in the Pacific, everyone has their own haka

“He will die, he will die!” Live, live! » This warrior song – “It’s death, it’s death!” This is life this is life ” – will resonate within the Toulouse Stadium on Friday September 15. Spectators of the Rugby World Cup match between New Zealand and Namibia (at 9 p.m., live on TF1) will have the privilege of seeing the All Blacks perform the haka, as the players from the Antipodes do before the kick-off of each international meeting.

It is an intense moment of collective union to challenge the adversary. Legs bent and arms in the air, hands hitting the thighs and chest, proud looks and clenched jaws, the choreography is traditionally led by a rugby player of Maori origin, the indigenous people of the archipelago. This war dance was originally used to prepare the Maori for combat. THE It will die was composed by the warrior chief Te Rauparaha, around 1820.

Two versions of the New Zealand haka

Another version has existed since 2005: the Team Black, specially created for the All Blacks. Used more rarely, this version has sparked controversy. The players in fact make a final gesture which has been perceived as a way of miming a throat slitting, with the thumb passing under the throat. For New Zealanders, it actually represents the search for life energy.

The haka has not always systematically preceded the New Zealanders’ matches. It was initially reserved for away matches and his performance did not have the perfectly oiled and extremely spectacular quality that the public can appreciate today. It was really from the 1980s that this dance took on its current appearance in rugby stadiums. Each member of the New Zealand selection must know the lyrics of the song in the Maori language and the virulent gestures that accompany it.

The haka is not reserved for the national team, nor for sporting events. New Zealand high school students engage in the same exercise before school matches. It also happens that the haka is performed at funerals, as was the case for the death of Jonah Lomu, the star winger who died in 2015.

Arriving in France for the World Cup in August, the All Blacks also performed the haka in the Longueval military cemetery, in the Somme, in tribute to their elders who fell during the First World War. The New Zealand women’s rugby team, the Black Ferns, also do the haka before their matches. Rugby league fans do the same.

Samoan, Fijian and Tongan hakas

National teams representing other Pacific Islands at the Rugby World Cup have their own haka. That of Samoa, which plays Saturday against Chile, is called the War dance. For Tonga, opposed to Ireland on the same day, it is the Jeep charges. As for Fiji, which meets Australia on Sunday, they deploy the Foods or Tei vovo. And in the event of a confrontation between these teams, spectators are entitled to a double dose of haka.

The beginning of the #RWC2011 It was totally EPIC with Tonga’s Sipi Tau and the All Blacks’ Haka. ????????????????

The Men in Black won 41-10 at Auckland’s Eden Park. ????#RWCxESPNEnStarPluspic.twitter.com/55OXVSgtbO

— ScrumRugby (@ScrumESPN) September 7, 2023

The words and dances are different, but the spirit remains the same: to symbolically challenge adversaries. Which are supposed to respect the island tradition. And keep your distance, under penalty of a fine, as happened to the English in the semi-final of the World Cup in 2019. The English Federation had to pay €2,300 because some of its players had crossed the center line of the field during the haka.

French responses to the haka

The French have also distinguished themselves in the art of challenging the New Zealanders. In 2007, dressed in blue, white and red t-shirts to represent a tricolor flag, they advanced until they were almost eye to eye with the All Blacks. In 2011, in the final, the Blues formed a « V » for victory on the pitch and, once again, marched towards their rivals. This did not prevent them from losing by one point (8-7).