Disneyfication

One aspect of Merchandising in New Zealand is the Kiwi. The Kiwi is actually a flightless bird that is endemic to New Zealand. They are the smallest living ratite which is the term for flightless birds, and lays the largest egg in relation to their body size of any species of birds in the world.

The association is so strong, that the term Kiwi is used all over the world, as the name for a New Zealander.

Rugby is always associated to the New Zealanders too. In addition with the term of Kiwi, it can be found even in Singapore. The Rugby tournament known as The Kiwi Cup, is played among Singapore’s secondary school rugby teams.

In 1965, the Kiwi Cup was started. It was a tournament solely between Raffles and St. Andrews, fierce rivals from the onset of Rugby. Proudly, we held on to the cup for eight consecutive years, losing it to them finally in 1973.

The schools Raffles and St. Andrews cup that they play for is named kiwi cup in tribute to the game of rugby.

Another form of Disneyfication in New Zealand, would be their Haka. As all around in the world, you can find the Haka. The war dance may not have the same meaning as the Maori's, however they all derived from them.

An example would be the  Island of Samoa. Thou people would normally associate the Haka with New Zealand, they have their own Haka too.

The Samoan Haka

The Haka can be found in a different form too. As seen in the video below, the Haka is performed by St. Andrews Rugby team in Singapore. They may not scream the same cry as the Haka, but they have the same meaning as the Haka, and that is to call out their readiness to the opponents, that they are ready for battle.