Songs Of The Māori

Kapa haka is the collective term for Māori action songs and the groups who perform them. The word combines kapa (group) and haka (dance), and today refers to a full suite of Māori performing arts presented as a coordinated bracket of chant, song, and dance. A typical kapa haka performance blends traditional chant (mōteatea), posture dance (haka), poi (rhythmic dance with balls on cords), and waiata-ā-ringa (action songs) with rich group harmonies, synchronized movement, body percussion, and expressive facial gestures such as pūkana (dilated-eye gaze) and whētero (tongue protrusion). Performed primarily in te reo Māori, kapa haka is a vital way Māori communities express whakapapa (genealogy), identity, history, and contemporary issues through song and dance.