Ka Mate

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Te Rauparaha composed Ka Mate around 1820 as a celebration of life over death after his lucky escape from pursuing Ngāti Maniapoto and Waikato enemies. He had hidden from them, on Motuopihi Island in Lake Rotoaira, in a kūmara storage pit while a woman (wāhine) by the name of Rangikoaea straddled the pit to hide and protect him. 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, followed by the main body. Ka Mate was conceived as a brief energising haka of the ngeri type, where, in the absence of set movements, the performers are free to extemporise their chanting and movement as they feel fit, without any need for synchronisation.

In Their Own Story

In the lead-up to matches, the choice between haka is often a matter of 'vibe.' All Blacks scrum-half TJ Perenara explained that while they always perform Ka Mate in Wellington to pay respects to Te Rauparaha's lands, elsewhere the decision rests with captain Kieran Read and himself. They discuss the choice on match eve or earlier in the week based on how the team feels, their form, and their opponents. Before the end of the 2003 Rugby World Cup, performances typically concluded with a mid-air leap. In November 2024, this tradition transcended sport when MP Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke led Ka Mate in Parliament while tearing up the Treaty Principles Bill, an act that resulted in her suspension for 24 hours and docked pay.

Reader's Guide

Ka Mate is the most widely known haka both in New Zealand and worldwide because a choreographed and synchronised version of the chant has traditionally been performed by the All Blacks, New Zealand's international rugby union team, as well as the 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. 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. 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 learnt how to perform. 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: '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.'

Did You Know?

• Ka Mate has been performed by the All Blacks before test matches against a wide range of international opponents; however, it is not verifiable that every team that has faced the All Blacks has seen Ka Mate, as the numbe
• Between 1998 and 2006, Ngāti Toa attempted to trademark 'Ka Mate' to prevent its use by commercial organisations without their permission. In 2006, the Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand declined their claim on
• In the 2019 DLC for Civilization VI, Gathering Storm, the main theme for the added Māori civilisation is 'Ka Mate' and 'Pōkarekare Ana'.