Ka Mate Haka

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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. Ka Mate is a peruperu (war haka), performed with set movements in unison by all performers.

In Their Own Story

In the years leading up to 2013, the All Blacks performed a specific, choreographed version of Ka Mate before test matches, a practice that had become iconic worldwide. Prior to this era, specifically before 1985, most European-ancestry players lacked full training on the ceremony, resulting in inconsistent delivery. The performance style was revolutionised by two Māori players, Buck Shelford and Hika Reid, whose efforts ensured non-Māori players learned how to perform it correctly. Before the end of the 2003 Rugby World Cup, these performances traditionally concluded with a mid-air leap. However, from 13 August 2022 to 19 November 2022, and previously between 22 August 2009 and 12 June 2010, the All Blacks performed Ka Mate for nine consecutive matches, their longest such sequence since introducing the alternative 'Kapa o Pango' in 2005. In 2013, the team temporarily replaced it with 'Te Iwi Kiwi', though they returned to Ka Mate shortly after.

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'. 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 was composed around 1820 by Te Rauparaha after he escaped enemies by hiding in a kūmara storage pit, protected by a woman named Rangikoaea.
• The haka is of the peruperu type, meaning it is a war haka performed with set movements in unison, not improvised.
• The All Blacks have performed Ka Mate before test matches since the late 19th century; 2005 marks the introduction of 'Kapa o Pango', not the start of Ka Mate performances.
• In 2024, New Zealand MP Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke led Ka Mate in Parliament during a protest against the Treaty Principles Bill.
• Ngāti Toa attempted to trademark Ka Mate between 1998 and 2006, but the Intellectual Property Office declined the claim in 2006.