Maori Solution to All-Black Haka ‘Crisis

29 August 2005

Maori Solution to All-Black Haka ‘Crisis’: Hone Heke

Ngapuhi leader David Rankin had his phone running hot all weekend following the first outing of the All Blacks’ new Haka. ‘People were shocked’, says Mr. Rankin. ‘It’s not a haka in the traditional sense of the term – it’s a cultural patchwork’. Many callers expressed concern that the Haka – a traditional Maori war dance – has had dances from other cultures grafted on to it.

The Rankin whanau have a long connection with Rugby, with David’s ancestor, Hone Heke Ngapua, having introduced Rugby to Northland in the 1880s.

David Rankin has a solution he proposes to present to the New Zealand Rugby Union: ‘They have rejected Te Rauparaha’s Haka because of Ngati Toa’s concerns about ownership. I am prepared to offer the haka used by the country’s most famour warrior: Hone Heke’.

Mr. Rankin will be writing to the Rugby Union later this week with his proposal, and details of the haka he would like to offer to the All Blacks.

ENDS

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