New Zealand’s national rugby team made headlines over the weekend in their game against Italy but it wasn’t about their win.
In the traditional haka before the test match All Blacks halfback TJ Perenara shouted “Toitū te mana o te whenua, toitū te mana motuhake, toitū te Tiriti o Waitangi”.
Many online have commented in support of the All Black’s move but many didn’t, arguing politics and sports do not gel.
Te Ao Māori News talked to former Black Ferns and Labour MP Louisa Wall (Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Ngāti Hineuru, Waikato, Ngāti Kuri) and political commentator Dominic O’Sullivan (Te Rarawa, Ngāti Kahu) and asked for their thoughts.
Wall said doing the haka was a form of politics and Aotearoa’s national identity, first performed by the All Blacks in 1905.
“The symbolism of the haka is universal and it speaks a universal truth about the international identity that we have as New Zealanders when we see the haka being performed.
“For people who say sport and politics don’t mix, I think they’ve not interpreted haka as a form of politics and that politics has been about enabling an Indigenous voice to be heard in that context.”
She also pointed out many other sporting teams like the Black Ferns, league teams and Olympians perform the haka during their events.
O‘Sullivan said people who said sports and politics shouldn’t mix were making a political statement themselves.
“It’s probably a political statement in support of the Treaty Principles Bill, [but] I think the idea that politics is somehow separate from the rest of our lives is naive.
“I also think there is that bigger point that this is much bigger than politics and we could see that in TJ Perenara’s explanation of why he introduced the particular words he did into the haka,” he said.
O‘Sullivan was referring to Perenara talking to Sky Sport about the haka after his final match with the All Blacks.
“Being able to lead the haka is special in any moment. To be able to lead it tonight, especially to show the unification of our people back home,” he said.
“I think we all saw the people in our hīkoi ... the unity that our country showed. For us to be able to acknowledge the unification of our people, all of our people, not just tangata whenua but ngā tāngata katoa [everybody] is important for us and important for me,” Perenara said.
This follows last week’s hīkoi, which police estimated involved more than 42,000 people, though many argue that the number was much higher. Protesters marched on the Parliament lawn, criticising the government and demanding the scrapping of the Treaty Principles Bill introduced by ACT leader David Seymour.
O’Sullivan explained that the haka was not merely a political statement but held a deeper significance.
“I think it reflects the fact that for Māori people, the current Tiriti debate is certainly a political one, it’s bigger than that.
“It’s about whakapapa, it’s about belonging in our own country and it’s about honouring a tradition and honouring our tipuna who signed [te Tiriti o Waitangi],” he said.
The former Black Ferns player and MP said the haka was a cry from the All Blacks.
“What TJ [and] the All Blacks chose to do was to put a cry of unity out to our people as opposed to try to divide us. Even though this bill has been incredibly divisive, I think what we saw was the power of sports united,“Wall said.
She cited Perenara’s activism in the past supporting Indigenous rights, LGBTQIA+ people, Black Lives Matter, Ihumātao and, in similar discussions the Hurricanes Poua haka earlier this year.
Wall said he didn’t do it alone.
“What we’ve seen from sporting organisations, sporting teams, sports stars and I include TJ in that, is a use of their platform and privilege for good.
“We shouldn’t just focus on TJ. For me, this is about the All Blacks and what the All Blacks represent, which is being inclusive, it’s about unity, it’s about them knowing who they represent whenever they go out on the field and I’m really proud of the team in what they did, I always am.”
The All Blacks’ game against Italy marked Perenara’s final match with the national team, as he heads to Japan to join the Black Rams Tokyo on a three-year contract for Japan’s League One competition.