Haka, sport and politics

A haka incorporating barbs aimed at the Government has rekindled a decades old debate over sport and politics.The Hurricanes Poua's season started with a controversial haka criticising the Government, with critics asking if politics belong in sport.In the first haka of their season, the Hurricanes Poua used the words "karetao o te Kāwana kakī whero" -- "puppets of this redneck government". It was a political statement that got the attention of the government, the media; and the Hurricanes Poua management, who said they were blindsided. And a bit of pushback - Act's David Seymour said the Poua "know nothing about the colour of my neck", NZ First's Winston Peters said they shouldn't be "out there to speak, you're out there to play", and Newstalk ZB breakfast host Mike Hosking called women's rugby a "tenuous proposition at the best of times".This weekend, the team revised their haka, using a line that's been translated by 1News as: "Governments are temporary, the Treaty will endure. Poua will endure." But the team's management has denied this is the translation, saying it meant "challenges may come and go, but we will endure". RNZ Māori news journalist Tuwhenuaroa Natanahira (Te Aupōuri, Ngāti Hine) was the first to report on the story. The Detail sat down with him to discuss whether haka is inherently political, and whether such messages belong in sport."It's a question I've been trying to follow up with some 'haka experts,' for lack of a better term, to get a sense of what actually the role of haka is within rugby," he says."One of the key responses I've got, and I think that Māori people know this, haka is not just a political art form. It is often used as a political art form," he says, "but it is also an expression of love, of commemoration."When you think about that concept - that haka is an art form, it's a form of expression - what role do New Zealand rugby clubs have in implementing or integrating what is essentially a show as part of their game?"Is it just a little set piece that you have before the game to get everybody hyped up, is it a tool for marketing that you use to bring in foreign interest into the game...and if you're going to do that, is that the right thing to do, if it's a form of expression?"Should rugby clubs dictate to teams or composers what can be said? I think it's fair to say that the reaction from Māori is 'no it's not'. So the question now is should haka be part of the game if it's going to have these limitations?" he says. …Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details