The has been much talk in South Africa recently regarding the use of the Maori haka domestically. This brings into question why there is no Springbok rugby haka or challenge?
Use of the haka in the Varsity Shield
Ryan Jordan looks at the context of using the haka and a little piece of history that has been lost over time. There is indeed a history of a Springbok rugby “haka”, or more correctly termed a war cry.
The current discussion
Walter Sisulu University has created a little controversy by performing the All Blacks Kapa O Pango haka before their matches. Reactions have been mixed. Some love it. Others hate it. Terms such as “cultural appropriation” have been used. Others question why they did not use elements of their own culture to create a challenge.
It is not our place to make a judgment either way as the domestic use of the haka is for context only. It is probably prudent though to give the team’s captain, Litha Nkula, the opportunity to comment on this.
“The players wanted to bring in the haka because they admired the way the All Blacks play … It has become part of our culture. We explain to new players that come in why it is done and how it influences us as a team. That’s why we feel that we can’t play without it; it’s part of our team culture, even though we adopted it from New Zealand,” he told varsitycup.co.za.
New Zealand Rugby has since written to the University, requesting that they stop using Kapa O Pango due to its importance to New Zealand culture. They have complied with this request.
Springbok rugby “haka”
Not many people will know that for a very short period of time, the Springboks did have their own unique pre-game challenge. This was as far back as 1921. In the third Test against New Zealand in Wellington, the All Blacks broke their tradition of only doing the haka before away games and challenged the Springboks with their first haka on home soil. The Springboks immediately responded with their own challenge, based on the Zulu war cry “Indlamu”.
This was repeated in the Test series in 1928, when the Springboks hosted the All Blacks in South Africa. The Springbok rugby haka became a casualty of history after that. The lack of continuity in carrying the fledging tradition forward had a role to play, as did South African politics post World War II.
Rugby World Cup 2007
Before the Rugby World Cup hosted by France in 2007, then Springbok Head Coach Jake White and captain John Smit were quoted as saying that they were considering reviving the “Springbok Rugby haka”. At the time, the concept was broadly regarded as mind games or diversionary comments. Little did the general public know that this was actually a real thing. For context, the story of this war cry is included below. Due credit is given to Inherit South Africa.
The value of hakas and war cries
Traditional war cries are common throughout the Southern Hemisphere. They add to the theatre of the Test match. The All Blacks have their haka. Samoa has the Siva Tau. Tonga has the Sipi Tau. Fiji performs the Cibi. Each one allows them to lay down a challenge in their own unique way. The term “haka” has been used generically in this article for understanding, but only New Zealand can correctly lay claim to the haka.
The Springbok rugby context
South African rugby remains on a high despite the lack of game-time over the last year. The Springboks won both the Rugby Championship and the Rugby World Cup in 2019. The national tour around the main cities of South Africa to show the nation the Rugby World Cup was a blockbuster event. The South African public responds to the haka by trying to drown it out with volume. The romantic heart of this writer would rather see the Springboks stand up to that challenge with a challenge of their own.
Maybe one day.
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