Origins
| Kapa
o Pango is a slightly modified version of the haka Ko
Niu Tireni that
was used to help the All Black "Invincibles" win all
32 games during their 1924-25 six nation tour. |
 Line
by line
1.
Kia whakawhenua au i ahau! .
Let me
be one with the land.
The land and the team are both vibrating with
tremendous pent-up energy.
2.
Ko kapa o pango e ngunguru nei!
The team in black is rumbling here!
These lines are modified from the opening lines
of the ancient Ngati Porou battle haka, Ko
Ruaumoko e ngunguru nei...
 Ruaumoko
is the god of earthquakes and volcanoes.
Life
in New Zealand is greatly influenced by large
earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.
3. Au, Au-e Ha!
I ah-a-ha!
The
explosive breathing and arm-pumping stimulates
adrenalin release, energising the team-members'
bodies and focusing their minds.
|
Tu
|
An
old Polynesian word, stand.
|
|
For
Maori, tu can also mean stand tall,
stand fast, make a stand, engage in
combat.
.Tu-mata-uenga
'He who stands fierce eyed'
The god of battle, the spirit that
ener-gizes the All Blacks.
|
|
4.
Ka tu te ihiihi, ka tu
te wanawana
Face
up to the fear, fight the terror.
An
adrenalin rush! There are layers of meanings here.
Variations on these lines are used in many old
pre-European Maori chants, and are still often used at the
end of a haka today, especially of the haka Ruaumoko.
5. Ki runga ki te rangi
To the sky above
Nihoniho says that the warriors' legs will attain the
heavens (ie. they will achieve the impossible) if they are
fully unified in action.
6.
Ponga ra!
Our shadows fall!
In the translation released by the NZRU, this is
translated as "Silver Fern!"
The
ponga, or silver fern, is a tree-fern unique to New
Zealand. It has water-conserving hairs on its underside,
which make the underside look silver.
The
silver ponga fronds could be laid on forest floors to
guide to guide war parties at night, and are still used
to guide hunters back home. 
Thus the "silver fern" was used as an emblem on the
uniforms of NZ sportsmen, guiding them to their desired
goal.
But Ponga ra! Ponga ra! is the opening line of
the 1880s version of the old haka Te Kiri Ngutu
(see below).
And Sir Apirana Ngata translates these words as The
shadows fall! The shadows fall! a warning
of the spiritual darkness falling across communities as
others snatch their land from them.
The old word for "darkness" in Western Polynesia was
"Ponga," and later this was shortened in East Polynesia
to "Po." (See the full
darkness list)
So
when the All Blacks shout Ponga ra! perhaps they
are identifying themselves as dark forest giants whose
shadows are about to darken the enemy-held territory and
re-take possession of it.
 The
throat-cutting gesture
At
the end of the haka, each All Black glares at his
opponents, cries "Ha!" and then draws a clenched fist
with an extended thumb across his throat, while his
eyes bulge and his tongue protrudes.
A
throat-cutting gesture. The message seems to be that
the opposition are going to get slaughtered.
This
gesture has upset many Australians: Wallabies coach
John Connolly has called for this haka to be banned.
Vital
energy on a knife edge
Derek
Lardelli explained his reason for including
this gesture.
"Kapa
O Pango ends with the word 'Ha,' or the
breath of life. The words and motions
represent drawing vital energy into the
heart and lungs."
In
traditional Maori use, the cupped hand is drawn
across the throat to show energy being dragged
into the body. But by doing this with a raised
thumb, Mr Lardelli modified it into a
knife-wielding gesture, to show that each team
member is at the cutting edge of personal
performance.
|
Derek
Lardelli
Ngati
Porou. Lardelli is a principal tutor at Tairawhiti
Polytechnic's School of Maori Art and Design, as well as
a tohunga moko, visual artist, carver, kapa haka
performer and tutor, composer, graphic designer and
researcher of whakapapa, tribal history and kaikorero.
He lives in Gisborne with his wife and children.
References
|
Armstrong A.
Maori
Games and Hakas, Reed, 1964, reprinted
2005.
Masters,
R.
With the All Blacks in Great Britain, France,
Canada and Australia, 1924-25, Christchurch
Press,
1928.
Nihoniho
T. Unenuku or Kahukura, the rainbow god of
war. Being advice to young soldiers when going into
action. 1913, reprinted 1997 Online
copy.
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|
Published
on the web by John Archer, August 2005, modified Sept 2006,
July 2007, Sept 2008
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