Isn’t the point of a haka to be intimidating?
In general, no. Historically and in the vast majority of cases it is done as a show of respect, to honor someone or something. It's done for things like dignitaries visiting, big events, funerals, etc.. For example, Viggo Mortensen was very close with the stunt team on Lord of the Rings, and they performed one for him after he filmed his last scene.
The Ka Mate haka(which is the one the polticians did), was popularized by the New Zealand national rugby team. And, is from what I remember a retelling of a story. Honoring someone who won by outwitting his enemies. It's was never originally intended to be "intimidating" in terms of the vocalization and movement.
Given the current context though, I suppose it's definitely not meant respectfully?
Perhaps a better way of seeing it is that it is generally something done with regards to respect. In this specific case to show disrespect. But it is not intended as a display of hostility in any case, and is equally as “aggressive” when conveying a positive emotion as it is when conveying a negative one.
You could think of a sort of comparison in something like singing a song. You could sing a song to pay respect someone. You could also sing a song to mock someone. But either way it would be weird to label singing as a hostile act intended to intimidate someone.
In this particular case rather than weird its moreso just racist, or at best culturally disrespectful. Its not like New Zealanders dont know what a haka is when theyve coopted it themselves. Theyre using “aggression” to label it as unacceptable behavior for an MP despite knowing full well it isnt aggression nor something they should be intimidated by. Its otherizing a form of cultural expression to avoid criticism
So, it was a sarcastic haka?
Im not Maori so I couldnt say. But I would assume, like singing a song, that it could be either sarcastic or directly disrespectful. I would assume in this case it was not sarcasm, but directly disrespectful, considering she ripped up the bill while performing the haka. Also the severity of the situation in terms of the issue she was protesting.
If I had to take a guess based on what I know about other Pacific Island cultures, a sarcastic haka is probably not a common thing. But could exist I guess
Thanks, having an explanation of the cultural context was very enlightening!
Ooh interesting, thank you!
That's literally just racial discrimination
"It was very intimidating, a woman of color wasn't being quiet while the white men were talking"
There were MPs of both genders in the haka...
👍
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