Kappa Haka

During the first week of classes here, I was a little stressed over my satisfaction with the courses I was taking and figuring out how to piece the puzzle together of my senior year schedule back at Loyola. I soon realized that I did not want to torture myself with a specific Ethics course here that I knew I may be able to enjoy more at Loyola. However, I found switching out of this class to be very problematic and almost impossible withouth me flip-flopping everthing else around. I thought I would be stuck suffering for 3 hours every Monday in this dreadful class. Fortunately, as I was exploring more of New Zealand's outdoors and hiking a volcano, I chatted with a student from Canada who was also studying at University of Auckland and discovered the best class in the world, Kappa Haka!

Many of people are familiar with the term Haka as it is the famous warrior chant/dance that the All Blacks New Zealand rugby team performs before every game. And as of last Monday I can proudly say that I can chant and dance that Haka known as "Ka Mate."

Although this is the traditional perception of the Haka, there is much more to Haka than a simple warrior dance (at least there should be considering that I am taking a semester-long class on it.) Kappa Haka simply means lines of people singing and dancing. Typically, in the beginning of every class we practice the songs/chants we have learned so far. The "Ka Mate" is only one which represents how the Maori people are prepared to go to battle. Therefore, it is very intense and loud and meant to intimedate the group in opposition. Other songs we have learned sound somewhat Hawaiian in a sense and are meant more as welcoming songs or praise/prayer to ancestors. These include "E hara i te mea," "Hoki hoki," and "Papaki nui." "E hara i te mea" is the most general welcoming song used on Maraes (Maori villages) to describe how everything that they have comes from their ancestors. For the song "Hoki hoki" we made dance instruments calle "poi" that the ladies twirl around while singing and make noise with by hitting the poi on their body. We recently started learned this and I found it very difficult to avoid hitting myself (or my neighbor) in the face with the poi repeatedly. For the "Papaki nui" song we just finished learning the full dance which consists of a lot of arm movements (reminded me of a Hula dance without the hips shaking) and a constant quiver in the hands. This shake in the hands really makes the Maori dancing unique to me, and I found it interesting to learn that they do this to openly show their emotions (nervousness of performance.)

After we practice these songs over and over and over again, the best part of class occurs...TEA TIME! For about a half an hour we have a small potluck of food that people in the class brought in and are served tea and coffee. This becomes a nice social hour and is a major part of Maori culture because they find sharing to be of high importance. I definitely agree with this too, who wouldn't want free snacks and tea time with a bunch of friends during class? After this we all return refreshed to more singing/dancing/learnig about Maori culture. I honestly feel like all classes should have tea time considering how much more alert I am after a relaxing break.

So I guess you can say that I solved my scheduling problem except for the sad fact that Kappa Haka only counts as another elective for me, which means I will be taking 6 courses at some point next year. Some may think I am silly for taking a class that frankly counts for nothing, but I actually find that this is exactly the course I needed while studying here in New Zealand. The culture of New Zealand is not typically why people travel here as they would to Italy or Spain. I originally came to New Zealand to escape into the endless outdoor world because I love outdoor activities, but now I have the opportunity to not just learn about New Zealand's history and the Maori culture, but step into Maori life and experience a part of this country that I didn't expect to become so familiar with. Personally, I love singing, dancing, performing, and EATING, and now learning all of this has opened up a part of New Zealand that I did not expect to see but I am glad I found.