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こんにちは、彦左衛門です
Today, I want to introduce you to the traditional New Zealand Maori war dance, the "Haka"
So, the story behind the most famous haka goes back to the 1820s/1830s in NZ
Europeans were just starting to arrive in NZ
And interact with local Maori tribes
NZ was a lot like Japan's Sengoku Period at that time
The country was divided into nation-like tribal regions
Each with their own militaries, leaders and warlords
Each battling to expand their territory
Among those there was a young chief named "Te Rauparaha"
One day his tribe Ngati Toa was defeated on the battlefield
And his enemies saw the chance to try to kill Te Rauparaha
Te Rauparaha saw he was in trouble and fled southward
And escaped in the direction of Wellington
While fleeing across the central North Island around the edges of the giant Lake Taupo
He was discovered and information was sent to his enemies
They saw he was fleeing south and set a trap for him
As he fell into the trap, a troop of enemy tribesman began to pursue him
He saw he was in trouble and fled into the hills
Knowing he was about to be caught, Te Rauparaha entered a small village
The village chief was a strong, hairy man
He was a man called "Te Wharerangi"
Te Rauparaha approached Te Wharerangi
"I am Te Rauparaha, chief of the Ngati Toa, you have to help me"
He said, however
Te Wharerangi responded "No, those tribesman are already near, it's too dangerous"
"I can't help you, please leave" was his reply
Te Rauparaha again pleaded "I have nowhere else to run"
He sought help one more time "This is all I have left, please help me!"
Te Wharerangi heard this and came up with an idea
"Alright then, if you go down the steps into that earth oven pit"
"And stay inside the pit with the cover pulled over"
"And you allow my wife to sit on top of that cover"
"If you're willing to accept that, then you can hide here"
In order to understand what made this suggestion complicated
You need to understand a bit about traditional Maori beliefs and religion
In Maori traditional beliefs, the world and universe is divided between two forces
The first of these is "tapu", with the same origin as the better known Tahitian term "taboo"
Various things contain this power
For example, burial sites have tapu attached to them
Also, men of status, such as chiefs also have this power attached to them
If you interact with this power in the wrong way, the belief is that you can be cursed
The opposite force to this is "Noa"
Noa is attached to things like food and women
The belief is that when Tapu encounters Noa, the forces cancel each other out
Women have this power attached to them
With their genitals containing the greatest "Noa" power
So for a chief to sit in a pit, below a woman's genitals
For a chief, this is religiously almost unthinkable
For a Tapu chief to sit directly below a Noa woman
"If you really want to be saved that much, then hide down there"
Te Rauparaha hardly hesitated and said "Fine, that's the only way then"
And so he descended down the stairs into the earth oven
And pulled over the cover and sat in the pitch dark, waiting...
Above the pitch darkness, Te Wharerangi's wife sat on top of the cover
And then above he heard the enemy tribesman enter the village
"You're hiding Te Rauparaha here, aren't you!" they shouted
Te Rauparah felt the inevitable, "I'm about to be killed..." he thought to himself
"It's over, I'm going to die, I'm going to die" he muttered to himself
Te Wharerangi responded "nono, he's already been through here and fled southwards"
"You should go now before he gets away!"
Te Rauparaha heard Te Wharerangi speaking
"Maybe I can get through this? Maybe I can survive? I live, I live..."
He muttered to himself
However, the enemy chief didn't believe it "Don't lie to me, he hasn't left, he's still here!" he shouted
Te Rauparaha heard this and despaired
"I'm going to die, I'm going to die" he said, preparing for his own death
Te Wharerangi responded "Go ahead, look, he isn't here"
They started looking all around and no one turned up anything
Nobody went to look below where the woman was sitting
It didn't even occur to them
Before long they moved away from the village
And he sat listening
"I'm going to live, I'm going to live"
Te Rauparaha thought to himself
"I thought I was going to die here in the darkness"
"But this big hairy chief Te Wharerangi is the one"
"Who will allow me to see the sun shine once more"
He was filled with gratitude at having been saved
Once the enemy tribesmen left the village
And believing the coast was clear, he climbed up slowly on his arms and legs
Climbing out of the earth oven
Climbing up and up like this
At the top he lifted the lid allowing the blinding sunshine to come in
He saw the sunshine and thought "I never thought I would get to see this beautiful Sun ever again"
He proclaimed "The Sun is bright and beautiful!"
He offered his profound thanks to Te Wharerangi
Eventually he escaped and made it back to his tribal lands
And built up his army and became stronger and stronger
Historically, Te Rauparaha was one of the first chiefs to purchase weapons from English settlers
Guns and the like
And then one day he stood on the battlefield once more face to face with his enemies
His forces aimed their weapons at their enemies
And in the war dance traditionally performed before battle, proclaiming the tribe's history and ancestors
He told the following story of "Te Rauparaha's Haka" in his Maori mother tongue
Facing his enemies, he said as follows:
"Kamate! Kamate!"
"I die! I die!"
"Kaora! Kaora!"
"I live! I live!"
"Kamate! Kamate!"
"I die! I die!"
"Kaora! Kaora!"
"I live! I live!"
"Tenei te tangata puhuruhuru!"
"The hairy man standing here!"
"Nana nei i tiki mai whakawhiti te ra!"
"Caused the sun to shine again!"
"A upane! ka upane, a upane, ka upane, whiti te ra!"
"One step upwards, another step upwards, upwards, upwards, the sun shines!"
This is the haka he performed
I'm not going to die
You thought you had me, but I won't die
And now we fight
Prepare yourself!
That is the meaning of the All Black's haka
Next time you get the chance to enjoy watching the All Blacks play
While you are watching the performance of Te Rauparaha's haka
Enjoy it remembering what it means
And sit back for enjoying some fully committed hard tackling rugby!