Film clip: haka at the NZ Centennial, 1940

Film clip: haka

Description

The title cards tell us that it is 'Official Maori Day' and we will be treated to a 'Maori Haka (War Dance)'. We see several rows of Maori performers on a stage , with the roof of the sound shell curving behind them. They are dressed as warriors, wearing flax skirts, with bare chests and bare feet. You can almost hear the thump as they jump in time on the stage, shaking their raised spears. Twice they kneel, some pointing their spears towards the audience. Then they hold their spears at chest height, and move them up and down with a wave-like motion.