Michele Qun-Yeo LEE 2992920 Māori 370 – Māori and the Media

Research Assignment | Semester 2 2013

Research Topic: Discussion of a relevant issue, analysis of relevant texts, or original research with audiences or producers of Māori media.

What are the implications of the All Blacks’ use of on representations of Māori, Māori culture and national identity?

Rugby has a significant part in New Zealand (NZ) culture and has been described as a “national obsession, a fundamental part of the nation’s character and values, the raw material of the social fabric of society, and a national religion.” (Scherer and Jackson 4). Furthermore, NZ’s national rugby team, the All Blacks, has become a marker of NZ national identity. As Laidlaw argues, to most people outside of NZ, the All Blacks are New Zealand and

New Zealand is the All Blacks (13). On the global stage, the All Blacks are known for their traditional pre-match performance of the , Ka Mate, and their performance of the Ka Mate haka has had great influence in shaping perceptions of Māori culture and NZ national identity. However, the intensification of the All Blacks’ corporate interests has led to the commercialisation, misinterpretation, misappropriation and abuse of the haka.

Māori culture is ‘widely’ accepted as an integral part of NZ national identity and this is emphasised through the incorporation of Māori culture in the 2011

Rugby World Cup Opening Ceremony. However, there are significant

1 Michele Qun-Yeo LEE 2992920 concerns for such representation of Māori and Māori culture as there is a lack of control placed in Māori hands. Commitment to the recognition of the Ka

Mate haka and of Māori culture as taonga is required, and the All Blacks play a significant role as ‘global ambassadors’ of NZ.

It is important to first understand Māori participation in rugby and the way in which the All Blacks came to adopt the pre-match performance of Ka Mate.

Laidlaw discusses the tensions between Pākeha and Māori, and argues that rugby is a point of convergence for Māori (14). He sees rugby as a healing force for the ethnic tensions; differences of race put aside for sport. Colonial forces suppressed Māori culture and to an extent, Māori were denied their

Māori identity. However, there was a growing discourse of “colonial harmony,” with Māori involvement in rugby as proof of “assimilation, co-operation and racial harmony” (MacLean 14). Walker emphasises this and argues that “the ideology of unity and one-ness of Māori and Pākehā was used to deny the other-ness of the Māori identity” (42). This unity was displayed in the 1888-

1889 ‘Native’ Rugby team’s tour of Australia and Britain, the first national team to leave NZ. It was largely comprised of Māori players and this symbolised ‘colonial harmony’ and the success of British assimilation of the indigenous people (Hokowhitu 85). The haka was first performed during this tour and was an opportunity for NZ to “demonstrate its sporting prowess against its colonial masters” (Jackson and Hokowhitu 130). Despite the tensions and conflict between Pākehā and Māori back home, the performance of the haka by both Māori and Pākehā rugby players showed the unity of the two peoples and represented racial harmony (127). However, while the haka

2 Michele Qun-Yeo LEE 2992920 served as an expression of distinctive cultural identity, its part as an entertainment spectacle to attract British crowds reflected the misinterpretations of the meaning and purpose of the haka. The pre-colonial

Māori society was portrayed as savages who were in need of civilisation and

Māori were stereotyped as inherently physical and violent. While the relative success of Māori participation in sport fulfilled the stereotype of physicality, performances of the haka further perpetuated the aggressive savage warrior stereotype (Hokowhitu 87-89). The misappropriation of the haka is continued and intensified by the commercialisation of the All Blacks.

With the professionalisation of rugby came the commodification of the All

Blacks. The Union (NZRU) sought global corporate relationships, the most significant formed in 1999 with Adidas (Scherer et al

53). The NZRU’s mandate was to globalise the All Blacks and sponsorship by a major multinational sporting company would facilitate the expansion of the

All Blacks commercial potential. While the All Blacks brand is identified as a

“global commodity sign,” the NZRU and Adidas stress their relationship as a

‘partnership’ as opposed to sponsorship or sporting property ownership (54).

Adidas do not want to appear to be capitalising on the All Blacks, who passionate local fans consider a ‘public good’ (58). As discussed above, rugby is a significant part of NZ culture and the All Blacks are considered the pride of the nation. While Adidas does in fact commoditise the heritage, tradition and cultural identity of the All Blacks, by labelling their relationship with the NZRU as a ‘partnership’ they are able to mask their commercial mandate. Instead, Adidas focuses on their commitment to providing leading

3 Michele Qun-Yeo LEE 2992920 technology to the All Black players as well as financial support to the NZRU and NZ grassroots rugby. However, regardless of what Adidas terms its relationship with the NZRU as, the corporate relationship cannot be denied.

Adidas are a multinational sporting company who capitalise on the All Blacks as an advertising platform. Adidas has commoditised the All Blacks in various ways. However of greatest significance and relevance is their use of the Ka

Mate haka.

The All Blacks have a “long-standing sporting legacy” (Scherer and Jackson

38). They are deep in heritage and tradition, and this is the value Adidas sees in the All Blacks. Corporate sponsors create advertisements that draw on historical moments and mythologised aspects of sporting tradition and heritage. Scherer and Jackson explain this re-imagining of national cultures, mythologies and traditions as ‘corporate nationalism’ as it capitalises on the collective identity and memory of a nation (39). Adidas is reliant on the myths of the All Blacks sporting history and this is illustrated by their use of the Ka

Mate haka.

While the All Blacks’ pre-match performance of Ka Mate is a “cultural tradition and long-standing ritual,” Adidas’ use of the haka is commercial appropriation of Ka Mate and exploits Māori culture (Scherer 45). This is shown in the television commercial, produced by advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi and released by Adidas in 1999 entitled “Black”. This commercial took various aspects of Māori culture, merging images of the All Blacks and Māori warriors performing Ka Mate. The haka is interspersed with dramatised high impact

4 Michele Qun-Yeo LEE 2992920 tackles, to capture the “raw power and intensity of the game” (46). According to industry documents, the commercial was designed as a “primal, scary ad.”

Saatchi & Saatchi wanted to create an entertaining commercial spectacle of the All Blacks performing Ka Mate (46). The issue lies with the acceptance, by

Saatchi & Saatchi, Adidas and the NZRU, of Ka Mate as a generic symbol of

NZ national identity.

The NZRU argue that Ka Mate is not owned by the NZRU or by the All Blacks, but rather by all (Scherer and Jackson 123). There is no recognition of Ka Mate as being composed by Te Rauparaha of Ngāti Toa.

The NZRU no longer sees Ka Mate as a cultural element of a specific , but rather simply as a “part of the collective heritage of all New Zealanders”

(Scherer 45). Scherer argues that the haka has been “naturalised as a dominant cultural symbol of the national imaginary that mythically unites Māori and Pākeha in postcolonial NZ via the All Blacks” (47). He applies Stanley

Fish’s term of ‘boutique multiculturalism’ to the on-going commodification of

Ka Mate and Māori culture. Ka Mate has become a “generic signifier of NZ national identity” (Scherer 46). The NZRU may justify their use of Ka Mate by claiming it as being part of NZ’s common culture. However, there is difficulty in accepting this claim as there is a lack of understanding of Ka Mate and of

Māori culture amongst New Zealanders. How can it be part of NZ’s common culture when it is misinterpreted; understandings based on the

(mis)representations by the All Blacks? Furthermore, the misrepresentations of Māori culture form global perceptions of Māori.

5 Michele Qun-Yeo LEE 2992920 The continued commodification of Ka Mate reinforces the stereotypes of indigenous Māori as “violent noble savages” (Jackson and Hokowhitu 133).

The dramatisation of the All Blacks as warriors, with tribal on their faces, ‘protruding their tongues,’ ‘bulging their eyes,’ performing a war dance and challenging their opposition, further reinforces global stereotypes of

Māori. Scherer and Jackson discuss the ways in which stereotypical images of Māori exist as representations where non-Māori gaze on Māori (129). It is this decontextualised use of such images without knowledge and understanding of Māori culture. Those unfamiliar with Māori culture (global audiences, Pākeha and Māori included) would view the ‘Black’ commercial and understand the Ka Mate haka to be a war challenge. However, war dances are performed with weapons when warriors confront their enemy. Ka

Mate is a ‘ngeri’ which is short haka to “stiffen the sinews, to summon up the blood” (Scherer and Jackson 143). Similarly, it is unlikely that the cultural meanings of movements in Ka Mate, including ‘pūkana’ and ‘whetero’ and the meanings of ‘moko’ that communicates mana, tradition and , would be understood (130). Many New Zealanders do not understand the literal meaning of Ka Mate or that it originally had no connection with sport, but has become socially constructed as a part of NZ sporting identity (Jackson and Hokowhitu 129). Despite the colonial history between Māori and Pākehā, it is interesting that a ritual culturally specific to Māori has become a signifier of NZ national identity. Māori, in the process of colonisation, had their culture supressed. Yet, New Zealanders claim the Ka Mate haka as being part of the collective national culture; it was originally performed to British crowds to showcase ‘racial harmony’ between the colonial and indigenous peoples.

6 Michele Qun-Yeo LEE 2992920 Elements of Māori culture are selectively incorporated to best suit those in power. While various aspects of Māori culture have historically been deemed inferior and in need of civilisation, the appropriation of elements of Māori culture by Pākeha are deemed legitimate (McCreanor et al 241). New

Zealanders are quick to claim Ka Mate as being part of NZ national identity, but are selective of when they embrace and identify with Māori culture

(Scherer 47). This is furthered by Scherer and Jackson who draw on Linda

Tuhiwai Smith’s discussions of the contemporary trade of the ‘Other’ (132).

The NZRU have allowed the use of Māori culture (the Ka Mate haka in particular, which does not ‘belong to them and this will be further discussed below) for their own commercial benefit. Smith discusses the lack of concern for the ‘Other’, the original producers of ideas and images that are traded.

However, the NZRU and Adidas would argue that much consideration is given to Māori and Māori culture.

In response to the concerns of misrepresentation and misinterpretation of

Māori culture, the NZRU acknowledge the need to “respect the iwi and the

Māori and the tradition of the culture and the haka” (Scherer 48). For the commercial ‘Black,’ Saatchi & Saatchi consulted with Māori over the use of Ka

Mate to ensure “respectful and accurate representations of Māori culture”

(Scherer and Jackson 125). Māori experts were flown in from Rotorua and

Gisborne to perform Ka Mate to ensure that the commercial was authentic in its representation of Māori culture. Māori were also engaged in consultation over the use of weapons and the attire featured in ‘Black’. Saatchi & Saatchi worked to further incorporate Māori culture by transforming the commercial

7 Michele Qun-Yeo LEE 2992920 set to a . While the advertising agency has made the effort to consult with Māori in their use of Māori culture, the concern here is whether they are genuinely committed to the respectful use of Māori culture. Scherer questions whether these interest groups engage in consultation with Māori as a token gesture (49). Māori lost much of their identity and culture through colonisation and the commodification of their indigenous culture by a transnational corporation is a continuation of colonisation.

There has been opposition, from within the All Blacks, against the ways in which the NZRU and Adidas have commoditised Ka Mate and Māori culture.

Senior players expressed their concerns about what Ka Mate has come to mean. They believe it has lost its mana (Scherer 50). The Ka Mate haka is no longer in the hands of Māori control and this places it at risk of abuse and misuse. Ka Mate is a taonga to the people of Ngāti Toa and it is a taonga that should be afforded protection. Ngāti Toa have taken steps to trademark Te

Rauparaha’s Ka Mate, to have it protected as cultural property and recognised as belonging to a collective group. However, the legal proceedings prompted opposition against Māori, with the stereotypical responses of Māori

‘cashing in’ (Scherer 51).

Ngāti Toa did not seek to make financial gains from their trademark application. Their intention was to protect Ka Mate from unauthorised commercial exploitation and have recognition for the ownership of this taonga.

Ngāti Toa faced further obstacles as Māori notions of collective ownership are not adequately recognised in Western intellectual property rights law. While

8 Michele Qun-Yeo LEE 2992920 the Crown acknowledges its commitment to the protection on Māori taonga in the , Ka Mate is an example of the challenges Māori are confronted with in having their taonga recognised by Western law. The

Intellectual Property Office rejected Ngāti Toa’s trademark application concluding that Ka Mate “no longer represented a particular iwi but all of NZ”

(Scherer 52). Ka Mate has become part of NZ national identity due to the decontextualised and naturalised use by cultural intermediaries such as

Saatchi & Saatchi and Adidas. It no longer represents a particular iwi as it has continually been misappropriated. Such arguments have not been lost as most recently, a Treaty of Waitangi settlement has officially recognised Te

Rauparaha as the composer of Ka Mate. The settlement also ruled that Ngāti

Toa are to be recognised and identified in commercial use of Ka Mate (Sherer

53). However, the effects of this Treaty of Waitangi settlement are yet to be seen and it is questionable the extent to which interest groups including the

NZRU, who are arguably the most significant commercial users of Ka Mate, will recognise and identify Ngāti Toa. While this treaty settlement is significant to the recognition of Māori culture, this recognition only becomes progress when ‘New Zealanders’ are committed to learning, understanding and embracing Māori culture. However, this is a challenge and the introduction of the All Blacks’ new haka, o Pango was evidence of the progress that is yet to be made in the education of Māori culture.

In 2006, the All Blacks debuted their new haka, composed by Derek Lardelli specifically for the All Blacks. Senior All Blacks felt that Ka Mate had been over-commercialised and abused; a level of resentment towards performing a

9 Michele Qun-Yeo LEE 2992920 tradition for commercial purposes. To “reinforce the value and honour of being an All Black,” a new haka was composed for the All Blacks (Scherer and

Jackson 161). However, was not received without its share of controversy. The All Blacks were criticised for their aggressive throat-slitting action. Lardelli defended the aggressive movements, explaining he choreographed Kapa o Pango to channel the players’ physical, intellectual and spiritual capacity through their body, soul and performance (161).

However, the interpretations of Kapa o Pango did not take into consideration this intended meaning. This response to Kapa o Pango, emphasises the need to educate audiences, to engage them in Māori culture so that they understand the meaning of the haka. To an extent, this was effectively achieved in the commentary of the 2011 Rugby World Cup Opening

Ceremony in NZ.

The 2011 Rugby World Cup Opening Ceremony was a display of NZ national identity to a global audience and was lauded for its incorporation of Māori culture. The opening ceremony was a narrative beginning with ‘The Call’ to gather and welcome both NZ’s people and the rest of the world. This welcome was in the form of a karanga. Two haka were performed. The first was by Te

Matarae I Orehu in ‘The Challenge’ segment of the narrative and the second was of the Rugby World Cup Haka to close the performance segment of the opening ceremony. A comparison of the different commentary teams shows the need for these aspects of Māori culture featured in the opening ceremony to be explained, particularly to an international audience. The opening ceremony was broadcast by a number of television channels including

10 Michele Qun-Yeo LEE 2992920 Television New Zealand (TVNZ) to a NZ audience and SKY sports to both a

NZ and international audience.

The TVNZ commentators were Wendy Petrie and Andrew Saville (“TV 1

Coverage of Rugby World Cup 2011 Opening Ceremony”) and the SKY

Sports commentators were Melodie Robinson and Tainui Stephens (“SKY coverage of Rugby World Cup 2011 Opening Ceremony”). ‘The Call’ was explained by Petrie and Saville as a spiritual call of NZ reaching out to the world. Robinson and Stephens incorporated te reo Māori in their commentary and explained it as a karanga, as well as a representation of Māori people’s belief of the universe’s creation. Similarly with the commentary of ‘The

Challenge,’ TVNZ simply described it as a stirring challenge, while SKY

Sports explained that the haka as not just a war dance to intimidate, but also an expression of Māori identity and the voice of “our men and women warriors”. The SKY Sports commentary provided a more in-depth explanation of the various elements of Māori culture to a predominantly international audience who are likely to lack an understanding of Māori culture. This education should have been present in the commentary by the national state broadcaster as the national audience also lack a deeper understanding of elements of Māori culture that have become naturalised as part of the collective NZ culture. The SKY Sports commentators incorporated te reo; the

Māori language should have also been incorporated in the NZ broadcast of the opening ceremony. NZ is shown to the global audience as embracing

Māori culture and te reo. However, this is far from the reality in NZ. Not only was the commentary a misrepresentation of NZ society, but the images

11 Michele Qun-Yeo LEE 2992920 selected in the broadcast of the opening ceremony reinforced stereotypes of

Māori.

During the performance of the ‘The Anthem’, the Te Matarae I Orehu kapahaka group returned to the stadium and were part of the collective song and dance performance. The camera-shots of the ‘Māori warriors’ continuously showed them as they pūkana and whetero. The continuous decontextualised use of such imagery reinforced the noble savage warrior stereotype. These are the images that Adidas advertisements and commercials broadcast the their global market and they are the representations made by continuous cuts to Māori warriors during the opening ceremony. Misrepresentation is an issue that can be addressed by questioning who it is that has control. Stuart explains how existing Māori identity, is a “construct of the colonising society, rather than of Māori themselves” (49). While Stuart reflects on the progress Māori radio has made in allowing Māori identity to be a Māori construction, the same principle can be applied in the current context. Pihama also raises the issue of broadcasters reinforcing negative stereotypes of Māori and denying Māori the opportunity to construct programming that challenges dominant understandings of Māori identity (7). Pihama calls on Māori to take control and deconstruct and reconstruct images and representation of Māori. In order to challenge the misrepresentations, it is critical that Māori take on roles that place them in control.

12 Michele Qun-Yeo LEE 2992920 In the case of Ngāti Toa making a Treaty of Waitangi claim for recognition of

Te Rauparaha as the composer of Ka Mate, Ngāti Toa do so in order to reclaim control over the use of a taonga that belongs to them. This control does not take its form in denying the All Blacks the right to perform it, but rather, to prevent further misappropriation and any culturally inappropriate use of their taonga. In his discussions with Ngāti Toa elders, Wiremu Grace emphasises the desire of the Ngāti Toa people to protect Ka Mate from abuse and from being cheapened (“Ka Mate: The Haka, the Legend”). Grace’s documentary includes discussions with Mike Lee from the University of

Auckland marketing department who argues that as long as the majority of people understand where [the haka] comes from, the true meaning and the authentic meaning behind it, then there is “no harm in letting that control go a little bit” (“Ka Mate: The Haka, the Legend”). However, the issue here is the lack of understanding that many New Zealanders have of Ka Mate and of

Māori culture. Ngāti Toa should be able to protect Ka Mate as its continued misuse will result in the loss of a taonga and as ex-All Black Norm Hewitt explains, “once we lose it, it’s gone and we’ll never get it back” (“Ka Mate: The

Haka, the Legend”). While these arguments challenge the current use of Ka

Mate and Māori culture, it does not challenge Ka Mate’s place within the All

Blacks. Ngāti Toa elders acknowledge that “Te Rauparaha’s haka has survived through the ages and rugby has been the vehicle that has taken it to the world” (“Ka Mate: The Haka, the Legend”). Indeed, Ngāti Toa recognise the benefits in continuing Ka Mate’s association with the All Blacks. However, much progress is to be made in the NZRU’s relationship with not only Ngāti

Toa, but also with Māori in NZ.

13 Michele Qun-Yeo LEE 2992920

The All Blacks are now a global brand and their performance of Ka Mate has become part of their brand. As the Ngāti Toa elders have acknowledged, the

NZRU has been valuable in ensuring the survival of Ka Mate and as the 2011

Rugby World Cup Opening Ceremony showed, the All Blacks are a platform for sharing Māori culture to a global audience. However, the NZRU and the All

Blacks need to do so in the interests of Māori as it is Māori culture that is being used. The decisions the NZRU make and the impressions the All Blacks make all have implications on Māori, both globally and locally. Barry Barclay calls on Māori to talk-in, ‘talk to our own people first,” before talking-out (76).

This is relevant in the context of the All Blacks use of Ka Mate. There is need for New Zealanders to recognise, understand and embrace Māori culture, elements of which have become deemed as part of NZ national identity. In order for claims of racial harmony to be reflective of NZ society, Māori culture needs to be naturalised within this nation. Only then can interest groups, including the NZRU, claim a greater commitment to Māori culture through respectful and authentic use of cultural elements both locally and globally.

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