Open Brotherhood Event: An Indoor Rugby Game

[Seamus Reid]

Seamus had been asked to stand in place of the current brotherhood leader, just for a bit of the semester, the other boy just didn't have the time, and Seamus with his three classes did. He had been a little reluctant to say yes, just wanting to draw it out, since they hadn't asked him to do because he was right for it, and Seamus did think he was right for it. He would've been right for it then, and only now when they needed him was he asked. But Seamus had put his pride aside - reluctantly - and had organised a game of rugby, something easy, to get energy out, where people could feel active and do something fun instead of just sitting around the brotherhood room doing whatever. So, he'd gotten some rugby gear, had decided to ask Professor Josephs to talk about the traditional Haka before they got started, given its relevance to rugby and Aotearoa in general. But the difficulty was, it was raining, and not just a little rain, it was a whole storm, there was no way they would get to be outside. Seamus was scrambling and had managed to get the professors to agree to let him have it in the great hall just after lunch. The room had been cleared and was ready for them to play. The boys and the professor arrived and he cleared his throat, surprised by the fact he was momentarily nervous about addressing such a crowd.

"Hi, I'm standing in for Jingyi, today we're going to be playing rugby. I know I arranged this to be outside, but the weather isn't good, and it would be too difficult to move this to another day. Split up into two teams, if you don't want to play please stand at the side. Before we get started with the game I've asked Professor Josephs to come along to talk to us about the Haka, which is a traditional ceremonial dance, Professor?" he then motioned for the professor to show them. It was interesting to watch and to learn about, and he felt having the element meant that people wouldn't just complain about it being about sports. When the professor was done, he motioned. "Right, let's play," he declared.

Out of Character:

Welcome to a brotherhood rugby game! Please do not post until Rowan with Professor Josephs and Raawhiti Te Rangi have. This is a very low stakes Rugby game, no team will actually win, and it'll just be for the characters who want to, to say they've play and interact with others that are playing. Though rugby is a contact sport, please do not have your character get badly injured. If you'd like that to happen, please speak to me in the first instance.

Those whose character's don't want to play can just saw they watched and/or interact with the other people who are watching.

 

[Professor Kahurangi Josephs]

As exciting as the Quidditch matches were, rugby had always been Kahurangi's sport of choice. It had been hard to find time to play herself since having Hinemoa, so when Seamus had approached her with his idea for a meeting and a request to help out, she had jumped at the chance. It was a welcome opportunity to dig into her kapa haka skills as well, and she was buzzing with excitement as she joined the Brotherhood boys in the Great Hall, slipping her nephew a sly wink when he spotted her. She listened as Seamus spoke to introduce the meeting, then stepped forward when her turn came.

"Kaaaaaaaaaaa rite!" Her voice rang out in the opening call, fists clenching as she sang. "Kaaaaaaaaaaa rite! Kia mau! HĪ!" As she gave the call to line up, she was pleasantly surprised to see Rāwhiti jumping in to join her as they took the first stance. She hadn't planned on including her nephew, but performing haka as family was all too familiar, and she was pleased to include him. "Ringa-ringa pakia e! Wae-wae taka-hia!" She continued, beginning to stamp in a steady rhythm, pleased as Rāwhiti followed suit. "KA KĪ-NO NEI! HĪ!" She continued, leading into the haka proper as they both began slapping down on their thighs in time with the well practiced choreography. "Ka mate, ka mate! ka ora! ka ora! Ka mate! ka mate! ka ora! ka ora! Tēnei te tangata pūhuruhuru? Nāna nei i tiki mai whakawhiti te rā? Ā, upane! ka upane! Ā, upane, ka upane, whiti te rā! HĪ!" As they finished she widened her eyes, lips pulled up high in a pūkana, staring down the watching boys for a long moment before stepping out of her stance, giving a bright smile.

"I know that was very familiar for most of you, but I'll give a little explanation for our international students. Haka is a traditional form of dance in Aotearoa, used to honour a variety of different events. There's a common misconception that all haka are war dances, but that couldn't be further from the truth. There are haka for welcoming, for mourning, for connection to community, as well as to challenge an opponent. The haka we performed for you today was Ka Mate, which is certainly the most well known haka." She explained with a small smile. "Ka Mate is one of the haka performed by our national mens rugby team, the All Blacks, at the start of every game. They also sometimes perform another haka, Kapa o Pango, which was designed for them, and our womens team, the Black Ferns, have their own haka called Ko Ūhia Mai. It's common practice to challenge your opposing team with a haka before each game, both to intimidate the challengers and psych the team up, building unity. Ka Mate is a ngeri haka, designed to build energy and motivate warriors to do well. It was written in the 1800s by Te Rauparaha, rangatira of Ngāti Toa, after escaping enemies by hiding in a storage pit." She smiled. "Haka's an amazing way to begin a game, but now I think it's time for you guys to get out there and play some rugby." She added, stepping back to watch as Seamus began the game.

Spoiler: Translations

Kapa haka - Traditional Māori performing arts
Haka - Ceremonial dance
Pūkana - A wide-eyed facial expression used commonly to convey intensity and power. Chin protrudes for women, tongue is out for men.
Rangatira - Leader
Ngāti Toa - A north island Iwi

Ka Mate translation; (intro source)
Ka rite! Ka rite! Kia mau! - Get ready! Line up! Hold fast!
HĪ! - WE'RE READY!
Ringa-ringa pakia e! - Slap your thighs!
Wae-wae taka-hia! - Move your feet!
KA KĪ-NO NEI! - WE'RE DOING IT!
HĪ! - YEAH!

Ka mate, ka mate! ka ora! ka ora! - It is death, it is death, it is life, it is life
Ka mate! ka mate! ka ora! ka ora! - It is death, it is death, it is life, it is life
Tēnei te tangata pūhuruhuru - Or do I see a hairy man
Nāna nei i tiki mai whakawhiti te rā - who brought back the Sun so it can shine on me once more?
Ā, upane! ka upane! - Then I will put one foot in front of the other
Ā, upane, ka upane, whiti te rā! - One foot, then the other—until the Sun shines on me!

 

[Raawhiti Te Rangi]

Rāwhiti was barely managing to drag himself from place to place ever since the Gryffindor team's crushing loss. Everywhere he went he felt as though all eyes were on him, the whole school seeing nothing but his failure. Both as a Seeker and Captain, he had let down the people who relied on him, and all he wanted to do was hide. It took everything in him to go places when he needed to, spending as much of his time as he could hiding away. He almost hadn't bothered to attend the Brotherhood meeting, but if there was anything that would cheer him up, it was rugby.

It wasn't a total surprise when Rāwhiti entered the Great Hall to see his aunt watching - he knew Whaea Kahu hadn't had much of a chance to play since Hinemoa had been born, and he was excited she'd come to watch. It felt almost like a home game, and he fought back the instinct to find Marama and make her join in too. As if rugby hadn't been enough to get his attention though, Seamus mentioned a haka, and Rāwhiti perked up even more.

It hadn't been planned, and he was acting almost entirely on instinct as he joined Whaea Kahu at her call, moving to her side and taking a wide stance when instructed. He felt his blood burn with passion as he followed along in the haka, raising his voice high and letting the energy take him, feeling alive for the first time in weeks. He was buzzing when they finished, head high and back straight. No time to feel sorry for himself when there were new battles ahead to be ready for.

He zoned out a little as Whaea Kahu explained for the non-locals, but far from his prior despondancy, he was now desperate to get out there and play. It was a relief when the game began, and Rāwhiti was able to throw himself into something that felt as natural as breathing. He played his hardest, and by the end of the match was whooping and cheering as his team pulled out the victory, finally feeling like himself again.

Whaea - Auntie

 

[Seamus Reid]

Seamus watched with rapt attention to it, having not expected Raawhiti to join in, but he was pleased the boy did, since it just added to it. Seamus nodded along with the explanation given, and then smiled. "Right boys, let's play,"

Out of Character:

Folks can now join and reply!

 

[Teddy Pirrip]

Teddy enjoyed watching Professor Josephs and Rāwhiti perform the Haka and it pumped the Gryffindor for the upcoming rugby game. After the Haka finished, he listened to the history. Although Teddy was not Maori, he had lived in New Zealand his whole life and was already familiar with most of it. When the game was called to start, Teddy enthusiastically jumped up and clapped his hands together, "Let's do this!" Taking his position, Teddy surprised himself by gaining possession of the ball early on. Tucking it securely under his arm, he started running towards the opposing teams line.

(Godmod approved to tackle Teddy)

 

[Emmanuel Okoye]

Emmanuel liked rugby as much as any other sport, but he was keen to do something that wasn't books related or history related. as much as he loved both, the pressure of the OWLs was keeping him from being able to really enjoy it. So he welcomed the rugby game that the brotherhood were throwing. He'd been exceedingly worried when he'd woken up to find it raining, but thankful it would still be going ahead. He joined the rest of the group and watched with great interest as his head of house told them about Maka. He had so many questions, but was more preoccupied with just getting started on the game. He accidentally ended up tackling one of the younger students. "Sorry," he said, losing possession of the ball as he held a hand to help the kid up.
@Teddy Pirrip

 

[Gregory Friend]

Gregory did not want to participate in a rugby game. He hadn't been good at them before Hogwarts and didn't want to do them at Hogwarts. He didn't care for sports and not for a sport where he could get hurt. Gregory thought, given the rain that it would be cancelled, but then he found himself in the great hall with the other boys. He was vaguely listening to what was being said, but he wasn't standing in the right spot for it. The other boys seemed to be more interested, but Gregory immediately moved to the side and let the other boys just have at it. He was wholly uninterested in taking part.

 

[Fraser Fergusson]

Fraser found himself really eager for the game, he'd found out about it and was eagerly getting himself ready for it. He just loved to expend energy and was looking forward to the chance to play something with others. He couldn't play quidditch, so this had to be it. Gregory raced to the great hall and listened impatiently to what was said. He immediately got into one of the teams and then started playing, managing to get the ball after one of the older students didn't keep a good hold of it.

 

[Enoch Goldewyn]

Enoch was rather indifferent about sports that weren't quidditch. He had played them at muggle school, but he hadn't really done much beyond that. Magical school didn't have the sports that muggle schools had, and he stuck to what he could do over what he couldn't. The slytherin arrived at the great hall, wondering a little how safe it was to play indoors, but as the game got underway, he put himself on a team and was trying his best to be a team player. He didn't know rugby well enough to even pretend to be confident about it.

 

[Teddy Pirrip]

Teddy was sprinting across the field then before he knew it he found himself tackled to the ground. The impact of being tackled by the older boy, who seemed closer to a man than a boy, was felt hard. Teddy offered a slight shake of his head in acknowledgment of the apology, promptly rising to his feet. "No worries, I'm fine," he nonchalantly shrugged off the incident. Ignoring the ache in his side, he moved into an open spot then directed his attention to Fraser, shouting, "Hey Fraser, I'm open!" He was fairly confident they were on the same team. @Fraser Fergusson

 

[Santiago Torres]

Santiago continued to participate in Brotherhood events mostly because he didn't have anything better to do. But he heard they'd be playing rugby and he had to admit he didn't really know the rules but was excited to play a sport other than quidditch. He hadn't been that into sports before coming to New Zealand but it was at least something to do here. He was eager to get started and didn't even know what a haka was so he nearly jumped out of his skin when the Professor starting shouting. He was confused but it did look cool. Finally it was time to play and he tried to pick up the rules here and there, and even though he struggled he kept up the the rest of the boys running around. It was nice to move his body even though he didn't manage to get his hands on the ball, yet.

 

[Michael Watson]

Now this was absolutely Michael's jam. He did enjoy Quidditch, but it didn't replace his love of muggle sports. Rugby was one of his favourites, even if his mother had always been hesitant to let him play. He was absolutely thrilled that Professor Josephs was talking to them about the haka, too. He always loved seeing the All Blacks and Black Ferns intimidate the opposition before a game. This cemented Professor Josephs as the coolest professor in the school, for sure. Next came actually playing, though, and Michael was all too keen to join in even if he was a bit out of practice. And a little hesitant to tackle the younger boys, not sure all of them were used to playing muggle sports.

 

[Fraser Fergusson]

Fraser tossed the rugby ball at Teddy when the boy said he was open.
@Teddy Pirrip

 

[Teddy Pirrip]

Teddy extended his hands to catch the rugby ball, but he missed and the ball rolled out of reach. "I'm better at catching snitches," he chuckled, then quickly realised that Fraser might not appreciate that comment. Feeling awkward, Teddy chased after the ball but he didn't have possession yet.