Aotearoa, New Zealand has reclaimed the world record for the largest haka participation with more than 6,000 people performing the Māori ceremonial dance and taking the title from France.
On Sunday, the record was smashed at Eden Park stadium in Auckland, where thousands of people gathered on the rugby pitch to participate in the haka.
There were a few famous faces within the crowd to help reclaim the world record, including actor and director Taika Waititi, NZ band Six60 and US TV host Conan O’Brien.
Matiu Walters, frontman of New Zealand band Six60 (left), Taika Waititi (middle) and US TV personality Conan O’Brien were at the world record attempt at Eden Park in Auckland. (AFP: DJ Mills)
A Guinness World Record adjudicator confirmed 6,531 participants had performed the Ka Mate haka, a rendition made famous by the All Blacks rugby team, who used to perform it to the opposing team before a test match.
The All Blacks team now perform Kapa O Pango, which they first used in 2005 during a test match against South Africa.
Kapa O Pango was written for the team by Sir Derek Lardelli, who is from the iwi (tribe) Ngāti Porou and is an expert in Tikanga Māori (Māori expert and customs).
Guinness World Records adjudicator Brian Sobel (right) holds up a plaque as he officially announces a new record for the largest mass Haka, at Eden Park in Auckland. (AFP: DJ Mills)
Although Auckland organisers had hoped for up to 10,000 participants, they were still pleased the record had been reclaimed by New Zealand, where the haka is regarded as a national treasure.
“We want to bring the mana [pride] of the haka back home,” Michael Mizrahi, director of the Auckland attempt, told AFP.
“It’s not just that we want to take it off the French, it’s like a national treasure that somebody has taken from us. It’s got enormous meaning for us as New Zealanders.”
“Some things should be culturally sacred,” Mr Mizrahi told AFP.
Previous attempts involving crowds of more than 5,000 on New Zealand soil failed because Guinness World Records officials did not ratify them, Mr Mizrahi said.
More than 7,000 people attempted to break the world record in 2017 in Rotorua, New Zealand. (Getty Images: David Rogers)
The world record had been held by France since September 2014, when 4,028 people slapped their thighs and bellowed the chant following a rugby match in Brive-la-Gaillarde, south-western France.
French woman Diane Clayton, who moved to Aotearoa, New Zealand 20 years ago told Te Ao Māori News, that she was confused as to why the record was held in France in the first place.
“For me, it was like if someone said the record for the biggest number of people singing La Marseillaise was in New York, I’d be like, what the heck?”
She said people need to understand that haka is telling the story of your land and your people.
“I think people focus too much on the physical aspect of it because it looks like a war dance and it’s very expressive, but it’s so meaningful,” she told Te Ao Māori News.
“There is a real danger that people completely skip that part, which is essential.”
A YouTube video shared of France’s attempt in 2014 appears to show that some of the participants attempted to draw Tā Moko (tattoos) on their faces, which is culturally inappropriate as Tā Moko are traditional markings for Māori people that tell the stories of their lives.
This time around, an adjudicator was flown to Auckland.
The Ka Mate haka was composed around 1820 by the warrior chief Te Rauparaha to celebrate his escape from a rival tribe’s pursuing war party.
Under New Zealand law, a Māori tribe, the Ngati Toa, based in Porirua just outside Wellington, are recognised as the cultural guardians of the Ka Mate haka.
