Ka mate! Ka ora! Terrifying CLIL experience
Tha Haka is a war dance of ancient Maori people. It is a dance performed by a group with tongue profusions, vigorous movements and rhythmic body slapping. It looks like terrifying, but it is also funny.
We learnt the Haka dance at school, during the Geography lessons. Learning kamate haka is not easy, because there are many moves for memorizing, but our teacher Silvia Fioravanzo was super, so now we can join the dance! You can see in the video!
What do we say in the haka? The haka words:
Ka mate, ka mate! ka ora! ka ora!
Ka mate! ka mate! ka ora! ka ora!
Tēnei te tangata pūhuruhuru
Nāna nei i tiki mai whakawhiti te rā
Ā, upane! ka upane!
Ā, upane, ka upane, whiti te ra!
What do these words mean?
‘Tis death! ’tis death! (or: I may die) ’Tis life! ‘tis life! (or: I may live)
’Tis death! ‘tis death! ’Tis life! ‘tis life!
This is the man
Who brought the sun and caused it to shine
A step upward, another step upward!
A step upward, another… the Sun shines!
