Expert Māori advice for 'Invictus' haka
29 Jan 2010
A Māori cultural expert who worked with Clint Eastwood on his latest movie Invictus says he’s humbled by the respect shown towards the haka and the New Zealand All Blacks.
Inia Maxwell, of Rotorua, was flown to Johannesburg to advise Eastwood and train the actors cast as All Blacks in the film.
Maxwell, who grew up performing kapa haka and is involved with promoting the 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand, says there was a lot riding on the performance of the All Blacks in Invictus and he was impressed with Eastwood and the cast’s attitude.
Rugby World Cup
Invictus - which has just opened in New Zealand cinemas - is based on the final game of the 1995 Rugby World Cup. The series was held in South Africa, and the final match pitted the New Zealand All Blacks against the Springboks.
The film tells the true story of how newly-appointed President Nelson Mandela joined forces with Springboks captain Francois Pienaar to help unite South Africa in the wake of apartheid.
Directed by Clint Eastwood, and starring Morgan Freeman as Mandela and Matt Damon as Pienaar, the movie has had favourable reviews with Eastwood applauded for his attention to detail and ability to "artfully and concisely tell a story".
Respect for the haka
Inia Maxell, who worked closely with the Hollywood star during the making of the movie, says Clint Eastwood is "a real gentleman".
Maxwell said it was an "amazing and humbling experience" to work with Eastwood and the 15 actors he trained to perform the haka - the traditional Māori war chant performed before each game to intimidate rival teams.
"They were real rugby players cast for their looks being similar to the 1995 cup teams. I wanted to make sure they understood what they were doing, what they were performing and the history of it.
"The enthusiasm they showed was quite humbling. There’s such respect for the haka and for the All Blacks over there," said Maxwell.
Haka instruction
The Invictus actors representing the All Blacks were the only cast members given haka instruction, but once it had been performed on set, many others involved in the film were keen to be taught.
"I didn’t realise how much the haka was an event. Morgan Freeman wasn’t due on set but he came along especially to watch it.
"It was pretty amazing for me to work with actors of that calibre," Maxwell said.
Clint Eastwood was open to suggestions when it came to shooting the haka, and took on board guidance from Maxwell.
"He was very respectful," said Maxwell. "I had to get it right - there was a lot riding on it. Back then the All Blacks were looking like a formidable team. It was really important the job was done well and the actions done properly.
"The players were champing at the bit to get into it. It was good to have people who were so happy to have the opportunity to learn this formidable dance their country has faced so many times."
Background: Traditional Māori haka
Haka - a group posture dance - is the traditional dance form of the New Zealand Māori.
Although the haka was made famous by the New Zealand All Blacks rugby team who perform it as a ritual pre-game challenge to their opponents, there are several different styles of haka - including some performed by women.
For Māori, the complex haka dance form is an expression of the passion, vigour and identity of their culture - a message of the soul expressed by words and posture.
Henare Teowai, from the Māori tribe of Ngati Porou and an acknowledged haka master, said that the whole body should speak.
Hands, feet, legs, body, voice, tongue, and eyes are all used to play a part in the challenge, welcome, exultation, defiance and contempt of the words.
In the leader’s pre-haka call, words are shouted in a ferocious and staccato manner that is designed to remind the performers how to comport themselves - instilling strength and determination so they can perform with power and force.
Movements essential to the art of haka include:
- pukana / dilating of the eyes
- whetero / protruding of the tongue performed by men only
- ngangahu / similar to pukana, performed by both sexes
- potete / the closing of the eyes at different points in the dance, performed by the women only.
These expressions are used at various times in the performance to lend meaning and force to the words.
Haka are generally not uniform with all participants acting in time. The best haka involve a good deal of spontaneity and creativity as performers interpret the words and feel the power of the haka take hold.
More information:
History of the All Black haka
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