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"Ka Mate, Ka Mate, the bit performed before rugby, is actually the last third of the entire haka," he adds. "It means: Will I die, will I die? Or Will I live, will I live? It then goes on to describe this person with the hairy… nether-regions…" He pauses, considers. "Look," he says, "if you check out the action, it's pretty obvious what they mean with that line. It ends with: will they help me see the light of day again? Step up… I have seen the light of day again."He told all this to the 1999 side and fly-half Andrew Merhtens raised a hand to ask what it all had to do with rugby. "Absolutely nothing," says Maxwell. "But I do not understand why you'd do something when you don't know its meaning. A lot of Kiwi players only appreciate Maori culture when they leave New Zealand."Next, he asked them to perform their haka to him. "There's a clip online of Kees Meuws explaining what happened next," he says. "I told him, 'That was pretty shit wasn't it?' And he looked at me as if to say, 'who's this little prick?' So I just ripped my shirt off and just launched into this haka."You can see Maxwell perform the haka here. The ferocity of action, the simplicity of expression and meaning, is moving. There's a reason why it's listed on YouTube as 'incredible haka'. The thing that is most notable, however, are his eyes, quivering this way and that in intensity. "It's a beautiful thing to perform it," he adds, "and then use that as a gateway to everything else we do. It's not just pulling ugly faces and pushing out or tongues for no reason."READ MORE: Rugby's Unlikeliest Heroes
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"After I had finished my haka back in 1999," says Maxwell. "I made sure I spent 15 seconds just looking at them, holding my pose. I wanted to make sure they understood not only the haka, but the history it represents.""It's more a lifestyle, than anything," he explains "When I perform the haka, it's who I am. It makes me proud of where I come from, of what I represent. I also feel a great responsibility to not let down any of my ancestors. Doing a bad haka, for me, is a no-no. And now it's a no-no for the All Blacks, too. Richie McCaw says, 'The game doesn't start when the whistle is blown, the game starts when we do the haka.' He's picked that up. That to me is them understanding the importance of the haka."The haka, however, is only the beginning. As a teacher of Maori culture, Maxwell has seen people be moved again and again to understand the deeper history. "There's a primal connection with people who see the haka for the first time," he says, "they don't quite understand it, but they do want to be a part of it." There's something amazing about performing your first haka that is, according to Maxwell, "incredibly hard to describe". Earlier this month, while in Rio with the New Zealand Maori Arts and Crafts Institute, Maxwell performed a haka beneath Christ the Redeemer and was responded to by none other than two French fans, who boomed back their national anthem. This was the day before the All Blacks steamrolled the French 62-13. Words were exchanged, which Maxwell calls "just some jibbing and beef."READ MORE: The Essential Songs of the Rugby World Cup
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But why New Zealand get to perform both a national anthem and a haka is still vague. Is it simply about scaring the opposition? "No," says Maxwell. It's about "pursuit and survival", which makes it a perfect accompaniment to rugby, despite having no real historical connection to the sport. "For rugby players, when they're running with the ball, if they get the try, then they survive," says Maxwell. "It's that simple."READ MORE: The Rugby World Cup's Key Venues
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