14 October 2007

Maori Wardance - the HAKA

While in Vietnam Maire reports that:

European sports are *very* popular here and so broadcast on tv. Marty's already watched part of a English Premiere League football (i.e. soccer) match, and a France vs. New Zealand rugby match. Did you know that New Zealand's team have a black uniform, and so are nicknamed the "all-blacks," or that they start every game with a Mauri war dance in order to intimidate their opponents? I didn't; I do now. For the record, despite the scary dancing, France won today.


That sounded a little odd so we did a You Tube search and found this clip of the All Blacks doing their haka war dance. It's very scary.

Carmen once spent a month in New Zealand and told me what handsome people the Maori are, so I searched a bit more and found real Maori's doing a real haka. Also very scary. In fact they look a bit like Samurai after downing a quart of testosterone.

Then I discovered the scariest haka war dance of them all. So scary that I can only warn you to think carefully before you click on this link. I've never seen anything like it and I once sat through Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ" with a teenage boy and didn't flinch.

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5 Comments:

At 15 October, 2007 04:31, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Ok, in order from those I'd least like to meet on the battlefield to those I could so take:

1. the All-blacks
2. the Maori women
3. the gingerbread men
4. the Maori men (at least the one in the front center who kept smiling)

 
At 16 October, 2007 09:44, Blogger Clemens said...

There is also a You Tube of the Scots Gaelic response to the Haka but my customary good taste prevented me from showing it.

It might make you list.

 
At 24 October, 2007 16:44, Blogger Elliot said...

Have you seen Whale Rider?

 
At 25 October, 2007 20:39, Blogger Clemens said...

Yes - or rather parts of it. Carmen watched it one night and I drifted in and out of the TV room while I tried to work on something. It was interesting. The young star was excellent. I saw an interview with her after it was over. She seemed to think acting was easy - they asked her for an emotion and she gave it to them. If they asked her to do it again, she did it again. No 'method' no 'getting in the mood' or anything else. She just did what the director asked.

 
At 23 September, 2008 09:46, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I looked at all of these and found a link on the last one to a clip called "Bunnies around the world - Haka". It has the "All Blacks" in it, and I think you should add it to your list of "really cool" Haka videos.

 

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