Māori in Europe are calling for greater protection of haka and Māori culture, after a Spanish artist was criticised for using haka-like choreography in his performances.
The case has raised concerns about gaps in Māori intellectual property protection.
The video in question, which has since been removed following Te Ao Māori News’ investigation, shows Catalan artist Joan Dausà performing a haka-like dance.
“As soon as I saw it, I was really shocked. I thought to myself, auē - it hit my heart quite hard,” says Tamar, a Ngāi Tahu singer and music teacher living in Catalonia, Spain.
Dausà has around 295,000 monthly listeners on Spotify, and it was Tamar who saw the dance in a promotional video for an upcoming tour.
“I felt disbelief as to how a Catalan artist could come to this conclusion to create mahi with what seemed to be no tikanga whatsoever.”
Ngā āputa i ngā ture pāhao ahurea
Intellectual property lawyer, Lynell Tuffery Huria, says the case follows a long history of haka being used without proper cultural guidance.
“I just think it’s atrocious,” she says.
“[It] reminds me of videos we used to see back in the 90s of haka being used in a number of different arenas without permission and in a manner that was really quite insulting and offensive to our culture.”
Tuffery Huria says Aotearoa’s intellectual property laws, including the Copyright Act 1994, do not fully protect traditional Māori cultural expressions such as haka.
“Because our culture has been around for generations, [we] don’t have the ability to enforce that kind of general right to protect our culture against misuse and misappropriation.”
She says haka like Ka Mate show the limits of copyright law.
“Ka Mate, for example, was written several hundred years ago, or several decades ago - that haka no longer has copyright protection.”
The Haka Ka Mate Attribution Act 2014 provides some protection for Ka Mate, recognising its connection to Ngāti Toa Rangatira, but it does not give the iwi full control over how the haka is used.
Tuffery Huria says these gaps have been known for decades, including through the Wai 262 claim, filed in 1991.
“[The claim was] identifying these gaps and asking the Government to fill those gaps, particularly at the domestic level, and then to inform the international conversations that we would have.”
He whakaiti, he whakahāwea rānei?
Tamar says she is not necessarily asking Dausà to stop using haka, but believes he should seek appropriate cultural guidance.
“It’s wonderful to share, but it’s also very important to be careful of this.”
Tuffery Huria says the focus should be on ensuring Māori are involved when Māori culture is used.
“The aim is just to ensure that it’s celebrated in an appropriate way.”
However, she says Dausà’s performance is not cultural appreciation.
“This is not an example where he is celebrating the haka in a way that’s consistent with our culture.”
He aha te ara whakamua?
Tamar says she raised her concerns with Dausà and his team, asking that the performance be stopped in its current form and that Māori guidance be sought.
Whilst Dausà’s team was apologetic, Tamar says her manager rejected the cultural appropriation claim, citing UNESCO principles and cultural diversity.
Tamar says Māori lawyers in the UK and Aotearoa have advised that there are no clear avenues to address the cultural concerns, other than potentially through European fair-trade mechanisms. She also says assistance was sought from the New Zealand Embassy in Spain but was not available.
“We are here to protect and preserve the gifts and the treasures of the ancestors, no matter which cultural root you come from.”
Tamar has also established a rōpū, Te Ao Mārama i Ūropi, to connect Māori across Spain and Europe.
Te urupare a Joan Dausà
Te Ao Māori News reached out to Dausà for comment.
He says he respects the concerns raised about his performance.
“I understand and respect that there may be different sensitivities surrounding the representation of a cultural expression such as the haka.”
Dausà says there was no intention to disrespect or appropriate Māori culture.
“We were inspired by the energy and impact that we feel when watching a haka and, from that inspiration, we created our own choreography for our song. We did so respectfully, with no intention of appropriating a cultural expression or trivialising it.”
Since the concerns were raised, Dausà says he has stopped using the haka-like choreography and removed it from his concerts.
“I do not want to hurt anyone’s sensitivities. Quite the opposite - I believe that listening, understanding other perspectives and incorporating them when possible is also part of our responsibility as artists,” he explains.
“We remain willing to continue listening and talking about it with respect and an open mind.”
Dausà says Tamar has been invited to meet face to face in September, after his tour is finished.
