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Taking a look at the different types of haka. Billy Stickland/INPHO

What are the different types of haka?

There was controversy over the choice of haka in the first Test against Ireland but what do the hakas mean?

THE HAKA RITUAL has become one of the most celebrated characteristics of the All Blacks. It’s believed to be a generic term for all Maori dance and outside of the realm of sport, the haka is performed at a range of events including weddings, family occasions and other significant celebrations.

The different variations allow the performers to demonstrate their national pride by acting out different gestures while chanting the lyrics in their native tongue.

When it comes to the All Blacks haka, you’ll see one player from the team stepping forward to announce the beginning of the dance with a loud battle cry. They then move through the group and conduct the movements. Scrum-half Aaron Smith has often executed this role while All Blacks legend Tana Umaga directed the haka in earlier years.

New Zealand Ireland Rugby Former All Black Craig Dowd condemned the choice of haka for the Ireland game. Kamil Krzaczynski Kamil Krzaczynski

After Ireland’s historic win over the All Blacks in Chicago, former New Zealand prop Craig Dowd accused his national side of acting out a ‘disrespectful’ haka. The version he was referring to was the Kapa O Pango, which he categorised as a more “aggressive” form of haka, and therefore not the right choice, given the recent death of Anthony Foley.

The second encounter between Ireland and New Zealand takes place tomorrow and the haka selection for that fixture remains a mystery. In the meantime, here’s a run down of some of the existing hakas out there.

Ka Mate

This haka dance stretches back to the early 1800s and refers to a time of war and tribal conflict. It’s the original haka pre-match ritual that the rest of the world has been exposed to and has been associated with New Zealand rugby since as early as 1888.

The original All Blacks began using it in 1905 and it was normally restricted to games outside the country until the 1980s when Wayne “Buck” Shelford and Hika Reid requested that the dance be performed before home games as well.

This form of haka is often seen at funeral ceremonies, which is why Craig Dowd argues that it would have been the more fitting selection for the first Test against Ireland.

The lyrics and gestures of the chant are:

Ringa pakia
(Slap the hands against the thighs)
Uma tiraha
(Puff out the chest)
Turi whatia
(Bend the knees)
Hope whai ake
(Let the hip follow)
Waewae takahia kia kino
(Stamp the feet as hard as you can)
Ka mate! Ka mate!
(It is death!, It is death!)
Ka ora! Ka ora!
(It is life!, It is life!)
Ka mate! Ka mate!
(It is death! It is death!)
Ka ora! Ka ora!
(It is life! It is life!)
Tenei Te Tangata Puhuru huru
(This is the hairy man)
Nana nei tiki mai 
(Who fetched the sun)
Whakawhiti te ra
(And caused to shine again)
A upa ne ka up ane
(One upward step, another upward step)
Upane, Kaupane
(An upward step)
Whiti te ra
(The sun shines!)

Kapa O Pango – ‘Team In Black’

This dance was first performed by the All Blacks in 2005 before a Tri Nations Test match against South Africa and was led by Tana Umaga. It was created by Derek Lardelii, an expert in Maori culture, and took one year to construct.

Lardelli says that it’s a ceremonial piece rather than a war dance, designed to build a person’s confidence, which explains why a rugby team would use it to prepare themselves for a game.

It was invented to complement the Ka Mate haka as a means of celebrating their home land and its culture. Explaining what the Kapa O Pango means to the All Blacks, former player Aaron Mauger said:

“It’s full of pride. For modern All Blacks, it’s about the time in the jersey and the silver fern and the blackness in the jersey. It’s certainly not there to replace Ka Mate, it’s there as a brother alongside it so we’re still pretty proud of Ka Mate and we use them as passionately as each other.”

The translated lyrics are:

Let me go back to my first gasp of breath
Let my life force return to the earth
It is New Zealand that thunders now
And it is my time!
It is my moment!
The passion ignites!
This defines us as the All Blacks
And it is my time!
It is my moment!
The anticipation explodes!
Feel the power
Our dominance rises
Our supremacy emerges
To be placed on high
Silver fern!
All Blacks!
Silver fern!
All Blacks!
aue hi!

Poropeihana - The haka of Wesley College

This dance was performed by former and current students of Wesley College, as a mark of respect during the funeral of Jonah Lomu last year. Situated in Auckland, Wesley College boasts a proud rugby tradition, producing talents such as Stephen Donald and Charles Piutau as well as Lomu.

The former students who attended the college along with Lomu completed their version first, followed by a rendition of Ka Mate by Lomu’s former All Blacks teammates with some of the current Wesley College students performing their haka after. Lomu’s family then released 40 doves into the sky as a symbol of peace.

Other styles of haka include the Peruperu, which is a traditional war dance incorporating the use of weapons while the Tutu Ngarahu prefaces a battle and features side-to-side jumping. The Manawa wera haka is commonly associated with funerals where the dancers are free to dance expressively with no particular routine involved.

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    Mute Willy Motley
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    Mar 20th 2019, 4:51 PM

    You made a show of yourself. From the bus incident to this very day. Used to be a massive Mcgregor fan but lost all respect for him at this stage. Wish he’d actually step away from the sport. They should just call him money Mcgregor

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    Mute Bungee Aky
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    Mar 20th 2019, 4:55 PM

    @Willy Motley: all mouth. I never listened to the stuff that went on outside the cage, but watched keenly what happened inside, and there used to be a difference, now he is just a joke inside and outside. He won’t resurrect his career now with all that has happened unless he drops down the weight again.

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    Mute Tom Kenny
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    Mar 20th 2019, 6:00 PM

    @Bungee Aky: A fighter that has never successfully defended either title that he won in UFC.. Absolutely joke that he has the name he has..

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    Mute Bungee Aky
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    Mar 20th 2019, 6:51 PM

    @Tom Kenny: he did well while he was on the way up, but he cut his own time at the top short and the fall was quicker than the rise. No humility, no class, no longevity. He will be remembered as the best, greatest, brightest flash in the pan that ever happened.

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    Mute Kieran Fogarty
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    Mar 20th 2019, 5:27 PM

    He was more interested in promoting his whiskey..how couldnt you give someone like Khabib no respect, the man never lost a round in 20 odd fights

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    Mute Desmond Cassidy
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    Mar 20th 2019, 5:05 PM

    Who cares ??

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    Mute Bungee Aky
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    Mar 20th 2019, 5:25 PM

    @Desmond Cassidy: you do apparently.

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    Mute Stanley Baggins
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    Mar 20th 2019, 5:36 PM

    If Mcgregor gets another crack at Khabib and beats him then he’ll be a big hero again. But he seems to have lost the hunger. He has shown with Nate Diaz that you can never write him off but he seems to have been on a downward spiral since the Mayweather money rolled in.

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    Mute Nollaig Elliot
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    Mar 20th 2019, 6:00 PM

    @Stanley Baggins:

    Motivation or not, he’ll never beat Khabib even if he fights him 100 times.

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    Mute Adeel McDangerson
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    Mar 20th 2019, 6:00 PM

    @Stanley Baggins: lol not happening.

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    Mute Paul Browne
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    Mar 20th 2019, 11:05 PM

    I will give the guy credit for mouthing his way to the top, but not a nice guy in or outside the octagon/ring, he could of really been an Irish legend but his behavior has made him nothing more then a laughing stock, money won’t buy him class something he is seriously lacking,

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    Mute Dylan Doherty
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    Mar 20th 2019, 7:24 PM

    The money mayweathers ruined him.

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    Mute baw baw
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    Mar 21st 2019, 10:36 AM

    Aldo done it for 10 years and was caught naively in 13 seconds as he was beyond wound up.
    McGregor lauded his own talking game and aldo never got his rematch shot.
    McGregor says he was caught in a fight where he wasn’t up to much and ended in his second loss and should get a rematch just because.
    With his stardust waning and a bit of perspective its easier for people to see hes the Kardashian of UFC , took on a persona popular with the majority and played it expertly through modern media.
    A distasteful genius with talent in all the wrong places.May he and the rest of the kardashian culture be plagued with no privacy and a life in the public eye for selling there souls for a few million quid.

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    Mute Sean
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    Mar 21st 2019, 11:58 AM

    @baw baw: @baw baw: To write McGregor off as nothing more than Khardasian culture is a bit revisionist, while in recent times he has become a mere parody of himself, it would be foolish to discard how good he was at his peak.

    His persona only became what it was through his huge performances on the biggest stage. Against both Mendes and Aldo he heaped pressure on himself by talking a big and confident game and backed it up in the octogon. Without those performances his quick wit would have been nothing more than a cheap novelty. He has proven himself against a lot of top fighters and his lose to Khabib doesn’t take anything away from that.

    I do however agree that he is not entitled to an immediate rematch and nor should he want one, he needs to tune up, get a few wins under his belt and his head back in the game before he could pose any threat to Khabib.

    The idea that he could come back after two years on the session and beat him in the first place was ludicrous and thinking he could jump straight back in with him now is even more so.

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