I just wanted to stop by and give my opinion on something...

I watched a couple of vidoes and I like how people have actually planned out the Da Werda Verda...but can we at least put a little more effort into it if we're going to do it?

Every time I see someone who's not an Islander doing the Haka or even the Da Werda...it just seems very lack-luster. Remember the Da Werda was based on the Maori Haka to honor their traditions. Can we at least be a little more respectful of their culture when we do it? Let's at least put our hearts into it and at least show them that we're doing it do actually show some respect and not just to look cool in our armors?

I'm not trying to you know...insult anyone or anything, I just don't want this to turn into something kind of....lame, I guess.


Like I said, I'm not being a jerk and I'm not trying cause any problems, I'm just talking about respecting a culture and at least putting as much effort into our Da Werda as they do their Haka.


Anyone agree or disagree? I'd like to hear some other comments on this. Am I out of line for thinking this way?
 
Is that Mando'a? If so could you please translate the Mando'a into English? I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about.
 
Well, given that I'm one of the only two people that has actually tried to perform Dha Werda Verda, I guess this message is really for me. My friend Peter and I have been working on the Mandalorian tradition for quite some time. Each time, we add a little bit more to Dha Werda, to try to get it closer to what it should be.

The two videos that are on youtube are of Peter and I at CIV, and myself at Dragon*Con. Both are early versions of what we've been working on. It's hard to choreograph something meant for a large group when only one other person locally will really work on it with you. Having said that, recently I have made a lot more progress in my choreography. I've studied videos of the haka, Ka Mate, and have incorporated movements from that into Dha Werda. I've also incorporated advanced techniques from the martial art I practice, TaeKwon-Do. The parts I'm having the most trouble with are the footwork, and getting as many beats into the pattern as there are in the music. Several of the Mandalorian Mercs in other parts of the world have pledged to work with me to learn Dha Werda Verda, and do what we can to get it as professional looking, and pretty much as shab'la hardcore as we can. But it takes time.

If you still feel like I'm disrespecting the Maori by working hard to create a Mandalorian ritual out of nothing but words on a page and a song from a video game, well, I don't know what to say.
 
keep in mind that the ratio of mandalorian mythos enthusiasts vs. movie replica folks here is heavily skewed toward the movie replica side.

i'm guessing a lot of us have no idea what many of those words mean.

not making fun of anything, just letting you know. lots of us have no idea what this whole mandalorian language / culture stuff is all about. we just like that guy from that movie in the 80s :)
 
yes...can you explain what is wrong? I want to make sure that I'm not screwing something up! :wacko :)


womo
 
He's referring to two videos of me on youtube performing Dha Werda Verda.



Apparently I'm not good enough for his ideals. Admittedly, these are very early versions...but besides my buddy Peter, I don't see anyone else even trying. More people I've talked to since then want to learn, so I've been choreographing it to be faster, more intense. But it takes time.
 
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He did go out of his way to say that he ment no offence. We're all on the same page here we want and organized Werda Verda with some fire in it. I think that fact he had the Nads to do it for Travis is awsome you should be commended for being the first to put anything together.

http://www.thedentedhelmet.com/showthread.php?t=24419&highlight=dha+werda+verda

Originally my comment was that you needed more Mando'ade to perform it with you, but a bit more speed and emotion would only amplify the effect of a mass or semi mass werda verda. So count me in if you find a way to record the steps and pass them on im committed to learning them and bring a bit of my MA background to it. So thank you again for bringing the werda to life for the rest of us.


Oya Manda!
 
Just to chime in a little...

The only Mando'a words he used in that post were "Dha Werda Verda". All the other foreign words were names of "tribal dances" (don't know if that's the correct term) performed by tribes in New Zealand. Or so I assume. :lol:
 
No, I'm not trying to say you weren't good. I was posting this because not only was it your videos, but now I'm seeing a bunch High School kids run around and do Haka dances before their football games. Our local team here did it and it was the worst thing I'd ever seen. My friend who is an Islander just sort of sat there with this look on her face like someone just took her pet and threw it to an anaconda.

Hell, I was excited to actually see someone actually DOING the Dha Werda.

I just don't want people to be doing it without the enthusiasm. I was trying to get some people together here, but a lot of them are just like "Meh."

I just feel that if you're going to be doing something that's based on someone's cultures, at least put your best effort into it.


I probably sounded like a jerk in my first post and that's absolutly not what I was trying to do, and I apologize if I've offended you. It's not what I was trying to do.

I am glad that you're improving on it, that's awsome. I was under the impression that those dances were just something you sort of threw together at that last minute, and I was mistaken.

In fact, if you post more videos showing the moves that you've created, I'll see if I can learn them and join you at one of the next conventions.


If that's okay with you, of course.



Again, I apologize if I sounded like a jerk.
 
Okay, I see where you're coming from a little clearer now I suppose. And of course, I would love to have as many Mando'ade performing Dha Werda with me as possible. I'll keep my progress posted on the Mando Mercs boards mostly, with the occasional post in Dented Variants I suppose. I have a con coming up at the end of the month, and I'd like to have a better version to perform then...so we'll see what happens.
 
You'll have to forgive me, I'm not good at taking what I'm thinking in my head and making it come out of my mouth or figer tips correctly.

We're shooting an episode (The first episode) of our webshow tomorrow and I'll formally apologize to you there. :D
 
Forgive me if I act a bit incredulous, but am I to understand your initial post came from your frustration that people aren't performing a Star Wars dance with enough enthusiasm?!? Did I miss a meeting or something? I am trying not to be disrespectful, but is this really an issue?:confused:confused:confused
 
Having never heard of Dha Werda Verda, I will remain reticent on the subject.

As for cultural sensitivity, that's something I have had to learn something about, as I am a student of anthropology. The one thing I have learned is that what may seem offensive to one group can go completely un-noticed as such by another. The translation is often difficult for the others to wrap their collective head around.

Having said that, I still think perhaps a little more in the way of how and why the dance is potentially offensive might be in order.
 
I see where you are coming from but have we become so politically correct that we now have to be culturally sensitive to imaginary cultures?


Having never heard of Dha Werda Verda, I will remain reticent on the subject.

As for cultural sensitivity, that's something I have had to learn something about, as I am a student of anthropology. The one thing I have learned is that what may seem offensive to one group can go completely un-noticed as such by another. The translation is often difficult for the others to wrap their collective head around.

Having said that, I still think perhaps a little more in the way of how and why the dance is potentially offensive might be in order.
 
Dah Werda Verda = Rage of the Shadow Warriors. It's a song that basically describes the fight of the Taung against the 13 Battalions of Zel on Coruscant around 25,000bby. It was modified by Jango Fett and taught to some of the ARC troopers, who passed it down to other clones.

I'm not sure there's much mention of the song outside any of the RC books.
 
I see where you are coming from but have we become so politically correct that we now have to be culturally sensitive to imaginary cultures?

All because Temura Morrison and Jay (cant spell his last name) have performed this at C3 and C4. It never existed in the SW world. They did it as entertainment of their own culture to entertain the crowd/audience at C3/C4. And because he portrayed Jango, its now considered canon?

Dont think so.
 
Guys,
This is all very interesting. Please remember here at TDH we are about the costumes and not the made up cultures. This is also meant to be fun. You know, love for a movie, something that is also made up.

Also, by looking at something somebody has done does not mean they have not put their heart into a project. There are only 2 people who really know how much heart somebody puts into something. So, please lets not judge them.
 
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