Ka Mate
The story of how Ka Mate, the All Black haka, came to be and
a little background on its association with the game of rugby.

The following contains a section explaining what 'haka' actually is and what it means, as well as the many different styles of haka. Focussing on Ka Mate, the haka performed by the All Blacks, there are a few paragraphs on its origin, a translation of the words, and a brief description of how it relates to rugby. Finally there is a bibliography for further reading and links to other maori-related websites.
 
 

He replied:

"Kia korero te katoa o te tinana." (The whole body should speak)

"The haka is a composition played by many instruments. Hands, feet, legs, body, voice, tongue, and eyes all play their part in blending together to convey in their fullness the challenge, welcome, exultation, defiance or contempt of the words."

"It is disciplined, yet emotional. More than any other aspect of Maori culture, this complex dance is an expression of the passion, vigour and identity of the race. It is at it's best, truly, a message of the soul expressed by words and posture.."

They should be shouted out in a ferocious and staccato manner, designed to instil strength and determination into the performers, such that they enact the haka with the power and force required.

Ringa pakia
Uma tiraha
Turi whatia
Hope whai ake
Waewae takahia kia kino

Slap the hands against the thighs
Puff out the chest
Bend the knees
Let the hip follow
Stamp the feet as hard as you can

These expressions are used at various times in the performance to lend meaning and force to the words. It is important to realise that the most exciting haka are not uniformly enacted, with all participants acting in time. The best haka involve a good deal of spontaneity and creativity as the performers interpret the words.
 
 

The peruperu is a style of haka for true war-dance. It involves weapons and is characterised by a high jump with legs folded under at the end.

Observers of the All Blacks will note that they perform this same jump, which is a point of irritation amongst haka purists. In fact the All Black rendition of Ka Mate may have undergone quite a few changes along the way to make it more impressive or appropriate to the game of rugby.
 
 

Te Rauparaha was High Chief of the Ngati Toa and held sway over lands from Porirua right up the Kapiti Coast to Levin or thereabouts, and also Kapiti Island.

"Ka mate! Ka mate!" were the words uttered by Te Rauparaha as he hid himself in a kumara pit from his pursuing enemies, the Ngati Tuwharetoa.

Fleeing for his life he came to Te Wharerangi and asked for his protection. Although reluctant, Te Wharerangi eventually agreed and bid him hide in a kumara pit. His wife, Te Rangikoaea sat over the entrance to it. There are two stories put forward as to why Te Rangikoaea sat over the entrance thus.

The first has it that no male of consequence would ever put himself in a position where he would be beneath the genital organs of a woman. Thus the hiding place would be discounted by the pursuers. Of course Te Rauparaha was willing to forego custom in order to survive.

The second tells that she sat there in order to have a neutralising effect on the incantations recited by the pursuing Chiefs; the female organs were believed to have a shielding effect.

As the pursuers arrived, Te Rauparaha muttered "Ka Mate! ka mate!" under his breath (I die! I die!), but when the Rotoaira chief indicated the man they sought had gone to Rangipo he murmured "Ka Ora! ka ora!" (I live! I live!). However when Tauteka doubted the words of Te Wharerangi he gloomily muttered "Ka mate! ka mate!" once again. Then, when his pursuers were convinced he was not in Te Wharerangi's pa, but had made for Taranaki he exclaimed "Ka ora, ka ora! Tenei te tangata puhuruhuru nana nei i tiki mai whakawhiti te ra!" (I live! I live! For this is the hairy man who has fetched the sun and caused it to shine again!).

The hairy man in the Haka refers to the chief Te Wharerangi who gave Te Raparaha protection despite his wish not to be involved. Te Wharerangi was a man of very noticeable hairy habit.

"Upane", literally means "terrace", and probably refers to the steps which were cut into the side of the pit for access to and from it. Each "upane" describes the tentative steps Te Raparaha made as he emerged from the pit to see if the coast was clear.

One could imagine his joy at not only eluding certain death by a whisker, but also coming out of the dark kumara pit into the light of the day - "Whiti te ra! Hi !"

Going on from the kumara pit to the court yard of Te Wharerangi, before Te Rangikoaea and the assembled people, Te Rauparaha then performed his famous haka, which he had composed whilst in hiding. The variation of this used by the All Blacks is given below, together with the translation. Note that the words have been split in some cases to indicate the cadence of the syllables as the haka is performed.
 
 

Listen to the All Blacks performing Ka Mate!

Some incidentals

• A kumara is a sweet potato - very nice with a roast! These were often harvested and stored in a pit to keep them dry.
• The 'wh' is pronounced as an 'f' or 'ph'.
• The 'e' on the end of a word is sounded as if the word ended in 'ay' as in 'hay'.
• The 'au' is pronounced as the 'ou' in 'hour'.
• The 'u's are all long like 'ou' in 'you'.
• The 'a's are all sounded long as in 'ah'.

The first use of the haka by the All Blacks was by the "Originals" in 1905 on the first overseas tour by a full-scale New Zealand representative side. It was also on this tour that the name 'All Blacks' was used. The two most distinctive features of the New Zealand team were thus instigated right from the very beginning. The haka became a permanent fixture for the All Blacks from then on.

An interesting little anecdote is told regarding the 1924 New Zealand team which became known as the famous "Invincibles", due to their winning every match on tour.

This team had as their most famous son, a young Maori boy called George Nepia. He it was who led the All Black haka, Ka Mate, in the first match against Devon on September 13th, 1924. The haka was enthusiastically received by the crowd of 18,000, who then watched the All Blacks win 11-0, but a "prominent university sportsman" who attended was moved to write a letter which appeared in the next day's paper. In it he asserted: "Cat-calls were quite uncalled-for", and added: "South Africans do not open their games with Zulu cries!". Obviously, this gentleman had never visited either country.

The words of Ka Mate, "The Haka" do not have direct relevance to rugby, and were composed for a particular reason as told above. In the case of the All Blacks the 'loose' translation of the haka challenge, I feel, could be written down thus..

"We are the All Blacks, of the New Zealand people."
"Here we are to face you."
"We will do you the honour of playing to the limits
"that our hearts and sinews impose upon us."
"We will be very hard to beat."

Whiti te ra! Hi!

A Note to Travellers

Bibliography

1. Timoti Karetu, Haka! The Dance of a Noble People, Reed, 1993 ISBN 0-7900-0290-6
2. Alan Armstrong, Maori Games and Haka, Reed, 1964.