Kapa Haka is the traditional tribal Dance of the Maori People on Aotearoa (New Zealand). The meaning of the term Kapa haka includes waiata-a-ringa (action songs), waiata tawhito (ancient songs that tell of historic events) and the use of poi (a swinging ball used to train for dexterity).
Various kinds of haka (war dance) were performed by Māori warriors
before battle to unite them in anger or courage, and to intimidate the
enemy, using weapons such as the patu (short club) and taiaha (fighting
staff). The dance always came with body movement and expression. Besides
wars, the dance also expresses the lifestyle of each era: activities
such as labour through food gathering, fishing, hunting, warfare, and
socialization through various rituals, contributed collectively to this
tradition; Whānau (family) celebrations, as well as inter-tribal visits,
provided the opportunity for Māori to entertain in dance forms telling
of past events, whakapapa (genealogy), heroes, death, landmarks, and
rituals.
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Māori links: http://www.maori.org.nz/kapahaka/ http://www.nzqa.govt.nz/for-maori/resources/mpa/nmd/introduction.html http://www.creativenz.govt.nz/resources/toi-maori.pdf http://teiho.org/Default.aspx?instanceID=223
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