The other night we went for a swim at the community pool and witnessed 2 swim teams perform the Haka before their swim meet.
The Haka is the traditional Maori dance that includes shouting, postures, and facial expressions and is performed by a group. The All Blacks, the New Zealand rugby team, has popularized the Haka through their performances before a match. However, the team's war Haka is only one version of Haka among many, and not all Haka are exclusively war dances or only performed by men.
Here is a video of the All Blacks performing the Haka before a match against England in 2004. It also has translations of the song's words.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdMCAV6Yd0Y
Every time I see the Haka performed I get goosebumps. It's such an intense, passionate dance that rattles me to the core. It's quite intimidating!
However, the skinny, white, teenage swimmers performing the Haka on the pool deck were a different story.
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