Wellington  - A war dance made famous by New Zealand's national rugby team the All Blacks was officially designated the intellectual property of a Maori tribe in a compensation agreement signed in Wellington on Wednesday.

The All Blacks always perform the haka called Ka Mate, with ferocious threatening actions and protruding tongues, as a challenge in front of their opponents before the start of games.

The dance and its words were composed by a notoriously aggressive Maori chief, Te Rauparaha (1768-1849), who headed the Ngati Toa tribe and controlled the lower North Island and northern part of the South Island until British colonisers arrived in 1840.

The tribe has long held a grievance over unauthorised commercial performance of the haka, which is traditionally performed only by men, but failed in attempts to copyright it.

In 2006, New Zealand's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade formally complained about a television commercial for Italian car company Fiat featuring black-clothed women imitating a haka, dubbing it culturally insensitive and inappropriate.

A special provision was made for the haka in a government compensation package negotiated with Ngati Toa for past wrongs that breached a partnership treaty signed by Maori chiefs with representatives of Britain's Queen Victoria in 1840.

The first compensation deal to include intellectual property, it does not give the tribe the right to veto use of the haka or allow it to claim royalties for its performance.

But in a symbolic move that tribal leaders regard as immensely significant, the government acknowledges Ngati Toa's concern over the misappropriation and culturally inappropriate use of Ka Mate and formally recognises its ownership.

The agreement also apologises for the arrest of Te Rauparaha in 1846 and his detention without trial for 18 months, during which time much of the tribe's land was sold. (dpa)