Kapa O Pango Kia Whakawhenua Au I Ahau!
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The Maori people have been long-time inhabitants of New Zealand - or Aotearoa as they have called it which translates into the land of the long white cloud.
With all New Zealanders ones to hold traditional values, culture and beliefs at heart, it is no surprise that we are kicking off today's tournament with a traditional Haka!
Many sports followers will know that the Haka relates to a pre-game ritual that the New Zealand All Blacks rugby union team perform to psyche-out their opponents, but in reality it is a traditional posture dance performed by the Maori people.
The belief is that the Haka is a war dance performed solely by men, but as you can see, that is far from the truth as they are performed by all for all differing reasons such as amusement, acknowledgment of great achievements of a welcoming of guests.
In our instance, the Haka that is being performed is welcoming all players to today's tournament - and although it may scare a few with the vigorous movements and feet-stamping - it is definitely a great way to kick of the PokerStars.net APPT Auckland Main Event!