New Zealand’s parliament was briefly suspended on November 14 following a protest by the Indigenous Māori group’s legislators, who staged a “haka” against a contentious Bill.
- 22-year-old Māori Party MP Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke led the haka after being asked about her party’s vote on the Treaty Principles Bill that seeks to reinterpret the Treaty of Waitangi, first signed in 1840 between the British and the Māori.
- The haka is of deep cultural significance to Māori identity and is traditionally performed by warriors on the battlefield or to welcome another tribe.
- It is usually performed in a group and involves chanting, dramatic facial gestures, hand movements and stamping the feet.
- Most recently, the haka made global headlines in 2019 when students from various schools – including non-Māori ones – paid tribute to their peers who died in the Christchurch shootings through it.
