(in Maori culture) exposure of the buttocks as a gesture of disapproval or contempt.
he is best known for his habit of performing a whakapohane at anti-Government protests
mass nounthe Royal entourage was also treated to whakapohane by fervent republicans
Example sentencesExamples
His Maori affairs spokesman was more forthright, likening it to a whakapohane or "bare-arsed snub".
In the New Zealand Maori culture, whakapohane (directing your bare butt at a hated target) is considered the worst possible insult.
The court heard there was opposition to because of "the whakapohane incident".
If I was the All Blacks I'd line up for a haka then turn my back on the English Rugby team and drop my strides and give them a good old Maori whakapohane.
Many a dignitary (including the Queen) has been delivered a whakapohane, a baring of the buttocks.
He has used the whakapohane against representations of the royal family in more recent times.
A kapa haka performance included a "whakapohane" - a gesture in which male performers direct their buttocks at the crowd.
If some group were to perform a haka, then the last thing you would do is respect it -- most likely bend over and bare your butt (whakapohane).
This behaviour was interpreted as 'lasciviousness', but under the circumstances of extreme hostility it was more likely to have been the whakapohane, an expression of intense derision and contempt.
Oral sources recall a late 19th century incident in which a gesture known as whakapohane was ritually performed.