The Haka Performers
who welcomed to the Hui
The Hon. J. R. Hanan
Minister of Maori Affairs

Then it is there still strong flowing. The blood of my forefathers
Lifting and carrying me back to the shores of Hawaiki.
To the great migration, to the battle with the seas,
to a Stone Age culture, to principles strong and rigid
That demanded an eye for an eye, a limb for a limb.
Whenever I hear the blood-pulsing beat of the Haka.
The drumming of feet upon hardened earth,
The intermittent and timely slap, slap of the open hand
On the taut naked flesh, the chanting rhythmic and significant,
Oh I feel the pull then and my pulses soar
And the blood of my forefathers rushes to my head
And waves of excitement break over me.

rowley habib