so what's a haka?

I mentioned the haka when talking about the All Blacks game. Just to let people know just what I'm talking about:

The haka is performed by the All Blacks before each match. The word haka generally refers to any Maori dance (New Zealand's indegenous people). The All Blacks' haka, at least, is more of a chant with a few body gestures for emphasis.

The haka the All Blacks perform before each match (or the one they used to always perform - in the last two years they've started to introduce a new haka which was written specifically for the team) is called Ka Mate. New Zealand's rugby teams have performed the haka before matches since the late 1800s.

It's performed just after the national anthems and immediately before the opening kickoff. It's one of the most intimidating and stirring sights I've witnessed at a sporting event - the crowd goes silent, the players' chants (and thumps - part of the haka is beating the hand against the thigh or chest, which adds to the noise) are pumped through the stadium loudspeakers and for a moment, everyone watches.

Not everyone is as impressed, however. We were talking with a Scottish gentleman this evening who believes the haka should be banned from rugby stadiums.

"They shouldn't waste all that bloody time practicing a ballet," he said.

To which I replied, they must be good if they can whip Scotland while wasting all that time on the ballet.