Tag Archives: Haka

Ten Things to Keep in Mind Before Visiting NZ

Ten Things to Keep in Mind Before Visiting NZ

To prepare those interested in a trip to Aotearoa, The Jerusalem Post polled their “Nomad community for advice on what they would tell someone visiting the country for the first time”, and this included…

What the Haka Means and How It’s Performed

What the Haka Means and How It’s Performed

It’s what representing their country is all about – walking out in New Zealand’s All Blacks jersey, facing their opposition, and delivering a spine-tingling, hair-raising haka before the whistle blows for kick-off. George Ramsay…

Ten Must See Places in Auckland

Ten Must See Places in Auckland

Most travellers coming to New Zealand arrive in Auckland – New Zealand’s largest city with a population of 1.5 million.  Auckland lies between two oceans – the Pacific Ocean and the Tasman Sea –…

All Blacks vs. Wales Haka

All Blacks vs. Wales Haka

Watch the All Blacks’ first haka of the 2016 season in their match against Wales at Eden Park on Saturday June 11. The haka was led by Aaron Smith. The…

Kahurangi ki Maungawhau – Haka “Te Tira Haere”

Kahurangi ki Maungawhau – Haka “Te Tira Haere”

Watch an amazing haka by Auckland Girls Grammar as they perform their haka in peruperu and taparahi styles. “Tāne mā tukua te whiri mā ngā wāhine e whakawā i…

Under-15 Cricket Team Breaks with Tradition

Under-15 Cricket Team Breaks with Tradition

Wakatipu High School Uunder-15 cricket team impressed locals at January’s Western New South Wales Cricket Carnival, wowing locals in the small rural township of Molong with their haka. Molong’s picturesque pitch, with its white picket…

New Zealand Bids Farewell to Jonah Lomu

New Zealand Bids Farewell to Jonah Lomu

“Thousands of New Zealanders have visited Eden Park to honour the memory of legendary All Blacks winger Jonah Lomu at a public memorial service hosted at the hallowed Auckland rugby venue”, writes Rory Keane…

Jonah Lomu’s Former Teammates Perform Haka

Jonah Lomu’s Former Teammates Perform Haka

A final and emotional haka was performed by Jonah Lomu’s former teammates to farewell their friend and a great rugby player.

Auckland Schoolboys Perform Powerful Haka in Honour of Jonah Lomu

Auckland Schoolboys Perform Powerful Haka in Honour of Jonah Lomu

Students from Wesley College in South Auckland have performed an incredible haka outside the college in honour of former student Jonah Lomu, who passed away on November 18. According to Fox Sports it could be…

Wesley College Perform Haka in Honour of Jonah Lomu

Wesley College Perform Haka in Honour of Jonah Lomu

Wesley College perform an emotional Haka in honour of their most loved All Black, Jonah Lomu who passed away on November 18, 2015 after winning the Rugby World Cup….

The All Blacks Perform World Cup Winning Haka

The All Blacks Perform World Cup Winning Haka

Watch the All Blacks as they perform their breath-taking and awe-inspiring Haka following their Rugby World Cup trophy presentation.

Can New Zealand fans recite the Haka?

Can New Zealand fans recite the Haka?

What do All Blacks fans know about this much loved cultural challenge (war dance)? And how much does it mean to them? Find out if they know the lyrics…

How to Defend Against the Haka

How to Defend Against the Haka

“Watching 23 burly New Zealanders perform the iconic dance before kickoff is one of rugby’s unwritten rules. The All Blacks, the greatest team ever to play the game, have earned that right over a…

Haka All Blacks New Zealand vs France – Rugby World Cup

Haka All Blacks New Zealand vs France – Rugby World Cup

Watch the All blacks as they do their ferocious Haka in front of the French rugby team during the Rugby World Cup 2015. The Rugby World Cup is a…

Haka Flash Mob by Jonah Lomu for Rugby World Cup 2015

Haka Flash Mob by Jonah Lomu for Rugby World Cup 2015

Watch the rugby legend Jonah Lomu at the Covent Garden as he and the Ngāti Rānana London Māori Club and participants deliver a priceless surprise to the people of…

NZ Student Rugby Team Performs Haka at Fast Food Restaurant in Ireland

NZ Student Rugby Team Performs Haka at Fast Food Restaurant in Ireland

A New Zealand student rugby team from Wairoa College Rugby Academy has performed a haka at a Supermacs at a service station in Ireland. The video that was filmed by customers of the restaurant was…

New Zealand’s Haka – “the World’s Most Perfect Act of Nationalism”

New Zealand’s Haka – “the World’s Most Perfect Act of Nationalism”

The New Zealand haka – “a traditional Maori dance, a sequence of foot-stomping, tongue-wagging and violent gesticulation, accompanied by deep, rhythmic chanting “is an intimidating sight for any opponent”, writes Ishaan Tharoor for The…

Richie McCaw in The Game Starts Here

Richie McCaw in The Game Starts Here

Watch a beautifully filmed ad for Beats by Dre featuring Richie McCaw in ‘We Belong Here’. The film also features a never heard before Haka written exclusively for Dre…

New Plymouth Boys High Scool Haka

New Plymouth Boys High Scool Haka

Hundreds of New Plymouth Boys High School students recently banded together to perform the famous haka war dance that would send chills down the spine of the most hardened…

The Evolution of the New Zealand All Blacks Haka

The Evolution of the New Zealand All Blacks Haka

Watch this video by Rugby Today to see how the New Zealand All Blacks haka has changed over the years – from 1922 until today.  

Dance Connects with Locals – the New Zealand Haka

Dance Connects with Locals – the New Zealand Haka

After a Vienna waltz class in 2013 and dancing with Cretans in a “giant spinning circle of locked arms”, Christine Negroni travelled to India, Ethiopia and New Zealand to connect with locals through dance. Her…

How New Zealand Nearly Ditched the Haka

How New Zealand Nearly Ditched the Haka

An exclusive Telegraph report reveals that in 2004 many All Blacks felt the haka was no longer appropriate, and how management and senior players ensured it was maintained. The choreography itself was not a problem;…

USA Today: Breaking Down the All Blacks Haka

USA Today: Breaking Down the All Blacks Haka

USA Today has provided insight into the Haka, which has become a familiar rite to anyone who has watched a New Zealand team play in international sporting events. The Haka, drew headlines this summer as…

Team USA Very Confused by New Zealand Haka Dance

Team USA Very Confused by New Zealand Haka Dance

Take a look as the US basketball team feel somewhat confused as the Tall Blacks perform the Haka at the FIBA Basketball World Cup. The FIBA Basketball World Cup…

Maori Haka and Weapons

Maori Haka and Weapons

Watch this video of a passionate Haka inspired by tradition. Produced by Tu Ake, a designer company which combines maori traditions with todays trends to create unique range of…

Fight Night Auckland: HAKA Welcome Ceremony

Fight Night Auckland: HAKA Welcome Ceremony

Fames Te Huna, Soa Palelei and Jared Rosholt talk about the Haka welcome they received upon arriving to New Zealand for Fight Night Auckland. The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)…

Flash Haka Sylvia Park

Flash Haka Sylvia Park

People are surprised when a sudden flash Haka breaks out at Auckland’s Sylvia Park. Sylvia Park is a large business park and shopping centre in the Auckland, New…

All Blacks Celebrate Hong Kong Sevens Title with Haka in Thunderstorm

All Blacks Celebrate Hong Kong Sevens Title with Haka in Thunderstorm

After knocking England out of the Hong Kong Sevens with an impressive 26-7 score line, the All Blacks Sevens stripped off their shirts and performed a poignant haka in the pouring rain, which…

New Zealand Army Band

New Zealand Army Band

The New Zealand Army Band steals the show at the 2013 Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo. Throw in some marching, music, a bit of haka and a dash of Gangnam…

Flash Mob Haka Surfers Paradise

Flash Mob Haka Surfers Paradise

Check out this flash mob haka in Surfers Paradise during the 2011 Rugby Union World Cup. As an added twist, a police officer walks, checking for any trouble, and…

All Blacks’ Haka Adidas Ad

All Blacks’ Haka Adidas Ad

Take a look at this beautifully created black and white Adidas commercial that was broadcasted in the UK in 1999. The All Blacks send shivers down your spine with…

Beyoncé Welcomed By Haka

Beyoncé Welcomed By Haka

After Beyoncé final show in New Zealand, Stan Walker and Kereama Te Uaa led a group of her New Zealand backstage crew in a…

Rugby World Cup Haka

Rugby World Cup Haka

Watch this fiercehaka in this promotional video for the Rugby World Cup 2011. The Haka is a traditional Maori dance from New Zealand and is performed by kiwi…

Tales From Te Papa – The Art of the Haka

Tales From Te Papa – The Art of the Haka

You’ve seen the All Blacks perform the Haka but have you ever seen it on canvas? Tales from Te Papa is a series of mini-documentaries showcasing the exciting and…

Flash Mob Haka Queen Street Mall, Brisbane

Flash Mob Haka Queen Street Mall, Brisbane

Watch as 20 fearsome men break into a flash mob performing the Haka in front of an Australian audience at Brisbane’s Queen Street Mall.

Chiefs Haka – Super Rugby Final 2013

Chiefs Haka – Super Rugby Final 2013

Take a close-up look at the Chiefs performing the Haka after winning their second successive Super Rugby title after defeating the Brumbies 27-22 in a thrilling contest at Waikato…

Chiefs Take Home Super 15 Title in Final Seven Minute Blitz

Chiefs Take Home Super 15 Title in Final Seven Minute Blitz

The Waikato Chiefs spectacular 27 -22 win over the ACT Brumbies on the weekend’s Super 15 final have some calling the team a ‘southern hemisphere powerhouse’. The team grabbed 15 points in the space of…

SkyWalk – Flash Mob Haka

SkyWalk – Flash Mob Haka

A flash mob group performs a haka high above Auckland City at the top of the Sky Tower to show support for the All Blacks during the 2011 Rugby…

Tiny Troop of Toddlers Performs the Cutest Haka Ever

Tiny Troop of Toddlers Performs the Cutest Haka Ever

Six Ngati Toa children with an average age of two, from Porirua’s Bronwyn’s Place Daycare, have performed what news outlets are calling “the cutest Haka ever”. “It is one of the most awesome sights…

All Blacks Haka at Parliament

All Blacks Haka at Parliament

The All Blacks celebrate their Rugby World Cup win with a Haka on the steps of Parliament.

American Underdogs Join In

American Underdogs Join In

“With the zest notable to rugby players on and off the field, the Americans are delighted to be heading to the home of the All Blacks, with their Maori in-your-face war dance, the Haka,”…

Century-Old Tradition To Go On

Century-Old Tradition To Go On

The All Blacks may continue to perform the haka at international matches after coming to an agreement with the tribe that created it, Ngati Toa Rangatira. There had been fears their chanting days were…

Intimidation Tactics

Intimidation Tactics

Ahead of the 21 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, the All Whites are included in a Vanity Fair article about the 32 participating teams. The author apologises for “an earlier version of …

Haka and the Birds

Haka and the Birds

The origins of New Zealand’s Ka Mate haka are traced and birds discovered by the Telegraph’s Sue Attwood who travels to Kapiti Island, the composer Te Rauparaha’s stronghold in the mid-1800s. Hunted by a rival tribe,…

Ready for Battle

Ready for Battle

New Zealand’s national softball team, The Black Sox, feature in the ‘Freeze Frame’ segment of ShortList magazine, performing the haka prior to their game against Denmark at last month’s World Men’s Softball Championship in…

Flattery Gets you Places

Flattery Gets you Places

“Undoubtedly when God created the world He made two Edens. New Zealand is the second one,” writes Betty McCoy for Alabama newspaper The Gadsden Times, describing the country as “a pristine landscape drenched…

Whiti te ra

Whiti te ra

The ‘Ka Mate’ haka has been officially designated the intellectual property of Ngati Toa in a compensation agreement signed in Wellington. Ngati Toa was compensated for its decades of use by the All Blacks,…

Gains from history

Gains from history

A Maori welcome onto a marae for visitors, a walking tour with Footprints Waipoua and the All Black performance of the haka are all examples of Maori reclaiming their heritage and promoting their culture…

2008 Rugby League World Cup Haka

2008 Rugby League World Cup Haka

Take a look at the Haka from the 2008 Rugby League World Cup final.

Te Rauparaha’s War Cry

Te Rauparaha’s War Cry

The all-Maori team first performed a haka against Surrey in Richmond in 1888 where they, according to theIllustrated London News, “cavorted about in ostrich-feather capes and tassell’d caps in a device of novelty and…

Haka Faux Pas #46

Haka Faux Pas #46

The haka continues to be flavour of the month in international marketing circles. This time, an English women’s rugby team has caused controversy by including an image of a topless haka in their fundraising calendar. Canterbury Women’s…

All Blacks Depart Europe Undefeated

All Blacks Depart Europe Undefeated

The All Blacks completed their European end-of-year tour with a comprehensive victory at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, overcoming the Welsh 45-10. The result, means that the All Blacks finish the 2006 season with 13…

Ka Mate Ka Mate gets an American Accent

Ka Mate Ka Mate gets an American Accent

An American accent American College football team, the Brigham Young University Cougars have adopted their version of the haka Ka mate Ka mate. Lead by American-born Maori Bryce Mahuika, Utah’s Cougars have adopted the practice…

“It’s All About That Fern”

“It’s All About That Fern”

The Cinderalla New Zealand Tall Black’s sensational hoop dreams soared as they hustled and impressed their way into the semi finals of World Championships (Indianapolis). Sports Illustrated calls them the ‘thunder from

Haka Mancunian Style

Haka Mancunian Style

New Zealand athletes received a special welcome on their arrival at the Commonwealth Games in Manchester. After getting the green light from the Maori Minister of Education, students from Tarvin Primary School (Cheshire) performed an enthusiastic haka…

Doubtful Honour

Doubtful Honour

Big Norm Hewitt’s in-yer-face  rendition of the All Black haka and English hooker Richard ‘Cocky’ Cockerill’s gracious eyeball-to-eyeball acceptance makes the Guardian’s list of the “top-ten sporting feuds”.