South Africa won, but the All Blacks had the Haka…

South African rugby team won on Sunday 20 October the Rugby World Cup 2007 in France. Twenty teams took part in the competition, but only one is world-famous, even for people who know nothing about rugby. The New-Zealand team, ‘the All Blacks', are widely known for their Haka, a traditional dance form of the Maori, a tribe in New-Zealand. The Haka was performed not only by men, but also by women and children. Moreover, it was not only (against popular belief) war dances but it was performed for various reasons : entertainment, tribute to great occasions and so on. If you ask the Maori people which Haka is the genuine one, they will say that there are plenty of those dances, according to the region, tribe and purpose. Nevertheless, they will add that there is one way of dancing that is the most popular in the world, this performed by the All Blacks. It consists of showing the whites of your eyes, your tongue and of slapping your hands against various parts of your body while chanting a sort of poem in the Maori language. The various parts of the body, including the hands, arms, legs, feet, voice, eyes and tongue, express certain feelings such as courage and strength. Actually, two forms of Haka are performed by the All Blacks, they are called the ‘Ka Mate' and the ‘Kapa O Pango'. The former is the most performed and famous of both.
On Youtube, you can see the Haka (Ka Mate) dance performed by gingerbreads.



A little more serious and also useful to learn a little bit about the Maori culture and Haka, there is a little excerpt of 5 minutes which is in fact a documentary on the All Black team and their Haka.



The Rugby World Cup 2007 had also its official song, which is a tribute to the New-Zealand dance... The lyrics are in the Maori language, the English translation is available on internet...



Now that you know more about Haka, you can watch rugby games and maybe perform the Haka with your friends...