Sharples Pita: General Debate 
Sharples Pita: General Debate 
[Volume:630;Page:2076] 
Dr PITA SHARPLES (Co-Leader—Maori Party) 
: 
 Kia whakawhenua au iahau! Hi aue hi! Ko Aotearoa e ngungurunei! Au au aueha! Let me become one with the land! This is our land that rumbles! It is my time! It is my moment! Those are the concepts of nationhood of passion and of strength that create a distinctive international presence for New Zealand. Yet when the new haka of the All Blacks was first performed at Carisbrook last August it was greeted with insults and attacks from the media and the English public alike. A throat-cutting gesture at the end of the haka was interpreted as implying the slaughter of opponents which was reason for particular anxiety. Indeed the editorial in  
The Times 
 had this to say: “if a crazed thug drew a finger threateningly across his throat while screaming into someone’s face on a high street police would have good grounds for arrest.” Yet if this editor had talked to haka expert Derek Lardelli he or she would have heard that playing rugby at that level and with that intensity is the cutting edge of sport. The across-the-throat action symbolises the intensity of first-class rugby and the consequences of defeat. 
Yesterday Aotearoa celebrated Race Relations Day. The theme for this year is turangawaewae—our home. What better way to celebrate turangawaewae than by celebrating and seeking to understand the haka as a national icon—the source of pride and belonging. The significance of the haka overseas with comments made about it being past its use-by date is a theme that the House needs to give some consideration to. Is it time to replace our haka with something akin to the national chant across the Tasman: “Aussie AussieAussie! Oi oioi!”? A haka was first performed in an overseas representative rugby match by our native team in 1888. Then in 1908 an Aboriginal war cry was performed by the Wallabies. The Springboks came up with a Zulu war dance in 1928 the Fijians chanted the Cibi Tonga performed the Kailao and Manu Samoa performed its own Le Manu Samoa. 
Embracing the uniqueness of the indigenous identity is not just the domain of sports teams. I know many New Zealanders who when travelling overseas have burst into a haka or sung “PokareKare Ana” at the top of their lungs claiming that Aotearoa New Zealand is their home and why not? Indeed Tourism New Zealand has identified Maori culture and branding to sell New Zealand’s uniqueness. We should be proud of the haka we should understand it and we should celebrate it as an art form of intense passion for Aotearoa New Zealand. 
Henare Teowai an acknowledged master of the art of haka was asked on his deathbed what was the art of performing haka. He replied: “Kia korero te katoa o te tinana—the whole body should speak.” Last Saturday night the 12 spontaneous haka that the Sevens rugby team erupted into during their victory lap displayed their expression of honour and pride to its fullest extent. In fact the team did so to such an extent that the captain TafaiIoasa lost his voice and Tamati Ellison broke his medal—haka can be a dangerous sport! 
Since the age of 7 I have been doing haka and competing in the national clubs—it is my love. We must cherish our haka as a traditional Maori performance art form that is unique to New Zealand and perhaps in doing so we may understand the richer stories beyond the haka because every haka expresses a universal truth. Our haka tells us who we are what we thought of this action or that action of the Government how we honour our Commonwealth Games swimmers how we celebrate marriage how we acknowledge our ancestors how we welcome people to the marae and how we pay our final respects to those who have passed beyond the veil. 
I was so enthused to see the Pakeha boys of our national swimming team clearly owning the haka as they celebrated and honoured with great joy the efforts of our swimming team in Melbourne. Haka is a point of identity and a point of difference for Maori and on the world stage for all New Zealanders. It has such rich potential as a form of cultural expression to honour to welcome to farewell to acknowledge to celebrate to mourn and to be. The haka may well be part of our formula towards building a united nation.