Ever wondered what the words to the All Black haka - 'Ka Mate'- actually mean?
They tell of a great escape by an illustrious Maori war lord, a High Chief of the Ngati Toa named Te Rauparaha who, sometime around 1820, was running for his life.
The story goes that Te Rauparaha, fleeing from a rival tribe, pleaded with a fellow chief to hide him.
The particularly hirsute chief agreed, hiding Te Rauparaha in a deep pit where Kamura, a form of sweet potato, is stored.
As his pursuers neared, the great war lord from the depths of the dark pit muttered the words Ka mate, Ka Mate (I die, I die).
The hairy chief then began talking to the angry mob to convince them that Te Rauparaha was not near.
Believing he was saved, the next line from the vulnerable lips of Te Rauparaha was Ka Ora, Ka Ora (I live, I live).
The sun rose in the sky until the pit was completely flooded with light. Temporarily blinded by the invading sunlight and expecting his cover to be blown, again he muttered Ka Mate Ka Mate (I die I die) waiting for his chasers to take his life at any moment.
But as his eyes adjusted he saw the hairy legs of the chief who hid him and ascended from the pit to perform what is now re-staged by the New Zealand All Blacks before every match.
Ka mate! Ka mate! Ka ora! Ka ora!
I die! I die! I live! I live!
Ka mate! Ka mate! Ka ora! Ka ora
I die! I die! I live! I live!
Tenei te tangata puhuru huru
This is the hairy man
Nana nei i tiki mai
Who fetched the Sun
Whakawhiti te ra
And caused it to shine again
A upa ... ne! ka upa ... ne!
One upward step! Another upward step!
A upane kaupane whiti te ra!
An upward step, another.. the Sun shines !!!
The first use of the 'Ka Mate' haka by the All Blacks was by the "Originals" in 1905 on the first overseas tour by a full-scale New Zealand representative side.
It was also on this tour that the name 'All Blacks' was used. The two most distinctive features of the New Zealand team were thus initiated right from the very beginning. For the then on, the 'Ka Mate' haka became a permanent fixture for the All Blacks.