The Haka — War Dance of the Ancestors

Ka mate, ka mate! Ka ora, ka ora! I die, I die! I live, I live! The haka is not a dance for entertainment. It is a declaration — of strength, of ancestry, of the life force that Māori call mana. Performed before battle, at funerals, at births, at the welcome of honored guests, the haka is the most complete physical expression of Māori identity: the stamping feet that claim the earth, the protruding tongue that defies death, the wide eyes that see the enemy clearly. The All Blacks perform it before every rugby match. The world has been afraid of it for a hundred and fifty years. That is correct.

These signs carry the haka warrior in full challenge pose, the pounamu weapon, the ta moko lines, and the words that refuse death.