Ka Mate
Encyclopedia
Haka
Haka is a traditional ancestral war cry, dance or challenge from the Māori people of New Zealand. It is a posture dance performed by a group, with vigorous movements and stamping of the feet with rhythmically shouted accompaniment...
composed by Te Rauparaha
Te Rauparaha
Te Rauparaha was a Māori rangatira and war leader of the Ngāti Toa tribe who took a leading part in the Musket Wars. He was influential in the original sale of conquered Rangitane land to the New Zealand Company and was a participant in the Wairau Incident in Marlborough...
, war leader of the Ngāti Toa
Ngati Toa
Ngāti Toa , an iwi , traces its descent from the eponymous ancestor Toarangatira. The Ngāti Toa region extends from Miria-te-kakara at Rangitikei to Wellington, and across Cook Strait to Wairau and Nelson....
tribe of the North Island
North Island
The North Island is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the much less populous South Island by Cook Strait. The island is in area, making it the world's 14th-largest island...
of New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
.
The creation and composition of Ka Mate
Te Rauparaha composed Ka Mate circa 1820 as a celebration of life over death after his lucky escape from pursuing Ngati ManiapotoNgati Maniapoto
Ngāti Maniapoto is an iwi based in the Waikato-Waitomo region of New Zealand's North Island. It is part of the Tainui confederation, the members of which trace their whakapapa back to people who arrived in New Zealand on the waka Tainui...
and Waikato
Tainui
Tainui is a tribal waka confederation of New Zealand Māori iwi. The Tainui confederation comprises four principal related Māori iwi of the central North Island of New Zealand: Hauraki, Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāti Raukawa and Waikato...
enemies. He had hidden from them in a food-storage pit, and climbed back into the light to be met by a chief friendly to him - Te Whareangi (the "hairy man").
The haka as composed by Te Rauparaha begins with a chant:
- Kikiki kakaka kauana!
- Kei waniwania taku tara
- Kei tarawahia, kei te rua i te kerokero!
- He pounga rahui te uira ka rarapa;
- Ketekete kau ana to peru kairiri
- Mau au e koro e – Hi! Ha!
- Ka wehi au ka matakana,
- Ko wai te tangata kia rere ure?
- Tirohanga ngā rua rerarera
- Ngā rua kuri kakanui i raro! Aha ha!
Then follows the main body of the haka:
| Ka mate, ka mate! ka ora! ka ora! Ka mate! ka mate! ka ora! ka ora! Tēnei te tangata pūhuruhuru Nāna nei i tiki mai whakawhiti te rā Ā, upane! ka upane! Ā, upane, ka upane, whiti te ra! |
’Tis death! ‘tis death! (or: I may die) ’Tis life! ‘tis life! (or: I may live) ’Tis death! ‘tis death! ’Tis life! ‘tis life! This is the hairy man Who brought the sun and caused it to shine A step upward, another step upward! A step upward, another... the Sun shines! |
Ka Mate and rugby
Ka Mate is the most widely known haka in New Zealand and elsewhere because it has traditionally been performed by the All BlacksAll Blacks
The New Zealand men's national rugby union team, known as the All Blacks, represent New Zealand in what is regarded as its national sport....
, New Zealand's international rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
team
Team
A team comprises a group of people or animals linked in a common purpose. Teams are especially appropriate for conducting tasks that are high in complexity and have many interdependent subtasks.A group in itself does not necessarily constitute a team...
, as well as the Kiwis, New Zealand's international rugby league
Rugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
team, immediately prior to test (international) matches. Since 2005 the All Blacks have occasionally performed another haka, "Kapa o Pango".
Ownership of Ka Mate
Between 1998 and 2006, Ngati ToaNgati Toa
Ngāti Toa , an iwi , traces its descent from the eponymous ancestor Toarangatira. The Ngāti Toa region extends from Miria-te-kakara at Rangitikei to Wellington, and across Cook Strait to Wairau and Nelson....
attempted to trademark Ka Mate to prevent its use by commercial organisations without their permission
- but in 2006 the Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand
Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand
The Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand is a New Zealand government agency responsible for the granting and registration of intellectual property rights, specifically patent, trade mark, design and plant variety rights. It is part of the Ministry of Economic Development...
turned their claim down on the grounds that Ka Mate had achieved wide recognition in New Zealand and abroad as representing New Zealand as a whole and not a particular trader.In March 2011 The NZ Rugby Union came to an amicable agreement with the iwi not to bring the mana
Mana
Mana is an indigenous Pacific islander concept of an impersonal force or quality that resides in people, animals, and inanimate objects. The word is a cognate in many Oceanic languages, including Melanesian, Polynesian, and Micronesian....
of the haka into disrepute.
In 2009, as a part of a wider settlement of grievences, the New Zealand government agreed to:
- "...record the authorship and significance of the haka Ka Mate to Ngāti Toa and ... work with Ngāti Toa to address their concerns with the haka... [but] does not expect that redress will result in royalties for the use of Ka Mate or provide Ngāti Toa with a veto on the performance of Ka Mate...".
See also
- HakaHakaHaka is a traditional ancestral war cry, dance or challenge from the Māori people of New Zealand. It is a posture dance performed by a group, with vigorous movements and stamping of the feet with rhythmically shouted accompaniment...
- Haka of the All BlacksHaka of the All BlacksThe 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...
- Haka in popular cultureHaka in popular cultureThe haka is a traditional Māori dance form. The use of haka in popular culture is a growing phenomenon, originally from New Zealand. Traditionally, haka were used only in Māori cultural contexts, but today haka are used in a wide range of public occasions to impart a sense of importance of the...
- Kapa hakaKapa hakaThe term Kapa haka is commonly known in Aotearoa as 'Maori Performing Arts' or the 'cultural dance' of Maori people...
- Māori musicMaori musicTe Pūoro Māori or Māori Music is music composed or performed by Māori, the native people of New Zealand, and includes a wide variety of folk music styles, often integrated with poetry and dance, as well as modern rock and roll, soul, reggae and hip hop....
External links
- The story behind "Ka Mate" - includes a recording
- Another and different translation of Haka - tells the meaning behind the translation
- Ancient versions of Ka Mate - A comparative study of Ka Mate from ten different sources.