Kilted Haka, A Beautiful Male Ritual

Photo: Stevie Weir, courtesy Daily Record

There’s something magical about the Haka for me. It’s a primal male ritual that just feels right. It celebrates healthy male aggression in a communal setting. I feel like we’ve made male aggression “bad” in our culture here in the US, and that reality is a source of suffering for our boys and men: a disowned part of their fundamental being.

I honestly think it’s one reason we like the character of Jamie so much. He is a decent, educated man, who will not hesitate to use his physical strength or even kill someone if they endanger his family.

Am I suggesting that men go around killing people? No. Of course not.

But I do think there is such a thing as healthy male aggression. The time honored Haka allows men to gather and let those primal feelings move through them, in community with other men, publicly, in tribute to something or someone. It’s way cool in my book.

Excerpt:

…A Scottish groom’s pals performed a Haka for delighted wedding guests on the banks of Loch Lomond.

Players from Garnock Rugby Club learned the traditional Maori war dance over six weeks after bride Alyson Reid asked them to surprise their team mate Graeme with the routine at the Butorich Castle in Balloch.

Enjoy this kilted wedding Haka courtesy of Daily Record… Even though they might feel silly in the beginning, you can see they get into it. Rock on, men. 

 

Here are the All Blacks doing the Haka, which originated as a Maori war dance. 

An ancestral war cry, the Haka was performed by Maori warriors on battlefields to scare the enemy. They used aggressive facial expressions like bulging eyes and poking tongues while grunting and crying, beating and waving their weapons. The Haka united the warriors and boosted their own morale, as they believed they were calling the god of war to help them win the battle. The Haka was heavily choreographed and performed in time; it gave them courage and strength. 

Read More about the Haka

Source: Daily Record

14 comments on “Kilted Haka, A Beautiful Male Ritual

  1. loved it, saw similar haka when Hobbit movie made in New Zealand, I wish though the giggles were not on sound track, it rather distracted from the meaning of the Haka.

  2. Excellent post! Your context of celebrating male virility without the need for aggression is a perfect message. It’s about being proud! Love the video, thanks!

  3. The inane laughing from onlookers was very disrespectful – the haka is not a clown act. Nevertheless the guys did a great job!

  4. A great article. As a New Zealander, but not of Maori descent, I am proud of the haka as part of the collective kiwi culture. It is most well known around the world because of the All Blacks. They have even had their own haka developed. Unfortunately, it had the final throat slitting gesture changed. In this PC world, you are not allowed to scare your enemies that much!

  5. Whom ever is giggling in this post needs to know that the Haka is not to giggle, laught or twitter at , that is very disrespectful. Would not be tolerated in New Zealand. If you are going to do the Hake give it the respect it deserves.

    • Hi Dale, I don’t think any disrespect was meant, I think it was the giggling of seeing your husband do something unfamiliar.

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