Haka (sports)

Haka (sports)

The Haka is a traditional Maori war dance from New Zealand. There are thousands of Haka that are performed by various tribes and cultural groups throughout New Zealand. The best known Haka of them all is called "Ka Mate". It has been performed by countless New Zealand teams both locally and internationally. It is normally performed immediately prior to the event that is to take place: e.g. sports matches, conferences, VIP functions, hui, etc

It was adopted by the New Zealand national rugby union team and has been performed by this team at every local and international match since 1905. Over the years they have most commonly performed the haka "Ka Mate". In the early decades of international rugby, they sometimes performed other haka, some of which were composed for specific tours. Since 2005 they have occasionally performed a new haka, "Kapa o Pango". The performance of the haka has been called "the greatest ritual in world sport."

The haka performed against England on December 1st 2012 when the All Blacks aimed to extend their unbeaten run of 20 matches began 'E nga maramara'.
The haka originated in New Zealand but the year is still unknown, it was made global in 1900 when it was first performed by the New Zealand rugby team during the pre-game. Haka are also performed by some other New Zealand national teams, such as the Kiwis (rugby league), the Tall Blacks (men's basketball), the Ice Blacks (men's ice hockey) and Lacrosse team – as well as some non-New Zealand sports teams.