment in traditional tribal life. A tribe's reputation was based on performing a haka. The women were an integral part and therefore also capable performers.
In modern Māori culture, the female role in a haka consists mainly of the supporting chant in the background. The men are mostly in the foreground, while the women sing in the background with several voices. Still, it's not uncommon to see women in the front row too, especially when it's a spontaneous haka.
Haka and rugby
The New Zealand national rugby union team , the All Blacks , perform a haka before each international match. This first happened in 1884 when a New Zealand selection traveled to New South Wales , Australia . Since the Rugby World Cup in 1987, the All Blacks have performed their haka before every international match. The Ngāti Toa Maori tribe declared to be proud of the All Blacks' use of the dance. Two different versions are used. Until 2005 only the haka with the title "Ka Mate" was used, since then there has been an alternative version in the newly written "Kapa o Pango".
The executing team is supported by its own fans, the opposing team and their supporters often pursue a counter-strategy in order to nullify the alleged psychological advantage that the All Blacks gain from the haka. The reactions range from singing one's own national anthem to ignoring the Haka and aggressive approach.
The New Zealand national rugby league team also has its own haka, and the haka is even celebrated at some rugby matches in school sports in New Zealand. Some teams have their own haka and there is a loud spectacle when the opposing teams, supported by their respective fans, perform their haka one after the other.
Ka Mate
The "Ka-Mate" haka was composed in 1810 by Te Rauparaha , the chief of the Ngāti Toa tribe . According to legend, Te Rauparaha was pursued by enemies. He hid under a woman's skirt in a pit where food was stored. Since such behavior was unthinkable with a chief, he felt safe. When he got out of the pit, he was not discovered by his pursuers, but by another chief who was friendly to him. Out of relief, Te Rauparaha performed the Ka-Mate-Haka, which is danced today with the same words by the All Blacks.
The haka begins with five preparatory instructions from a single leader (usually a Māori from the team), after which the whole team joins in.
| Leader : | Ringa pakia! | Slap your hands on your thighs! | |
| Uma tiraha! | Push your chest forward! | ||
| Turi whatia! | Bend your knees! | ||
| Hope whai ake! | And the hips! | ||
| Waewae takahia kia kino! | Stamp your feet as hard as you can! | ||
| Leader : | Ka mate, ka mate | This is death, this is death (or: I will die) | |
| Crew : | Ka ora, ka ora | This is life, this is life (or: I will live) | |
| Leader : | Ka mate, ka mate | This is death, this is death | |
| Crew : | Ka ora, ka ora | This is life, this is life | |
| All : | Tēnei te tangata pūhuruhuru | This is the hairy man ... | |
| Nāna nei i tiki mai whakawhiti te rā | ... who brought the sun and let it shine! | ||
| Ā upane, ka upane | One step forward, and another! | ||
| Ā upane, ka upane | One step forward, and another! | ||
| Whiti te rā, hī! | The sun is shining! |
Kapa o pango
Before a Tri-Nations game against South Africa on August 28, 2005 at the Carisbrook Stadium in Dunedin , the All Blacks surprisingly performed a completely new haka. “Kapa o Pango”, written by Derek Lardelli of the Ngāti Porou tribe , contained a longer and more aggressive introduction by the then captain Tana Umaga and culminated in a controversial gesture of cutting the throat directed at the opposing team. The All Blacks won the game 31-27.
The new Haka is said to have been developed over more than a year and in collaboration with many experts in the Māori culture. It will not replace the traditional haka "Ka Mate", but will only be used on special occasions. "Kapa o Pango", however, in contrast to "Ka Mate", has a text that specifically refers to the New Zealand national team by mentioning the All Blacks and the team's symbol, the silver fern .
In 2006, "Kapa o Pango" was subjected to another review by the New Zealand Rugby Union Federation (NZRFU), especially with regard to the controversial gesture at the end. The research concluded that the gesture has a completely different meaning in Māori culture, according to Derek Lardelli: "The words and movements represent the drawing of vital energy into the heart and lungs."
"Kapa o Pango" was performed again before the first Tri-Nations game in July 2006 against Australia and was particularly well known internationally when the All Blacks performed it before the 2011 Rugby World Cup final .
| Kapa o Pango kia whakawhenua au i ahau! | All Blacks, let me become one with the land! | |
| Hī aue, hī! | ||
| Ko Aotearoa e ngunguru nei! | This is our country that is rumbling! | |
| Au, au, aue hā! | This is my time, my moment! | |
| Ko Kapa O Pango e ngunguru nei! | This is what defines us as the All Blacks! | |
| Au, au, aue hā! | This is my time, my moment! | |
| I āhahā! | ||
| Ka tū te ihiihi | Our dominance | |
| Ka tū te wanawana | Our superiority will triumph | |
| Ki runga ki te rangi e tū iho nei, tū iho nei, hī! | And be highly regarded! | |
| Ponga rā! | Silver fern! | |
| Kapa o Pango, aue hī! | All blacks! | |
| Ponga rā! | Silver fern! | |
| Kapa o Pango, aue hī, hā! | All blacks! |
Protection of traditional culture from appropriation
Maori claim that Hakas as a traditional culture are part of their heritage and must be protected from cultural appropriation by third parties and exploitation. The reasons for this were advertising campaigns by Lego, Ford, Sony and Fiat, which were investigated before the Waitangi Tribunal . In Germany, the claims became known in 2017 when Maori and her supporters opposed a commercial from a German car insurer that used a haka.
The tribal organization of the Ngāti Toa has tried to register the wording of the Ka Mate as a trade mark to protect their claims . Repeated attempts were rejected by the Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand , and trademark registration of pictorial representations of various scenes in the haka for clothing and headgear was recognized.
Dissatisfied with this protective situation, the Maori went before the Waitangi Tribunal , which investigates issues arising from the Waitangi Treaty of 1840. In the Waitangi Treaty, the Maori were guaranteed ownership and use of their land. After this regulation was seen as largely symbolic for over a century, the treaty and the tribunal on questions of land rights have been respected since the middle of the 20th century and, according to today's interpretation, have increasingly been the self-determination of the tribes and, as a result, rights to them since the 1970s of Maori culture without direct reference to land issues.
The tribunal concluded in two trials that the government should give the Ngāti Toa greater control over Ka Mate. The New Zealand government only agreed to formally register the "authorship and [cultural] meaning of the haka" for the Ngāti Toa. Further claims were rejected.
As a result, the Ngāti Toa and other Maori tribes made further demands. In particular, it said that self-determination and self-government under the guarantees of the Waitangi Treaty would require a new protection of cultural property outside of legal intellectual property . In a 2011 report, the tribunal recommended that the law be amended to allow Maori cultural property to be recognized in certain cases. In its report, it stated that the Maori would not only preserve Maori culture, but New Zealand as a whole. Maori self-determination protects the identity of the whole country and Maori control over their culture gives New Zealand control over its unique identity.
New Zealand brought these claims into a lawsuit before the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) that began in 2000 to protect Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Culture . Practically all western states speak out against any kind of protection of traditional cultures in the form of intellectual property rights , the resistance of the USA being decisive. They assume that traditional folk culture is and must be in the public domain . The negotiations on this part have so far yielded no results (as of mid-2017). In the legal literature, comparisons are made between the protection of traditional culture and moral rights , but a solution is not seen within the existing intellectual property law, but only, if at all, through a new type of sui generis law.
literature
- Alexander Hare McLintock : Haka . In: Alexander Hare McLintock (Ed.): An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand . Wellington 1966 (English, online and another 2 pages [accessed December 15, 2015]).
- Murdoch Riley : New Zealand's Maori ABC: History, Customs and Crafts . Ed .: Alexander Hare McLintock . Viking Sevenseas NZ Ltd. , 1995, ISBN 978-0-85467-098-7 (English).
- Susy Frankel: "Ka Mate Ka Mate" and the protection of traditional knowledge. In: Rochelle Cooper Dreyfuss, Jane C. Ginsburg (Ed.): Intellectual Property at the Edge . Cambridge University Press 2014, ISBN 978-1-107-03400-6 , pp. 193-214
Web links
- Haka . Paul Waite,accessed December 30, 2015.
- History-NZ.org: Te Rauparaha - great Māori warrior , Te Rauparaha and Ka Mate (English)
- New Zeland HAKA -vs- France - Rugby Word Cup , Metacafe, accessed October 31, 2012 (English) (Flash Player required)
- Haka - Historical background, illustrations and animations with texts on Haka dances - Tourism New Zealand, accessed on October 31, 2012 (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Maori Haka . nz-maori.com , archived from the original on December 26, 2012 ; accessed on September 9, 2019 (English, original website no longer available).
- ↑ a b McLintock : Haka . In: An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand . 1966.
- ↑ John Archer : Tika Tonu, Waimarama Putara . In: New Zealand Folk Song . John Archer , March 1, 2018, accessed April 4, 2018 .
- ↑ Calla Wahlquist: 'Remain resolute': Christchurch students' haka tribute has roots in earthquake. In: The Guardian. Guardian News and Media limited, March 19, 2019, accessed March 22, 2019 .
- ↑ Frankel 2014, p. 200
- ↑ Frankel 2014, p. 201
- ↑ Frankel 2014, p. 195
- ^ Spiegel online: German insurer causes trouble with Maori dance spot , May 10, 2017
- ↑ Frankel 2014, p. 201
- ↑ Frankel 2014, p. 202 footnote 31 with reference to Wi Parata v. Bishop of Wellington (1877) 3 NZ Jur (NS) SC 72
- ↑ Frankel 2014, p. 202
- ↑ Frankel 2014, p. 203
- ↑ Frankel 2014, p. 204 f.
- ↑ wipo.int: WIPO Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore
- ↑ Franke l2014, pp 205
- ↑ Silke von Lewinski: Comments on Susy Frankel: '"Ka Mate Ka Mate" and the protection of traditional knowledge' - an international perspective. In: Rochelle Cooper Dreyfuss, Jane C. Ginsburg (Ed.): Intellectual Property at the Edge . Cambridge University Press 2014, ISBN 978-1-107-03400-6 , pp. 215-224, 224