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The haka (plural is the same as singular: haka) is a traditional ancestral war cry, dance, or challenge from the Māori people of New Zealand. It is a posture dance performed by a group, with vigorous movements and stamping of the feet with rhythmically shouted accompaniment.〔The group of people performing a haka is referred to as a ''kapa haka'' (''kapa'' meaning ''row'' or ''rank''). The Māori word ''haka'' has cognates in other Polynesian languages, for example: Tongan ''haka'', 'hand action while singing'; Samoan ''saa'', Tokelau ''haka'', Rarotongan ''aka'', Hawaiian ''haa'', Marquesan ''haka'', all meaning 'dance'; Mangarevan ''aka'', 'to dance in traditional fashion; dance accompanied by chant, usually of a warlike nature'. In some languages, the meaning is divergent, for example in Tikopia ''saka'' means to 'perform rites in traditional ritual system'. The form reconstructed for Proto-Polynesian is '' *saka'', deriving ultimately from Proto-Oceanic ''(unicode: *saŋka(g))''.〕 War haka were originally performed by warriors before a battle, proclaiming their strength and prowess in order to intimidate the opposition, but haka are also performed for various reasons: for welcoming distinguished guests, or to acknowledge great achievements, occasions or funerals, and kapa haka performance groups are very common in schools. The New Zealand sports teams' practice of performing a haka before their international matches has made the haka more widely known around the world. This tradition began with the 1888–89 New Zealand Native football team tour and has been carried on by the New Zealand rugby team since 1905. ==History== Although the use of haka by the All Blacks rugby union team and the New Zealand rugby league team has made one type of haka familiar, it has led to misconceptions.〔''All Black's Haka'' ().〕 Haka are not exclusively war dances but were traditionally performed by men. In modern times, various haka have been composed to be performed by women and even children.〔(''Haka'' is also the plural form in Māori )〕 Haka are performed for various reasons: for welcoming distinguished guests, or to acknowledge great achievements, occasions or funerals. War haka (''peruperu'') were originally performed by warriors before a battle, proclaiming their strength and prowess in order to intimidate the opposition. Today, haka constitute an integral part of formal or official welcome ceremonies for distinguished visitors or foreign dignitaries, serving to impart a sense of the importance of the occasion. Various actions are employed in the course of a performance, including facial contortions such as showing the whites of the eyes and poking out the tongue, and a wide variety of vigorous body actions such as slapping the hands against the body and stamping of the feet. As well as chanted words, a variety of cries and grunts are used. Haka may be understood as a kind of symphony in which the different parts of the body represent many instruments. The hands, arms, legs, feet, voice, eyes, tongue and the body as a whole combine to express courage, annoyance, joy or other feelings relevant to the purpose of the occasion. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Haka」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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