Furore over topless haka

2007-01-09 09:58

Cath Bennett

Canterbury - An English women's rugby team have had a strip torn off them after performing a topless haka.

The Sunday News has reported that the girls from the Canterbury women's rugby team in Kent went topless in their version of the sacred war dance for their raunchy 2007 calendar.

But Maori academics have labelled their interpretation of the All Blacks' Ka Mate haka as racially ignorant.

"It looks like misuse of the haka to me," said Dr Poia Rewi, senior lecturer in the School of Maori Studies at Otago University.

"I think Maori would be offended by this," he said.

"Women traditionally did do the haka, and if they really wanted to vent their spleen they might have been prompted to expose their private parts.

"But that's the ultimate expression of soul feeling. If Maori aren't doing it now then I think other people who the culture doesn't belong to should be a bit cautious.

"It's not something I would promote."

Maori Party co-leader Dr Pita Sharples said: "There's two issues here - doing the haka and doing it topless.

"The haka is sacred to us and we do it in the proper way at different times, but if people imitate it then we're fair game to be imitated. I would feel differently if it was a New Zealand women's team - it would be bastardising it in a way."

Broadcaster Willie Jackson added: "Can you imagine if Maori women did it in this country? There'd be uproar.

"Why didn't they take their tops off and do the Highland Fling?"

The photo of the topless haka is part of the team's 2007 calendar. For every one sold for $20, $2 is donated to Breast Cancer Care.

They have sold almost 500.

Team member Rebecca Willis said they never meant to offend anyone.

"We didn't really know what we were doing so it was kind of the jump with a lot of noise," she said.

"We did it lots of times to get the picture right and luckily we had the field to ourselves. We never really thought it would offend people.

"At first we just thought we would sell the calendars to friends and family."

Teammate Jo Gleeson, 28, a Kiwi, did not appear in the haka photo but appears in others.

She said: "My family would have been shocked, but they know what I'm like."

The kindergarten teacher, who is pregnant with her second child, plans to return to Hamilton this year.

"I've never played in New Zealand and I think they take it a bit more seriously over there," she said. "I certainly don't think they'd be doing the haka topless."

The team didn't get instructions on how to do the haka properly - relying on images they had seen of the All Blacks on television and posters.

Alexa Kent, who took the photos for the calendar, came up with the idea.

"I just wanted a muddy shot with a rugby tie-in and the haka seemed the obvious choice," said the professional photographer, who plays lock for the team.

When former All Black legend Jonah Lomu was told about the topless version of the war dance his eyebrows shot up in astonishment.

"I wouldn't like to comment on that," he said.

A NZRU spokesperson refused to comment about the calendar.

- Rugby Heaven