December 7, 2006
The Haka and BYU Football
Written by: John
A recent article by Scout.com talks about the Haka being performed by members of the BYU football team before a game. I guess a number of people are upset that the “white boys” are participating in the Haka. I thought that Bryce Mahuika’s response rang true:
“I’ve never in my whole life heard that certain people can and cannot do the haka,” said BYU wide receiver Bryce Mahuika, who is the grandson of a Maori chief. “The All Blacks [New Zealand’s national rugby team] were the first to do it in a sports atmosphere. They’ve had all kinds of different people do it like white guys, poly guys such as Tongans and Samoans who aren’t even Maori. They have all kinds of different guys doing it, and they’ve always done it. If they are all doing it in New Zealand where the Maori culture is from, then why can’t everybody do it here?”
I’m surprised that this is an issue. However, no one should really think that the Haka being performed by American athletes was started by BYU. I went to Highland High School in Salt Lake City, Utah. Highland’s greatest sport (although it was only a club sport) is Rugby!! Highland High School’s rugby team is one of the greatest high school rugby teams in the world. That’s really saying something. I don’t have the numbers in front of me, but I think in a 14 year stretch they won 9 national championships.
One year the Rugby National Championship was held in Provo, Utah and I made the trek to see Highland High play for the Rugby National Championship. It was a great game and Highland High School won. After winning the whole Rugby team came over in front of the stands with shirts torn off and started doing the Haka. I’d never seen it before this, but it was impressive and fierce. I remember some of the white players hitting their chests so hard they turned a bright red. I later found out this was a tradition for the Highland High School Rugby team. I think it had a powerful effect on the team.
Granted, that was Rugby and the Haka was obviously taken from New Zealand’s All Blacks rugby team. However, I later lived in Hawaii for two years and became familiar with the Haka again. It was often performed at ward parties, scouting trips and other community activities. Just imagine all the little primary boys doing the Haka with their shirts off. It was awesome.
Even more close to home was my son being born while we were living in Hawaii. As many new babies do, he would cry and cry and cry. Of course all the crying would drive my wife and I nuts. I finally resorted to taking one of his toys and doing my form of the Haka to get him to be quiet. It worked. This would often lead to my wife asking me to do the Haka to quiet my son down.
Thinking of this reminded me of a picture my wife took of my son dressed as a sumo at about 6 months old. One day I hope he’s doing the Haka for BYU football:
That a baby!!
The Haka is definetly for everyone as long as we remember and understand where it comes from. Its important for us to understand the meaning of haka and proper actions and words before performing it. Otherwise there is no real reason to do it other than personal and social gain. Majority of people who perform the Haka “Ka mate” have little or no understanding of its meaning nor where it derived from. The Ka mate haka which is performed today is only a small bit of the whole “Ka mate” which was composed by Te Rauparaha chief of Nagti Toa back in the 1800′s. The Haka is a important part of our maori culture and should not be used in the wrong context. There is a time and a place for it and those who have truely felt the wairua understand and respect it for those reasons.