Let It Be Known

Haka for Women Everywhere

Oct 09, 2024

“I believe a Haka should be controversial and challenging. Whatever the occasion, I see the lyrics as the most important aspect. The tune, the rhythm, and the body movements are purely the vehicles for the communication of the message.” - Tapeet Wehi, Founder of The Haka Experience

Ever since I watched the Māori women’s rugby team, the Black Ferns, perform their ceremonial Haka, I’ve been intrigued by the power and potential of this Māori tradition. Haka is a Māori word that means dance, but it was unlike any dancing I’d ever seen before. In the video below, the Black Ferns are performing Ko Uhia Mai, a ceremonial Haka created specifically for them by Te Whetu Tipiwai, a Māori rugby leader.

Ko Uhia Mai means, “Let It Be Known” and speaks of wāhine (women) uniting in strength to overcome challenges regardless of their differences and where they live.

What Would You Like To Be Known?

Given the many and complex challenges facing women around the world I couldn’t think of a better way to remind us of our physical, spiritual, and mental strength and to urge us to unite to support and celebrate one another.

Both the English and the Māori versions of Ko Uhia Mai (Let It Be Known) are provided below. Some of the lines I loved include:

“We came
To transfer from the heavens to the world of enlightenment
Life force from above
Life force from below (earth)

You stand tall and proud.
Women of strength.
Who will bear the future.

Rise and press on.
When the challenge arrives.
We will gather and unite together.
Strength together. It will be done.”

I also wondered what each of us would write if we were to create a Haka of our own. How would we want to see and hear it performed and for whom? Can you imagine thousands of women gathering to chant and dance at the National Mall in Washington, at the Luxembourg Gardens in France, Trafalgar Square in London, or the Maidan Nezalezhnosti Square in Ukraine?

If you’d like to try your hand at some Haka lyrics, please write them down and send them to me at JenaBall@CritterKin.com. I’ll keep adding to and growing our collective Haka.

Ko Uhia Mai (Māori)

A uhia mai
Ko wai nga Hine
Ko wai nga Hine
Ko nga Mamaku e ngunguru nei
Ko Hineahuone, Ko Hinetitama Ko Hinenui te po
Ki te whaiao, ki te ao marama e
Hi a haha
Mauri ki te rangi
Me te whenua
Nga kapua whakapipi
Mai nga Maunga titia e
Hi a haha
He tia he tia
Te Moana nui–a–Kiwa
Mai nga topito
Ki nga moutere
O te ao whanui e
Hi a haha
Tumai ra koe
Te mana wahine
Te Wharetangata
Nga Mamaku o Aotearoa
He tia he tia. He ranga he ranga
Haere mai te toki
Haumi ee, hui e
Taiki ee
Hi!

Ko Uhia Mai (English)

Let it be known
Who are these women
It’s the Black Ferns rumble
From Hineahuone, Hinetitama and Hinenui te po we came
To transfer from the heavens to the world of enlightenment
Life force from above
Life force from below (earth)
The gathering clouds
The mountains that pierce the sky
Let us proceed
To the seas
From the corners of the island
To the neighbouring islands
And around the world
You stand tall and proud.
Women of strength.
Who will bear the future.
The Black Ferns of New Zealand.
Rise and press on.
When the challenge arrives.
We will gather and unite together.
Strength together. It will be done.