The Western Athletic Conference has basically banned the Haka. They haven’t come out & stated that, but last weekend’s assessing the Warriors as being guilty of ‘unsportsman-like behavior’ - before the game even started against Louisiana Tech - amounts to the same thing.The University of Hawaii Warriors didn’t even do the Haka on the field: it was performed in front of their locker area, facing a group of 200 of their supporters. Head Coach June Jones checked with the officiating crew prior to the start of the game as to what the ruling was on the Haka, and was told that as long as it wasn’t on-field, or facing the Louisiana Tech players then it would be fine. Coin tossed, the Bulldogs elected to receive, and the Warriors were immediately assessed the 15 yard penalty.
Jones stated - “The rule hasn’t changed since last year, and we were allowed to do it.” Which is entirely true. What’s happened is that there have been some complaints about it, and in what amounts to micro-management, the WAC have folded.
Dennis McKnight, who actually does the Haka with the players said, “It was never an intimidation thing. It’s a cultural thing for our fans and our players.”
All concerned need to do a little bit of homework:
1 - The NCAA & WAC need to get their heads out of their butts, and realize that the Haka isn’t intended disrespectfully towards anyone. Yes, it is intimidating… in a primal way, but that has more to do with the drama of it, and the performance of the team to follow. To state that it is ‘unsportsman-like’ is uneducated and incorrect.
2 - The University of Hawaii really need to get their OWN ceremony. The Haka is a ceremony from New Zealand. The haka the Warriors do is pretty much a copy of the ‘Kapa o Panga’ of the New Zealand All Blacks - which was first performed in August 2005, and designed with them in mind. Surely there are war dances native to Hawaii that would be more appropriate on a cultural level.
Other island nations of Polynesian descent perform war dances prior to sporting events - Samoa, Tonga & Fiji all have impressive dances, and all stem from their own culture.
Respectfully, Mr McKnight - it’s not a ‘cultural thing’. The Haka the Warriors perform comes from Maori culture - not Hawaiian.
Haka of the University of Hawaii Warriors
The Kapa o Panga of the All Blacks
The Haka (and like ceremonies) are definitely a good thing for sports… especially the teams performing them. They are exciting, and get the adrenalin flowing. Still, they should reflect some sort of cultural identity – the Haka the University of Hawaii Warriors perform doesn’t. The Kapa o Panga reflects the identity of a tribe from an island nation some thousands of kilometers to the south.
NCAA/WAC – the University of Hawaii should be able to perform a ceremony such as a Haka, but it should reflect their own culture… and not simply borrow from someone else’s.
The Haka (and like ceremonies) are definitely a good thing for sports… especially for the teams performing them. They are exciting, and get the adrenalin flowing. Still, they should reflect some sort of cultural identity - the Haka the University of Hawaii Warriors perform doesn’t. The Kapa o Panga reflects the identity of a tribe from an island nation some thousands of kilometers to the south.
NCAA/WAC - the University of Hawaii should be able to perform a ceremony such as a Haka, but it should reflect their own culture… and not simply borrow from someone else’s.
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Nice article: FYI - the Warriors are debuting a new “Hawaiian War Chant” this season, possibly at the UNLV football game.
Also, here’s a link to video of how Hawaii came to do the HAKA:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDrKPwBIjNo&mode=related&search=
Sounds like the penalty was BS - I remember noticing the score last week and Hawaii having trouble with L.Tech before they pulled out a 1 pt OT victory. Maybe the Haka Gods were smiling for them that day ;~)
They should be allowed to use it as pre game prep on the field in place of regular prep, if they want. They should push it and do it before every game, though.
Makes me wonder if this subject eventually makes it on the PTI menu.
This is dope. That is the first time I have ever seen that. They should do something like that in the NBA but they should do it after every bucket is scored. I’m sure that wouldn’t get annoying at all.
Liston
Good post. My high school track team had a similar pre-game ritual–well, there was less screaming and dancing, but it got the crowd fired up and left opponents intimidated and wide-eyed. I’m convinced we’d have won 50% fewer meets if some school had whined their way to the state authorities.
I absolutely love the Kapa o Panga, it’s too bad the All Blacks have (to my knowledge) just used it that once though. Although I imagine they’ll bring it back out next test versus Italia.
Well stated article though, the Haka is an amazing, century old piece and while I enjoyed the fact that Hawaii was using it, I had the same awful feeling as you when they begin last year, not many Maori out that way.
Actually… the ABs often use the Kapa o Pango - both times against Australia in the Tri-Nations/Bledisloe this year (if memory serves)…
Forgive my ignorance then, did they include the throat slitting gesture at the end of both? For some reason I don’t recall that.
The first time I saw the haka from another country I felt an amazing sense of pride that I hadn’t ever really experienced whilst living in NZ.
Maybe I’m too traditinal or maybe I haven’t been living in New zealand for a little too long, but I saw kapa o panga for the frist time in a IRB game last week and was outraged . . some things are just tradition, there is a sense of pride behind the Ka Mate that kapa o panga simply does not have. Sad really . . and I love the All Blacks, just this is such a disappointing change. Living in the US I don’t get to see all that much Rugby that they play so it’s a treat at the moment . . if only they would stick to ka Mate!!!
Agreed on that. Kapa o Pango simply… lacks.
The Ka Mate has an aeon of tradition behind it - I’m always much more impressed when the ABs line up, and begin that rather than the Kapa.
Well ok the result for the World Cup was so not what the All Black’s are destined for, but unfortunately they just can’t seem to get this one Cup in the cabinet.
I know how disappointed and most likely stunned they were to lose yesterday, but seriously a little humility seems to come their way when they take it for granted that they are going to win.
Fiji showed the world how to lose gracefully today. They thanked everyone, including France for hosting and took the time to honor their supporters in the crowd rather than running off the field and hiding.
Admittedly Fiji had nothing to be ashamed of today, they played their best today and gave it their all . . but still, the Wallabies shooing cameras, the All Black’s running off the field . . come on guys, you want to be the best in the world, act like it on and off the field. 25,000 supporters in the crowd to cheer you on, and you run off the field - would it have been so hard to acknowledge the fans who were’t paid to be there, who in fact paid a lot of money to suuport their country? It’s only human to be disapppointed especially when the All Blacks can playso much better that the display we got yesterday . . but still, anything to acknowledge the supporters in the crowd who keep coming back, hoping that this year will be the year for the Kiwi’s would have been better than running off the field. At least that’s what I saw internationally from the US on the live feed. Maybe we didnt’ see all, but what we saw was an embarassing display.
Hopefully 2011 will bring the team the Cup at long last after all these years. . .
Wow check me out, wrong forum . . oops
FYI–there may be some players that came from New Zealand. plus basically the whole mission for Jones was to bring more players from the islands (including ALL Pacific isles) into UH. New Zealand is one of the anchors of the Polynesian triangle. ALSO for a fact Hawaii is a melting pot with a blending of cultures, not only Hawaiian, Polynesian, Micronesian, Asian, American, Mexican, and on and on. The set “culture” is just local style where everyone is family or everything is blended. but in another perspective, all the polynesian cultures are all linked together, heck some of the early Hawaiians might have even come from New Zealand, who knows take Pacific Islands 101.
Ummm… nope. No players on the UH roster are from New Zealand.
The ‘Haka’ is a maori cultural activity, not a ‘polynesian’ thing. Period. Making excuses for why UH do the haka is simply an apologist argument.