Part of the Matheson Trust Sacred Audio Collection

The haka is chanted before a battle not only to frighten the enemy but to make the performer himself more fearless. The final portion of a haka composed by one of the most famous fighting chieftains, triumphant after eluding his enemies, is heard at every Maori gathering: “it was death, it was death—it is life, it is life.”

Maori Haka

Click here to download – 1:01 (1.5MB)

With thanks to the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage.