Support for haka boycott
Chiefs Manawa duo Ruby Tui and Arihiana Marino-Tauhinu have been lauded for their boycotting of their team’s haka last weekend, with one expert expecting to see similar scenes in future.
While the rest of the team performed their traditional He Piko, He Taniwha haka prior to their Super Rugby Aupiki clash against the Blues in Auckland last Saturday, the Black Ferns duo stood, motionless, at the back, before rejoining their team-mates for a match the visitors went on to win 17-10.
Their non-participation followed the controversy surrounding two haka performed by Hurricanes Poua in the past fortnight, which included reference to the Treaty of Waitangi and initially labelled the coalition Government as “rednecks” when translated.
It’s strongly suspected that initial Poua haka, in the season-opener against the Manawa in Hamilton on March 2, is what triggered the issue at the Chiefs.
That is because, during the karanga prior to the haka itself, Marino-Tauhinu, often the Chiefs haka leader and who has done the same for the Black Ferns since 2022, appeared to go off-the-cuff with words about the Government herself.
It’s a theory supported by Mana Epiha, a cultural advisor, and head tutor for senior kapa haka team Ngā Manu Mātui.
“I do think it’s a knock-on from the haka that Poua did,” he told Stuff.
Epiha has seen such instances of haka non-participation before, albeit rare, and usually with extreme reasons attached, such as the individual having no respect for the team they are coming up against.
Sir Wayne ‘Buck’ Shelford, who played a big part in reviving the All Blacks haka, told Stuff that the haka provided a stage for conveying feelings and opinions.
“This is the thing within Māoridom, we express ourselves in waiata, in haka, that’s what we do. And they call people to task all the time.
“This is a platform for them to say something. And that’s what the wero’s for, sending a message.”
The former All Blacks captain did not take offence, or believe anyone should, to the players standing away from performing it, noting it was “their right”, and that if they were showing their support of the Poua, then “tautoko”.
Epiha agreed, noting each person had their own cultural reasons, traditions and legacies to uphold.
“Everybody has their own tikanga,” he said. “And obviously those two have taken it upon themselves to practise that tikanga of standing up, for whatever reason.
“I don’t blame them, and I wouldn’t be surprised if we see some more sitting down, or standing out, or taking a knee like the NFL players started to do.
“In this case, these girls are displaying their own tikanga, and I think it’s great, there’s something really Māori about that. And it just shows that they have been brought up with the right morals by their elders and their families to be able to display their own tikanga and what they think is right.
“Holding onto your tikanga is everything, because it’s your autonomy, it’s your mana, it’s who you are, instead of following the rest, like sheep or cows.”
The stance of Tui and Marino-Tauhinu also drew support from Waikato-Tainui, who released a statement yesterday congratulating the team for “utilising their platforms to highlight the negative social issues affecting their communities”.
Executive chair Tuku Morgan said their stance sent “a powerful message to the Government that its current trajectory will be disastrous for Aotearoa”.
The Chiefs were yet to give a reason for the players’ haka boycott, or make anyone available to speak on the issue.
The franchise issued the following statement to Stuff yesterday: “Te Ao Māori is central to who we are at the Chiefs Rugby Club and we support our players on and off the field. The haka is a form of self-expression and we saw that last weekend.
“It has been a difficult time for women’s rugby and Aupiki players over the past couple of weeks. We saw our players’ haka and stand for what they believe in and we support their right to do so.”
“This is a platform for them to say something. And that’s what the wero’s for, sending a message.”
Sir Wayne Shelford, former All Blacks captain