View source for Ka Mate

{{Short description|Ngāti Toa haka}}
{{Use New Zealand English|date=August 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2024}}
[[Image:Te Raparaha, chief of the Kawias, watercolour by R. Hall, c. 1840s.jpg|thumb|right|240px|[[Te Rauparaha]], Ngāti Toa chief, 1840s]]
"'''Ka Mate'''" ({{IPAc-mi|ˈ|k|a| |ˌ|m|a|t|e}}) is a [[Māori people|Māori]] [[haka]] composed by [[Te Rauparaha]], the historic leader of the [[iwi]] of [[Ngāti Toa]] of the [[North Island]] of [[New Zealand]] during the [[Musket Wars]].

==Composition==
Te Rauparaha composed "Ka Mate" circa 1820 as a celebration of life over death after his lucky escape from pursuing [[Ngāti Maniapoto]] and [[Tainui|Waikato]] enemies.<ref name="Pomare">{{cite encyclopedia| last = Pōmare | first = Mīria | url = http://www.teara.govt.nz/NewZealanders/MaoriNewZealanders/NgatiToarangatira/4/ENZ-Resources/Standard/2/en | title = Ngāti Toarangatira – Chant composed by Te Rauparaha | encyclopedia = Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand | publisher = Ministry for Culture & Heritage | date = 12 February 2014 | access-date = 31 August 2015}}</ref><ref name=Guidelines>{{cite web | url = http://www.ngatitoa.iwi.nz/wp-content/uploads/PhotoGallery/2010/09/Haka-Ka-Mate-Guidelines_Final2.pdf | title = Haka Ka Mate Attribution Act 2014 Guidelines | publisher = Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment | access-date = 31 August 2015 | url-status=dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160123115113/http://www.ngatitoa.iwi.nz/wp-content/uploads/PhotoGallery/2010/09/Haka-Ka-Mate-Guidelines_Final2.pdf | archive-date = 23 January 2016 | df = dmy-all }}</ref> He had hidden from them, on Motuopihi Island in [[Lake Rotoaira]], in a [[Sweet potato|kūmara]] storage pit while a woman (wāhine) by the name of Rangikoaea straddled the pit to hide and protect him.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2017 |title=Motuopihi Island |url=https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/31558/motuopuhi-island |access-date=31 October 2023 |website=Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand}}</ref> Upon emerging from the pit and into the sun he was grateful to Rangikoaea and her husband Te Wharerangi, composing the Ka Mate haka as a result.

The haka as composed by Te Rauparaha begins with a chant:<ref name="Pomare"/><ref name=Guidelines/>
{{Verse translation|lang=mi|
Kikiki! Kakaka!
Kauana kei waniwania taku tara
kei tarawahia, kei te rua i te kerokero!
He pounga rahui te uira
ka rarapa ketekete kau ana
To peru kairiri mau au e koro e!
Hi! Ha! – Ka wehi au ka matakana,
ko wai te tangata kia rere ure tirohanga
ngā rua rerarera
ngā rua kuri kakanui i raro! Aha ha!
|
Let your valor rise! Let your valor rage!
Let us ward off these haunted hands
to protect our wives and children!
For thee, I defy
the storms of hell
while my enemies stand there unknowingly!
To think I would tremble
to a pack of wolves either seeing fear or running away,
because they would surely fall into the pit of shame
as food for the hounds to chow down on in delight!!}}

Then follows the main body of the haka:
{{Verse translation|
{{lang|mi|Ka mate, ka mate! Ka ora, ka ora!
Ka mate, ka mate! Ka ora, ka ora!
Tēnei te tangata pūhuruhuru
Nāna nei i tiki mai whakawhiti te rā
Ā, upane! ka upane!
Ā, upane, ka upane, whiti te rā!}}
|
It is death, it is death, it is life, it is life
It is death, it is death, it is life, it is life
Or do I see a hairy man 
who brought back the Sun so it can shine on me once more?
Then I will put one foot in front of the other—
One foot, then the other—until the Sun shines on me!}}
[[File:2015 Rugby World Cup New Zealand vs Argentina (21391939030).jpg|250px|thumb|The All Blacks performing the Ka Mate haka]]

"Ka Mate" was conceived as a brief energizing haka of the [[Haka#Types and functions|''ngeri'']] type, where, in the absence of set movements, the performers are free to [[Extemporization (music)|extemporize]] their chanting and [[Dance improvisation|movement]] as they feel fit, without any need for synchronization.<ref name="Jackson2002">{{cite journal |last1=Jackson |first1=SJ |last2=Hokowhitu |first2=B |title=Sport, Tribes, and Technology: The New Zealand All Blacks Haka and the Politics of Identity |journal=Journal of Sport and Social Issues |date=2002 |volume=26 |issue=2 |pages=125–139 |doi=10.1177/0193723502262002 |s2cid=144368028 |language=en |issn=0193-7235}}</ref>

==Use in rugby==
{{External media
| float = right
| video1 = [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdMCAV6Yd0Y "Ka Mate"], accompanied by a translation — via [[YouTube]]
}}
[[Image:Adam Blair and Issac Luke 2008.jpg|right|thumb|200px|[[Issac Luke]] and [[Adam Blair]] of the [[New Zealand national rugby league team]] performing "Ka Mate"]]
"Ka Mate" is the most widely known haka in New Zealand and internationally because a choreographed and synchronized version<ref name="Jackson2002"/> of the chant has traditionally been performed by the [[New Zealand national rugby union team|All Blacks]], New Zealand's international [[rugby union]] team, as well as the [[New Zealand national rugby league team|Kiwis]], New Zealand's international [[rugby league]] team, immediately prior to test (international) matches until 2013, when a specific haka, "Te Iwi Kiwi", was used instead. Since 2005 the All Blacks have occasionally performed another haka, "[[Kapa o Pango]]". Since the introduction of "Kapa o Pango" the longest sequence of "Ka Mate" performances by the All Blacks is nine, which has occurred twice between 22 August 2009 and 12 June 2010 and also between 13 August 2022 and 19 November 2022.<ref>{{Cite web |date=19 March 2014 |title=Rugby Facts: The Ultimate Guide to Becoming a True Fan |url=https://sportycious.com/rugby-facts-9249/ |access-date=4 April 2023 |language=en-US}}</ref> Before the end of the [[2003 Rugby World Cup]], the performance of the Ka Mate by the All Blacks usually ended with a mid-air leap.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Haka then and now: it used to be more funny than frightening |url=https://www.theweek.co.uk/rugby/61546/haka-then-and-now-it-used-to-be-more-funny-than-frightening |access-date=3 August 2023 |website=The Week UK |date=27 November 2014 |language=en}}</ref>

Prior to 1985 the All Blacks haka was not performed with the usual performance, as most players of European ancestry had no full training on the ceremony. It took two Māori during this time ([[Buck Shelford]] and [[Hika Reid]]) to revolutionise the way it was delivered, culminating in a style close to the original haka. The non-Māori players from this point on learned how to perform.<ref>{{cite web |title=Buck Shelford Leads... The All Blacks Haka Revival |url=https://www.rotorua-travel-secrets.com/all-blacks-haka.html |publisher=Rotorua Travel Secrets |access-date=10 July 2023}}</ref>

In an interview with [[ESPN]] shortly before the [[2019 Rugby World Cup]], All Blacks scrum-half [[TJ Perenara]], the team's designated haka leader at the time and a Māori who was raised in the region where Te Rauparaha lived, explained the process of selecting which haka will be performed before a given match:{{blockquote|There's ''Ka Mate'' and there's ''Kapa O Pango''. When we're in Wellington we perform ''Ka Mate'', we're paying respects to Te Rauparaha and the lands that he walked on. And then outside of that Reado [captain [[Kieran Read]]] and myself will usually talk [on match eve] or earlier in the week about what we'll do; what haka we'll do for that week. And it's usually just a vibe thing; how we feel; how we feel like our footy's going and who we're playing against. There's no massive reason for doing either one except for when we're in Wellington we always do ''Ka Mate''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.espn.com/espn/feature/story?_slug_=understanding-all-blacks-supreme-success&id=27583628 |title=Understanding the All Blacks' supreme success |first=Sam |last=Bruce |website=ESPN.com |date=15 September 2019 |access-date=11 December 2019}}</ref>}}

=== List of players that have led Ka Mate ===
Incomplete list of [[New Zealand national rugby union team|All Blacks]] players that have led the Ka Mate version of the haka:
{{div col|colwidth=15em}}
* [[Piri Weepu]] (26)
* [[TJ Perenara]] (26)
* [[Keven Mealamu]] (23)
* [[Aaron Smith (rugby union)|Aaron Smith]] (21)
* [[Richie McCaw]] (11)
* [[Liam Messam]] (9)
* [[Rico Gear]]  (6+)
* [[Carl Hayman]] (5)
* [[Hosea Gear]] (4)
* [[Dane Coles]] (4)
* [[Aaron Mauger]] (2)
* [[Kieran Read]] (1)
* [[Mils Muliaina]] (1)
* [[Tawera Kerr-Barlow]] (1)
* [[Nehe Milner-Skudder]] (1)
* [[Sam Cane]] (1)
* [[Codie Taylor]] (1)
* [[Ardie Savea]] (1)
* [[Tana Umaga]]
* [[George Nēpia]]
* [[Buck Shelford]]
* [[Taine Randell]]
* [[John Timu (rugby)|John Timu]]<ref>{{cite web |last1=Knowler |first1=Richard |title=Ex-All Black John Timu: 'Rugby union has given me everything' |date=10 September 2022 |url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/all-blacks/300683935/exall-black-john-timu-rugby-union-has-given-me-everything |publisher=[[Stuff (website)|Stuff]] |access-date=23 July 2023}}</ref>
* [[Carlos Spencer]]<ref>{{cite web |last1=Malley |first1=Frank |title=Spencer to lead Haka |date=23 October 2003 |url=https://www.espn.com/rugby/story/_/id/15369541/spencer-lead-haka |publisher=ESPN |access-date=10 July 2023}}</ref>
* [[Zinzan Brooke]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Ka Mate! Zinzan Brooke's guide to the Haka |date=8 September 2011 |url=https://www.the42.ie/ka-mate-zinzan-brookes-guide-to-the-haka-220175-Sep2011/ |publisher=the42 |access-date=22 July 2023}}</ref>
*[[Norm Hewitt]] (1995 Rugby World Cup, vs Japan)
*[[Hika Reid]]
*[[Frank Shelford]]<ref>{{Cite web |last=France |first=Centre |date=23 October 2011 |title=Aulnat : Franck Shelford, un All Black est prêt pour le sacre de la Nouvelle-Zélande |url=https://www.lamontagne.fr/aulnat-63510/actualites/aulnat-franck-shelford-un-all-black-est-pret-pour-le-sacre-de-la-nouvelle-zelande_13347/ |access-date=22 August 2023 |website=www.lamontagne.fr}}</ref>
*[[Jamie Joseph]] (1995 Rugby World Cup, vs Wales and Ireland)
*[[Sid Going]]<ref>{{Cite web |last=World |first=Rugby |date=9 August 2023 |title=Who leads the haka for the All Blacks? |url=https://www.rugbyworld.com/countries/new-zealand-countries/who-leads-the-haka-for-the-all-blacks-156862 |access-date=22 August 2023 |website=Rugby World |language=en-US}}</ref>
*[[Steve McDowall]]
*[[Caleb Ralph]] (2002, vs South Africa)
*[[Bill Bush]] (1978, vs Ireland)
*[[Stu Wilson]] (1979, vs England)
*[[Kees Meeuws]] (2001, vs Argentina)
*[[Greg Feek]] (2001, vs Ireland)
{{div col end}}
''Numbers in brackets indicate how many times each player has led the "Ka Mate" haka.'' (correct as of 8 July 2023)

=== Teams who have faced Ka Mate === 
In total all 22 international [[rugby union]] sides that have played the All Blacks have faced "Ka Mate" at least once before a test match. There are ten teams that have faced either "Ka Mate", "Kapa o Pango", another haka or no prematch haka:
{{div col|colwidth=15em}}
* {{nrut|Australia}}
* {{nrut|South Africa}}
* {{nrut|England}}
* {{nrut|France}}
* {{nrut|Wales}}
* {{nrut|Ireland}}
* [[British & Irish Lions]]
* {{nrut|Scotland}}
* {{nrut|Argentina}} (29)
* {{nrut|Namibia}} (2)
{{div col end}}

There are 12 international rugby union sides who have always faced "Ka Mate" before a match against the All Blacks:
{{div col|colwidth=15em}}
* {{nrut|Italy}} (16)
* {{nrut|Fiji}} (7)
* {{nrut|Samoa}} (7)
* {{nrut|Tonga}} (7)
* {{nrut|Canada}} (6)
* {{nrut|Japan}} (5)
* {{nrut|United States}} (4)
* [[World XV]] (3, 1 win)
* {{nrut|Romania}} (2)
* {{nrut|Pacific Islanders}} (1)
* {{nrut|Portugal}} (1)
* {{nrut|Georgia}} (1)<ref>{{cite web |last1=JONES |first1=MATT |title=Rugby World Cup Results 2015: New Zealand vs. Georgia Score, Updated Fixtures |url=https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2574987-rugby-world-cup-results-2015-new-zealand-vs-georgia-score-updated-fixtures |publisher=Bleacher Report |access-date=17 August 2023}}</ref>

{{div col end}}

All of the above 60 games were won by the All Blacks except for one against the World XV on 18 April 1992.<ref>{{cite web |title=LOOKING BACK ON THE WORLD XV CENTENARY SERIES |url=https://www.allblacks.com/news/looking-back-on-the-world-xv-centenary-series/ |website=allblacks.com |date=19 April 2022 |access-date=17 August 2023}}</ref>{{efn|This does not include their 2 1949 matches against [[Zimbabwe national football team|Rhodesia]] as the All Blacks refused to perform a haka due to no Māori players being on the team, The All Blacks [[1949 Rhodesia vs New Zealand rugby union match|lost one]] and drew the other.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/2663396/The-blackest-year-in-All-Black-history | title=The blackest year in All Black history | date=24 July 2009 }}</ref>}}
''Numbers in brackets indicate how many times each team has faced the "Ka Mate" haka.''

==Use in politics==
On 14 November 2024, lawmaker [[Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke]] –representing [[Te Pāti Māori]] as a Member of [[New Zealand Parliament|Parliament]] since 2023– protested a first reading of the [[Treaty Principles Bill]] that attempts to clarify interpretations of an 1840 [[Treaty of Waitangi]] between the Māori and [[Monarch of New Zealand|The Crown]] by tearing a copy of the bill in half while leading "Ka Mate" with the rest of her party and other opposition compatriots.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2024/nov/14/mp-rips-up-bill-leads-haka-as-nz-parliament-erupts-over-waitangi-treaty-bill-video | title=MP rips up bill, leads haka as NZ parliament erupts over Waitangi treaty bill – video |date=14 November 2024 | newspaper=[[The Guardian]] }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Watch: Haka interrupts vote for the Treaty Principles Bill |url=https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/533795/watch-haka-interrupts-vote-for-the-treaty-principles-bill |work=[[RNZ]] |date=14 November 2024 |language=en-nz}}</ref> Following this, the [[Speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives|Speaker]], [[Gerry Brownlee]], suspended Parliament for 20 minutes and called for the gallery to be cleared, as well as naming Maipi-Clarke for her actions, suspending her from Parliament for 24 hours and docking her pay.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.thepost.co.nz/politics/360487268/shame-outcry-treaty-principles-bill-debated-parliament |archive-date=15 November 2024 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20241115011419/https://www.thepost.co.nz/politics/360487268/shame-outcry-treaty-principles-bill-debated-parliament |title='Shame': Outcry as Treaty Principles Bill debated in Parliament |work=[[The Post (New Zealand newspaper)|The Post]] |first=Thomas |last=Manch |date=14 November 2024 |access-date=15 November 2024 |publisher=[[Stuff (company)|Stuff]]}}</ref>

==Ownership==
{{further|Indigenous intellectual property#Māori Ka Mate haka}}
Between 1998 and 2006, [[Ngāti Toa]] attempted to trademark "Ka Mate" to prevent its use by commercial organisations without their permission.<ref>
{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/793975.stm 
|title=All Blacks fight to keep haka |work=[[BBC News|news.bbc.co.uk]] |date=16 July 2000 |access-date=3 May 2008
}}</ref><ref>
{{cite news|url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/1/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10126807 
|title= Iwi threatens to place trademark on All Black haka|work=[[The New Zealand Herald]] |date=22 May 2005 |access-date=3 May 2008
}}</ref> In 2006, the [[Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand]] declined their claim on the grounds that "Ka Mate" had achieved wide recognition in New Zealand and abroad as representing New Zealand as a whole and not a particular trader. In March 2011, [[New Zealand Rugby Union]] came to an amicable agreement with the iwi not to bring the [[Mana (Oceanian mythology)|mana]] of the haka into disrepute.<ref>
{{cite news|url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/1/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10389347 |title=Iwi claim to All Black haka turned down|work=[[The New Zealand Herald]] |date=2 July 2007 |access-date=3 May 2008
}}</ref>

In 2009, as a part of a wider settlement of grievances, the [[New Zealand government]] agreed to:
:"...record the authorship and significance of the haka Ka Mate to Ngāti Toa and ... work with Ngāti Toa to address their concerns with the haka... [but] does not expect that redress will result in royalties for the use of Ka Mate or provide Ngāti Toa with a veto on the performance of Ka Mate...".<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://nz01.terabyte.co.nz/ots/livearticle.asp?ArtID=1234231829|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100521222630/http://nz01.terabyte.co.nz/ots/LiveArticle.asp?ArtID=1234231829|url-status=dead|title=Ngāti Toa Rangatira Letter of Agreement|archivedate=21 May 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7882775.stm | work=[[BBC News]] | title=New Zealand Maori win haka fight | date=11 February 2009}}</ref>

== In popular culture ==
In 2021, [[Glen Osborne|Glen Osborne]] turned the body of the haka into a [[ballad]] in C major.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Match Fit Season 2 Ep 3 {{!}} DOCUMENTARY/FACTUAL {{!}} ThreeNow |url=https://www.threenow.co.nz/shows/match-fit/season-2-ep-3/S2339-580/M58032-601 |access-date=29 June 2022 |website=www.threenow.co.nz}}</ref>

In the 2019 [[Downloadable content|DLC]] for ''[[Civilization VI]]'', ''[[Civilization VI: Gathering Storm|Gathering Storm]]'', the main theme for the added Māori civilization is "Ka Mate" and "[[Pōkarekare Ana]]".<ref>{{cite web |title=Maori Theme – Atomic (Civilization 6 OST) Pōkarekare Ana; Ka Mate |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=b7-XfrpjfFg |website=Youtube | date=14 February 2019 |access-date=25 November 2023}}</ref> The theme has four renditions, each corresponding to a different era in the game. These renditions were composed by [[Geoff Knorr]] and [[Phill Boucher]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Civilization VI: Gathering Storm (Original Game Soundtrack) |url=https://music.apple.com/us/album/civilization-vi-gathering-storm-original-game-soundtrack/1454035820 |website=Apple Music |access-date=25 November 2023}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|New Zealand|Sports}}
* [[Haka in sports]]
* [[Kapa haka]]
* [[Kapa o Pango]]
* [[Māori music]]

==References==
{{reflist}}
{{notelist}}

==External links==
{{wikisource}}
{{Commons category|Ka Mate haka}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20110720050544/http://www.haka.co.nz/haka.php/ The story behind "Ka Mate"] – includes a recording
*[http://folksong.org.nz/ka_mate/index.html Another and different translation of haka] – tells the meaning behind the translation
*[http://folksong.org.nz/ka_mate/Ka_Mate.pdf Ancient versions of Ka Mate] – A comparative study of "Ka Mate" from ten different sources.

{{Culture of Oceania}}

[[Category:1820s poems]]
[[Category:Ritual dances]]
[[Category:Haka]]
[[Category:New Zealand poetry]]
[[Category:Rugby football culture]]
[[Category:Songs in Māori]]