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Haka refers to any form of Maori dance, not specifically the one done before the rugby. That one is a challenge, specifically: and it's supposed to be really bad form for the other team to swagger over and try and do the hard man one, I believe.
There's a brief writeup here, but of which the following was most striking:
The word haka is made up two parts: ha-ka.
Ha = Breath Ka = To ignite, to energise
Ha-ka can mean "to ignite the breath". The haka is simply a way to ignite the breath, energise the body and inspire the spirit. We can see that the root meaning of the word haka is associated with the breath in a similar way the word spirit derives from the Latin word spiritus meaning breath or air. This leads to such words as inspiration or expiration!
These same meanings are similar to the words of the All Black haka.
Ka mate Tis death
Ka mate Tis death
Ka ora Tis life
Ka ora Tis life
They offer an ebook for download here.
The thing sounds to me like a particular sort of "as above, so below" kind of thing, y'know? All things are equal. Interesting.
There is a dance called the Raka Raka, though. |
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