Rugby battle cries have a special place in the hearts of fans around the world, with the most notable originating from Pacific Rim nations.
Fiji present the Cibi before each of their rugby internationals. Manu Samoa show their pride in their heritage by displaying the Siva Tau and the Tongans identify themselves with the Sipi Tau. All of these war cries are proud representations of each nations’ proud history and lays down a challenge to their opponents.
The most popular battle cry of them all is the Haka that has been been made famous the world over by New Zealand’s All Blacks. The Haka is deeply meaningful to the people of New Zealand and is a representation of the history of Maori people. Most people will be familiar with the most used Haka, being the “Ka mate”, but the All Blacks have started using a Haka written for and about the All Blacks, called the Kapo O Pango (Team in Black). The translation of Kapo O Pango is:
Let me go back to my first gasp of breath
Let my life force return to the earth
It is New Zealand that thunders now
And it is my time!
It is my moment!
The passion ignites!
This defines us as the All Blacks
And it is my time!
It is my moment!
The anticipation explodes!
Feel the power
Our dominance rises
Our supremacy emerges
To be placed on high
Silver fern!
All Blacks!
Silver fern!
All Blacks!
aue hi!
What I found to be truly amazing was that the Haka was only used before away Test matches and it was only under Buck Shelford and Hika Reid that the Haka was performed in home test matches from 1987.
All of these battle cries are wonderfully encapsulated in this video:
You would do well to investigate each and every one of these war cries to enrich your rugby knowledge and the meaning behind each one of them.
But…. are there forgotten “war cries” and “hakas”?
Most would be very surprised to learn that South Africa’s Springboks also had their own war cry, which dates back to 1908. Regrettably, most of the history and meaning of this war cry have been lost in the mists of time, but some remnants of the history have been compiled by the Springbok Rugby Museum (Dr. Hendrik Snyders). According to British and Australian press, the Springbok war chant was performed in Zulu and ended in a blood curdling crescendo. There are records of the this war cry being carried out by the Springboks, to be answered with the Ka Mate by the All Blacks. I sight I would pay good money to witness…
In the post-Second World War era, the Springbok war cry disappeared and one can only wonder as to the reasons why a tradition that had been built up for close on to thirty years and appreciated the world over just vanished.
The most reliable record of the words of this chant, translated from Zulu, is as follows:
“Charge! Charge! Charge!
Death to you!
Charge!
Who are you?
Death to you!”
Prior to the 2007 Rugby World Cup, Springbok captain John Smit alluded to an ancient Springbok war cry and the possibility of reviving it. Unfortunately this never transpired, but taking “Bill” as the Rugby World Cup trophy is known back to South Africa probably made him forget that thought pretty quickly.
Given South Africa’s racially divided past and slow progress to racial inclusion, I personally think it would be a fantastic idea to pick up on John Smit’s idea and revive and embellish upon that early Zulu war chant in order to celebrate the rich heritage as well as diversity in South Africa.
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