Spanish haka video ‘demeaning’
A haka being appropriated by the Spanish Ministry of Equality to celebrate Pride has been labelled “denigrating and demeaning”.
A video posted to YouTube this week refers to the haka as a “typical Ma¯ori dance to show pride”, which was demonstrated during an awards ceremony associated with the LGBTQI movement.
National Ma¯ori Authority chairman Matthew Tukaki said the haka was often appropriated by people from other cultures all over the world.
“There’s a lot of people out there who are using the haka — from nurses in England through to drunks in Germany,” he said. “And I think a lot of Ma¯ori get pretty sick and tired of the appropriation of our culture.”
Last year the haka was used by French lawyers protesting pension reforms, and encouraged in a viral TikTok challenge in which the Kardashians’ children participated.
Last September German protesters tried to perform a haka in their campaign against lockdown laws.
“It does draw attention to Ma¯ori culture, but used in an unwise and incorrect way, and a way that denigrates us isn’t that nice,” Tukaki said. “And that’s certainly what was happening with those tourists in Germany, and one would even argue the lawyers in France.”
In the case of the Spanish video, Tukaki suspected they were more focused on the celebration of Pride month.
“I get what they’re doing — it’s a group of people that want to celebrate,” he said. “But in doing so — and this is a warning to everyone — don’t appropriate someone else’s culture just to fulfil your own need.
“The haka has a long and significant history, so do many of our waiata, and it’s meaningful when the words are used in the right way.
“How would you feel if we did that to the rainbow flag, in a way that demeaned it?”