haka
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈhɑːkə/
ipa: /ˈhæ-/
ipa: /ˈhɑkə/
ipa: /ˈhæ-/
ipa: /ˈhaka/
ipa: /ˈhaːka/
rhymes: -ɑːkə
rhymes: -ækə
homophone: Hakka stripped-by-parse_pron_post_template_fn
Forms: form: hakas
form: haka
Etymology: Borrowed from Maori haka, from Proto-Polynesian *saka, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *sakaŋ. The word is cognate with Hawaiian haʻa (“dance”), Mangarevan ʻaka (“to perform a traditional dance; a usually warlike dance accompanied by a chant”), Rarotongan ʻaka (“dance”), Samoan saʻa (“dance”), Tokelauan haka (“dance”), Tongan haka (“hand action made while singing”).
Senses: examples: text: After each of my retinue were presented to the chief, partaking of the honour of the ougi, or salutation, the hákà, or dance of welcome, was performed; this was commenced by our entertainers, who placed themselves in an extended line, in ranks four deep. This dance, to a stranger witnessing it for the first time, is calculated to excite the most alarming fears; […]
ref: 1838, J[oel] S[amuel] Polack, chapter III, in New Zealand: Being a Narrative of Travels and Adventures during a Residence in that Country between the Years 1831 and 1837. … In Two Volumes, volume I, London: Richard Bentley, New Burlington Street, publisher in ordinary to Her Majesty, →OCLC, page 81:
text: A "Haka" is the native dance, answering to the corroboree of the Australian aboriginals, and we were anxious to see it. […] Later in the evening, however, the complaisant Herekiekie entertained a small and select party at a "Haka" in his "whare" or house (pronounced wharry). It was exactly what I expected. The performers, all male, stood in a row, one, slightly advanced, acting as fugleman. They shouted and gesticulated with the most hideous and revolting gestures, grimaces, and yells.
ref: 1876 January, “A Week among the Maoris of Lake Taupo”, in The Cornhill Magazine, volume XXXIII, number 193, London: Smith, Elder & Co., 15 Waterloo Place, →OCLC, page 65:
text: [T]he children might get up and dance in the middle of their sums. Matawhero might stand up and lead a haka if I'm not careful. Oh dear.
ref: 1986, Sylvia Ashton-Warner, “Life in a Maori School”, in Teacher (A Touchstone Book), 1st Touchstone edition, New York, N.Y.: Simon & Schuster, →ISBN, pages 198 and 200:
text: An already febrile atmosphere within the ground before the start had been stoked still further when France's players formed an arrow formation to face down the haka, and then advanced slowly over halfway as the capacity crowd roared.
ref: 2011 October 23, Tom Fordyce, “2011 Rugby World Cup Final: New Zealand 8 – 7 France”, in BBC Sport, archived from the original on 03 Apr 2017:
text: The Maori haka ritual has been made famous by the All Blacks, New Zealand's national rugby team. Before each match, the All Blacks face their opponents and engage in a synchronized display of hand-slapping, feet-stomping, chest-pumping, tongue-wagging, and eye-popping chanting and dancing designed to intimidate their opponents. The All Blacks' version of the haka is called ka-mate, a war haka or peruperu. […] But hakas are not restricted to war; they are also used as a welcome to strangers, as part of a funeral, or as part of various celebrations and ceremonies.
ref: 2013, Matt J. Rossano, “Mountain Rituals”, in Mortal Rituals: What the Story of the Andes Survivors Tells Us about Human Evolution, New York, N.Y.; Chichester, West Sussex: Columbia University Press, →ISBN, pages 105–106:
glosses: A group dance of New Zealand's Maori people featuring rhythmic chanting, vigorous facial and arm movements, and foot stamping. Traditionally a war dance, today it is also performed to welcome guests, as a mark of respect at occasions such as commemorations and funerals, as a challenge to opposing teams at sports events, and for artistic purposes.
Derived terms: kapa haka