Haka

It's rugby season again! All over the globe keen fans are glued to their tv watching to see who will reign triumphant in this years Rugby World Cup. Of course I am cheering on New Zealand, but as we say back home: "I support two teams: New Zealand and anybody playing against Australia".
Most of you are familiar with the spine-tingling haka war dance which the mighty All Blacks (that's New Zealands national team) do before each match. This is a tradition which dates back to 1884 when the first New Zeland rugby team toured overseas. Appropriately enough, they went to Aussie. Frankly if I was faced with a line up of these huge, muscle bound rugby players screaming a war dance and rolling their eyes at me I would be pretty intimidated, and that is of course the point. However for those who are really interested the haka is not always a war dance, it can be performed by men and women and even children. Hakas can be a war dance but also a welcome, to mark special ccasions or achievements (they are sometimes done in honour of someone) or even just for entertainment. However considering the finger drawn across the throat and gruesome facial grimaces of the last All Black haka, the meaning of this version is pretty clear. Just for a laugh, following is a funny, light-hearted animated version. For those interested in seeing a real haka I highly recommend You Tube, or check back here tomorrow when I will upload a video file from there of an All Black haka.