When haka is not okay
FJ (a new MMW guest contributor!)
A July 4, 2006 article on Wikinews reported about a controversial commercial released despite objections of New Zealand diplomats.
To sell the new FIAT Idea, a city car made by Europe’s third automotive company, the advertisers wanted a crowd of black-clad Italian women to perform a Maori Kapa haka to simulate the atmosphere of an All Blacks rugby match.
Quite intimidating for the other team, the action chant with hand gestures and foot stamping comes from Maori warriors, who used to proclaim their strength and prowess before a battle. Maori still use haka today as a passing of blessings in graduations, weddings, funerals and official events. Shown overseas for the first time around 1888, haka is still performed by New Zealand’s current international rugby team: the All Blacks.
When the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade was told about the FIAT female haka project in April 2006, they advised that “the use of Ka Mate in this way was culturally insensitive and inappropriate“, suggesting to either use a Maori group or a haka composed for women.
Kwame Anthony Appiah, interviewed by Addicted to Race in the January 30, 2006 pod cast, writes that Culture is either considered as the intellectual property of a people or a universal property. Culture can’t be copyrighted, so is it okay to appropriate traditions from other cultures or should a people have a say in which part of its culture is disseminated and how?
John Tamihere, who has been a Member of the New Zealand Parliament until 2005, said that the idea of European designers like Thierry Mugler and Paco Rabanne taking Maori culture to the world stage was wonderful and “not an insensitive act at all“. Similarly, haka has been featured in commercials: a hypothetical Scotsman’s response to haka respectively won an award in 2000 and 2001. An All Black commercial for Adidas was elected ad of the year in Italy.
On the other hand, in December 2000, a beer ad showing beach babes “going native” (doing a haka) was withdrawn from British television after being branded insensitive and racist. In the case of Turin-based FIAT, the advertising company proceeded despite the advice of the MFAT. Unsurprisingly, the release of the commercial in early July 2006 raised a lot of criticism in New Zealand.
Here is a link to the controversial FIAT female haka commercial.
Dana wrote:
Well, as a female Maori New Zealander I definitely have an opinion on this. I feel somewhat uncomfortable because Ka Mate is a mens haka. There are womens haka, but this is not one.
We have had some debates about culture vs sexism in New Zealand with cases of women being told to sit at the back because it’s traditional. I don’t agree with this, but I think it’s very insensitive to have a bunch of women who know nothing about Maori perform a mens war dance.
That said, I somewhat disapprove of “the” haka (there are a LOT of haka!) being inextricably associated with rugby. Excuse me, but quite frankly there’s a lot more to it than a bunch of sportsmen showing off!
That’s my 2c
Posted 01 Aug 2006 at 3:09 am ¶
Melissa wrote:
There`s a the part where the kid in the backseat sticks his tongue out at his mother, and his mother laughs at “how cute” he`s being. That was the part that appeared to me to belittle the haka the most.
Posted 03 Aug 2006 at 8:44 pm ¶
justin wrote:
This really is a specific issue. ‘The Haka’ Ka mate was created buy Te Rauparaha and belongs to Ngati-Toa. Maori have their own way of deciding what is appropriate or not. Most Haka are Taonga while the majority of Kapahaka is toi. If those women were doing Kapahaka no one would care except for the advertisers who would end up with fat women and days of footage.
Ka Mate is male specific but it contests gender roles and good sense of male Mana. This link might help http://www.haka.co.nz/haka.php the relevant part is ‘the origin of Ka Mate’ and hiding behind his wife.
Also, since the advertisers didn’t get approval I’m guessing no one got paid, but that’s just fine cause them natives only have spiritual values and only beg for the white mans respect.
Posted 04 Aug 2006 at 1:42 pm ¶