Haka

he only dreamt of the dance
the chant he’d learned, embedded
it formed a hard memory
deep in his body
deeper in his mind
so clearly natural
like breathing
like standing up right
feet planted hard
boldly lifted only
to be stomped down again
a beautifully threatening noise
feet slapping earth
hands slapping chest
slapping thighs, slapping forearms
fists raised to the sky
fist pounding the earth
knees bent, stance wide
an irresistible force inciting fear
the rhythm of aggression
making a menace of men
a glorious passion
that gets lost in an office
a store, a factory, a hospital
where no one dances
or even remembers
the terrifying expressions
the roaring cry of sisters and brothers
the anticipation of life’s triumph
all hidden in his memory
needing only to recall that
the dance had celebrated
his connection to earth
and the expectation of help from God
but alone in his bed
in his room, in his house
even in his neighborhood
it gets lost in a meek kind of life
a tamed spiritless existence
a uniform benign and fearful life thing.
this reality is not benevolence
this surrender is abandonment
it will not help anyone feeling lesser
like the rally of a tribe would do
we all need pride, strength and unity
we all need a universal Haka
we all need to dance and sing
collectively.

Judith A. Sears
©09/27/2018

Although the Haka is traditionally a Māori war dance it is also a way for folks to rally together as one force fiercely united in one cause. My thanks to the New Zealand, All Blacks rugby team for my first exposure to Haka… jas

We can’t balance weakish broken men with strong independent women.
All need to be strong all need to be considerate all need to feel as if they stand equal on the face of the earth be it flat or round. [{giggles} sorry {clears throat} didn’t want to exclude anyone]

I wrote this after being wrapped up in the throes of fighting for social justice but then I took a step back away from the roaring crowd and thought about due process and the concept of being innocent until proven guilty. I still think that a flash mob kind of rally of like-minded people could be a good thing as long as all those minds are also fair-minded and not prone to judging others without proven facts. Because if just one famous man loses a job, his freedom or his life, because the crowd decided his guilt based on the unsubstantiated accusations of another person, then how do my sons or your brothers stand a chance against the words that could be spread about them?

There are rules and should be safeguards for victims too. Every victim needs to be heard, healed and supported. Every incident and perpetrator needs to be investigated by unbiased authorities, evidence gathered and presented to a judge and jury and a decision left to them not an angry crowd.

I am not sorry that I looked into the Haka or that I wrote about my thoughts and feelings about the Haka I witnessed. Millions of people including myself, sit isolated in front of computer and phone screens and let millions of others influence their thoughts and actions many don’t even look into the facts but jump on board a Twitter thread or Facebook wall with no proof what so ever to justify their changed thoughts or actions.

I do believe in the spirit of the Haka and the power that it has to rally a group together and scare the shit out of any opponents that would stand against them. I just wish we could do a dance that blended everyone into a force for right and freedom and honor. Being scary about it would just be a bonus