Ko te kupu ‘kapa’ e kōrero ana mō te takitū ā-rārangi, mō te nui rānei o te kaihaka. Ko te ‘haka’, he momo kanikani. Ka mutu ko te kupu ‘kapa haka’ ko tētahi rōpū, ko ngā rōpū rānei kua whakarārangihia ki te haka i ngā kani Māori tawhito, i ngā waiata, mōteatea hoki. Ko te kapa haka he toi ora.
Ngā tūmomo haka
Ahakoa ngā pōhēhē, ehara kau noa te haka mō te kawe ā-riri. He maha ngā tūmomo haka e tika ana mō ngā kaupapa rerekē. E kī ana te mātanga reo Māori, a Tīmoti Kāretu, o Ngāi Tūhoe, o Ngāti Kahungunu he tūāpapa te haka mō te kaitito, ki te ‘puha i te riri, ki te whakanui i te tangata, ki te pōhiri i te manuhiri, ki te whakatuwhera whare, ki te whakamihi i ngā mate, ki te whakahōnore i ōna tīpuna, ki te kōrero tuku iho.’1 Ko te pānga o ēnei mea katoa, ko te mauri ka mahora noa i te katoa o tēnei mahi toi. He mea toro atu te haka, i te wairua me ngā whakaaro o te kaihaka.
Te poi
He motuhenga te poi ki te Māori o Aotearoa. He mea here te poi ki te taura, ā, tāwhiua e te kaihaka hei kīnaki i tāna mahi. I ngā wā o mua, ka whakamahi te tāne i te poi hei whakaharatau mārohirohi tū taua; ā, whakamahia ai e te wahine ki te whakangāwari i ngā uaua, kia ngāwari ngā ringa mō ngā mahi pērā i te raranga. Ahakoa, kaha whakamahia te poi i ēnei rā ki ngā rangi Pākehā, ko ngā poi o uki i waiatatia pēnei i te haka, inā noa atu te iwi o Taranaki.
Te waiata i roto i te haka
He tūāhua nui te waiata i roto i te kapa haka. Hei tauaro ki te haka, ko ngā mea e whai ake nei ka waiatahia ki ngā rangi, ki ngā mōteatea pēnei i te waiata tira, te waiata tawhito, te waiata-ā-ringa, te poi, te whakaeke me te whakawātea. Ko tā te waiata Māori, he tuku i ngā kare-ā-roto o te tangata, o te rōpū rānei, ko te tuku i ngā kōrero hītori, ko te tāwhai rānei i ngā pūrakau. Ko te mahi ā te waiata ko te tuku i ngā mātauranga ki ngā hapori Māori.
Te haka me te mana
He maha ngā atua Māori e whai pānga ana ki te kapa haka, ko Hineruhi, ko Tānerore, ko Hinerēhia, ko Rūaumoko hoki. E kī ana te kōrero nā Tinirau te kapa haka tuatahi, i tōna whakaemi i tōna kapa wāhine. Hei rapu utu i tōna hoariri i a Kae, ka tonoa e ia te kapa wāhine ki te haka ki a Kae; he whakakata i ia, e kitea mai ai te āhua o ōna niho. I tutuki tāna i hiahia ai – ā, kata ana Kae, patua rawa a ia.
Te kapa haka tuatahi
He maha ngā atua Māori e whai pānga ana ki te kapa haka, ko Hineruhi, ko Tānerore, ko Hinerēhia, ko Rūaumoko hoki. E kī ana te kōrero nā Tinirau te kapa haka tuatahi, i tōna whakaemi i tōna kapa wāhine. Hei rapu utu i tōna hoariri i a Kae, ka tonoa e ia te kapa wāhine ki te haka ki a Kae; he whakakata i ia, e kitea mai ai te āhua o ōna niho. I tutuki tāna i hiahia ai – ā, kata ana Kae, patua rawa a ia.
Ngā pānga tuatahi ki te Pākehā
Inā te mīharo o ngā kaimātaki Pākehā ki te weriweri, ki te tāngaengae o tēnei mea te haka. Ki tā Joseph Banks, i haere mai ki Aotearoa i te taha o Kāpene Kuki i te tau 1769, ‘He maha ngā tūmomo korikoringa tinana kei roto i te haka. Ka whētero te ārero, ā, ka tīkoro ngā whatu kia huraina te mā e kitea ana i ngā whatu: otirā kāore e mahue tētahi āhuatanga e weriweri, e mataku ai te hanga nei o te tangata, kāore e hapa e kino ana ki a rātou.’2
Ngā tūmomo mahi o te kapa haka
Ko te tū me ngā ringa hei whakawehi i te hoariri, hei whakaihi, hei tō mai i te kaimātaki ki te whakakitenga. I te uekaha o te puku, i te kaha ngari o ngā nekehanga, i te aukaha o te te reo e ihi rangaranga ai, me te whakatinana i te ngako o te kōrero ki hunga whakarongo. E eke panuku ai te haka, me pakari te tinana me te hinengaro. Otirā i ngā whakatūtū waewae, ko te aronga he whakahauware i te hoariri ki te pūkana me te whētero.
Ka uia te tohunga haka o Ngāti Porou a Hēnare Te Ōwai he aha ana kōrero mō tēnei mea te haka, ko tāna: ‘Kia kōrero te katoa o te tinana.’3