Why Do The All Blacks Get 2 Anthems And The Hakka

What was the best response to All Blacks' haka?

Growing up an Aussie, it always seemed a little unfair to me that the All Blacks could fire themselves up with the haka and then immediately clash with a passively observing opposition who were not given the chance to provide an equal response. It seemed to me quite unfair that all teams opposing the All Blacks were forced by tradition to start the game with this emotional disadvantage.I think things squared up for the Australian team when the Aussie coach Rod Macqueen, finally devised a strategy to counter this emotional imbalance. See, in the Bledisloe cup in Melbourne 2007, the coach instructed the players to pay their respects to the All Black haka but to do so while still wearing their tracksuits.At the end of the haka the fired-up All Blacks took their field position, coiled and ready to steamroll the opposition from the soon to be blown opening whistle. Trouble was, the Australian team had strolled from the field and removed their tracksuits as slowly as possible. While they were doing this, the iconic Aussie singer John Williamson started singing 'Waltzing Matilda', Australia's national song, over the load speakers. It wasn't long before the 100,000 fans at the game were singing along with him.All the while the previously fired-up All Blacks were now starting to look more 'out of sorts' and rather misplaced as they stood all alone on the field with the crowd now bellowing out the opponents national song. With the emotional imbalance finally in equalibuam, the Wallabies were able to go on and record a rare win against the All Blacks.Sadly, for Australian rugby, Rod Macqueen's practice to counter the haka was discontinued and the Wallabies have reverted back to the tradition position they have held over the past 100 years - losing to the All Blacks.

How did the Haka become the opening move of the NZ All Blacks rugby team?

History of the HakaThe haka is a Māori dance traditionally used to prepare a war party for battle.From History of the All Black haka: (this was believed to have happened in 1810)Ka mate, Ka mate - the original All Black haka - was composed in the early 19th century by famous Māori warrior chief Te Rauparaha, of the Ngāti Toa Rangatira tribe.Te Rauparaha was fleeing an enemy tribe seeking retribution for a past wrong he had committed against them. As he was chased across the central plateau of the North Island, fellow chief Te Wharerangi helped him hide in a pit and then instructed his wife Te Rangikoaea to sit on the pit entrance.After the enemy had moved on, Te Rauparaha emerged from the pit. There, in jubilant celebration of his lucky escape and in front of Te Wharerangi and his people, he performed Ka mate, Ka mate which he had composed while deep in the pit.In 1888–1889 the New Zealand Native Team toured the United Kingdom home nations. Before the first match the team dressed in traditional Māori garb and performed the Haka.Before 1924, they typically only performed the haka at home or before the first match of a tour.It soon began a regular ritual for the All Blacks to perform before every match. There is some controversy over the use, as it’s seen as possibly unsportsmanlike intimidation before the match, but some teams have turned it against them:An Australian team ignored it and continued warming up. I suppose in a way the haka is a warm up, so I think this is probably the best approach.An Irish team did their own form of intimidation and slowly approached them as they performed itOne group made an advertisement making it look like the all blacks had handbagsHere’s a collection of teams doing the haka right back at the All Blacks and the crowd completely drowning out the haka with their own national anthem:It should also be noted that the haka is also performed by some other New Zealand national teams, not just the Men’s Rugby team.Here’s the Women’s All Whites (the NZ soccer teams are the All Whites) performing it (at about 1:30)References:Haka (sports)History of the All Black haka

What country has the best national anthem and why?

“Hen Wlad fy Nhadau” the National Anthem of Wales.Written in Pontypridd in 1856 by father-and-son duo Evan James and James James, the anthem was first performed in Maesteg that same year.The title in English means “Old Land of my Fathers” usually rendered simply as “Land of my Fathers” and is always sung in the Welsh language, a language that is thought to have the oldest surviving literature in Europe.The anthem was the first to be performed before an international sporting event when the team led Welsh fans in singing it before a rugby union match against the All Blacks in response to New Zealand's Hakka.The anthem tells of the honour given equally to great bards and great warriors who fought for the freedom of Wales and the survival of its language through long centuries when might was right. It also sings of the beauty of the Welsh landscape covered in mountains and rivers.Coupled with “Y Ddraig Goch”, the flag of Wales depicting a mighty red dragon, the song is universally rousing, with James James' proud patriotic tune complimenting perfectly the powerful lyrics of his father Evan.Here it is, sung by Welsh legend Bryn Terfel:And here's another great version, sung by a traditional Welsh Male Voice Choir, a key part of our Nonconformist, Methodist heritage:

Why do New Zealanders of all races perform the Maori haka dance before sports matches, but Americans do not perform any Native American war rituals?

From reading the answers here, and from my own perspctive as a pakeha New Zealander, I think part of the reason being there is more respect for the NZ Maori, than many Americans have for the Indigenous people of those lands.Additionally, more of maori culture survived, as the settlers were not so intent on wiping out the original inhabitants. Yes, the deck was still loaded against NZ maori, with things like Christian missionaries, land seizure, and even today they are over represented in statistics like crime, obesity, and smoking.But there is some measure of respect coming back, now instead of banning Te reo, schools teach it, Kapa Haka is pretty widespread, and the half of the national anthem is written in Te reo. We have maori language week, some TV channels are predominately Maori, our TV presenters will slip in the odd word of Ter Reo here and there, and we learn some of maori culture in school. So our general awareness is increasing.  Additionally, the haka is a 'war dance' - a challenge believed to have been written by a chief who was hiding from his enemies.Ka Mate! Ka Mate! Ka ora! Ka ora!Ka Mate! Ka Mate! Ka ora! Ka ora!Tenei te tangata puhuru huruNana nei I tiki maiWhakawhiti te raA upa … ne! ka upa …ne!A upane kaupane whiti te ra!Hi!Translation:I die! I die! I live! I live!I die! I die! I live! I live!This is the hairy manWho fetched the sunAnd caused it to shine againOne upward step! Another upward step!An upward step, another… the sun shines!Ka mate, Ka mate is believed to have been composed by Te Rauparaha, a Maori warrior chief in early 1800s. My understanding is that many people consider it to be a good thing to have the Maōri culture in the spotlight, and thst the haka is something to be proud of.When you compare this to the US, my understanding is there is much less visibility on the native peoples, less desire to learn about those cultures, and quite a bit of mockery - take the silly headdress costumes and the caricatures depicted in the other answers.