My impression of haka growing up was that it was just for the boys — and mostly just for Maori boys.
I thought haka was just Ka Mate, a warrior dance used by the All Blacks for more than a century to taunt their opponents.
But after the Christchurch terror attacks in 2019 triggered spontaneous haka performances in streets, parks and outside the Al Noor mosque, I saw it in a new light.
I’m a Pakeha, or white, New Zealander who’s lived in Australia for nearly two decades. I still cry watching the videos of Christchurch High School boys, many of whom are white, doing haka.
Space to play or…
