New Zealand. The haka.
Both are so associated with each other that it is hard to fathom a New Zealand without the haka. It is probably our most famous cultural export and contribution to the world.
And there is no more famous performer of the haka than the All Blacks - or indeed any mens sporting team other than the All Whites, although more so with rugby union or league.
Yet, with the All Blacks playing so often a season nowadays and even ladies teams doing the haka - as well as American college sides and even ads having their own spins on the Maori war dance - some might say that the haka has lost its value and uniqueness.
Some even say that the haka is outdated in this world and should be consigned to history - including prop Cian Healy who raised eyebrows slamming the haka.
Some say that the All Blacks just do the haka for publicity sakes - remember the reaction the Welsh crowd gave when the ABs refused to do the haka in front of them some years ago before the ABs played the Welsh in a test?
Even respected writer, Joseph Romanos has become the devils advocate and gone against keeping the haka as a part of sport in NZ - http://www.stuff.co.nz/timaru-herald/sport/opinion/joseph-romanos/9446599/Haka-gives-ABs-an-unfair-advantage-edge.
Needless to say, critics of the haka just don't understand its cultural and personal significance. From a simple point of view, it psyches the players up and makes them more pumped up. But there's more to the haka, almost a spiritual element - which is ironic given how secular New Zealand has become.
The fact is, it's not the ABs and Kiwis who have ruined the haka - it's the multinational corporations who have attempted to make a profit by using something sacred to iwi as a marketing gimmick for their own profit that are probably looming as the threat to this great tradition.
It would probably be the darkest day in New Zealand history if the ABs and Kiwis were outlawed from doing the haka.
It looks very unlikely at this stage. God hope it stays that way!
This is total Bullshit it means heaps to new zealander's if you knew the back ground to the story of the haka's you would feel differently its our way of appreciation to the past and present elders of Aotearoa
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