The New Zealand government has designated intellectual property rights of the Haka Ka Mate, to a North Island tribal group as part of a compensation deal.The deal recognises that the haka was composed by the tribe's legendary Maori chief, Te Rauparaha, to celebrate the fiery warrior's escape from death in a battle in the 1820s.
The tribe, Ngati Toa, is not expected to be able to claim royalties from the agreement, but it will be able to officially address long-term grievances over its inappropriate commercial use.
The new agreement is largely symbolic, but it is considered immensely significant by Maori leaders. As well as authorship of the haka, the crown acknowledged Te Rauparaha was detained without trial for 18 months, during which time much of the tribe's land was sold.
The haka is a special provision in a larger government compensation package negotiated with Ngati Toa for breaches of New Zealand's Treaty of Waitangi, an agreement over land and human rights signed by British settlers and indigenous people in 1840.
The New Zealand government has given billions of dollars to redress lost land and other past wrongs but this is the first compensation deal to include intellectual property.
The war dance made famous by the All Blacks Rugby Union team was composed by a notoriously aggressive Maori chief, Te Rauparaha, after his lucky escape from enemies in the 1820s.
