Haka Power!
Star-Telegram | 12/13/2005 | All together now
Just good editorializing ....
All together now
Star-TelegramThe Trojans of Trinity High School in Euless gave their school its first-ever state football championship on Saturday by defeating Converse Judson 28-14 in front of more than 11,500 fans at Round Rock ISD Stadium. They will be remembered for that.
Trevor Vittatoe completed seven of 14 passes for 207 yards. LaDerrick Handy caught four passes for 150 yards. Dimitri Nance added 158 yards rushing and finished the season with 3,175 yards and 41 touchdowns. They will be remembered for that.
Steve Lineweaver was the coach who led them, and he will be remembered for that.
The Trojans should be proud. A state football championship in Texas is a huge accomplishment.
But there is something more, and it may prove to be a lasting legacy of this team and these players and this coach. It's the dance they did as a symbol of unity before and after each game in their 14-1 season. A tradition has been born: the Trinity football haka.
The nearly 85 players faced cheering crowds, squatting and stomping their feet, slapping their thighs and chanting: "Ka mate! Ka mate! Ka ora! Ka ora!"
The haka, a traditional dance of the Maori people from New Zealand, has a special magic for Trinity, where 15 percent of the students are from families from the Pacific island of Tonga. In celebrating its diversity, the school has found strength.
The words of the haka refer to life, death and the shining sun, but for the players the ritual took on even more meaning. Said linebacker Richie Kautai, one of the team leaders for the dance: "I got your back; you got my back."
In the 1970s, Odessa's Permian High School football powerhouse had a magic that it called "Mojo." Today, Trinity High School has the Texas 5A Division I championship -- and the magic of haka. It will be remembered for that.
How can a American school do a haka from native New Zealand-Maoris- nothing to do with Tonga? This tradition is special for New Zealanders how can you even think about starting your games with this, this is New Zealands ritual for starting our rugby games. Find your own American way!
New Zealander,
Actually the Haka is a traditional Tongan dance. This Texas high school football team has many Tongan players on the roster. that is why they preform the dance. I have a question for you Mr. New Zealander, who many Tongan players are on your team?? Now, who should be doing this dance? Thats what I thought.
The fact is that you are wrong! The HAKA is specific to Maori only not Tongan or Samoan - The challenge that Tonga do is called the "Sipi Tau" which I would have thought the Tongans in the team wouldve adopted? Maybe they are ashamed of doing it? as it dosn't fall into the same calbre as the Maori Haka? The University of Hawaii Gridiron team have also copied a Maori Haka because they think it is cool that Haka is Kapa O Pango which was specialy gifted to the New Zealand All Blacks Rugby Team. Again I ask the question why would Hawaiians copy this and not create one from their own culture? Cos the Hula Dance just dosn't cut it ! The Haka is sacred to Maori and is a highly respected ritual Those who do it without proper authority or tutalege are disrespectful to the Culture and should have the decency to seek the correct people as would be expected and honourable!!
right on aee..
if 15% of the team is tongan, they should do the sipi tau , when they do it its mocking my culture, it is a ritual maori dance,
ritual is a very powerful word, so when your doing it, u are getting pumped to go into battle with all your whanau n hapu against the other iwi.
thats why its not theres to perform, theres a part maori fella playing for boston university football, and they do the haka, what would he know about being maori , he doesn't even respect his own culture, he was born in the states.
its not something that can be used international to represent you, when it isn't im relation to american hertiage, its someones else, so they should just stop performing it. to show respect and get them big smelly tongans to do a sipi tau, (its pretty wack)
americans dont understand, they own american samoa, but they must think all of polynesia is represented by one dance, shows how naive they think. stupid cu*ts
it's a freaking dance, calm down. its not like they're using it for a pro team, its a high school football team and the article made it out to be more than it really is.