Flash mob haka promotes world record attempt in Rotorua

Rotorua, New Zealand – 19 May 2017:

Last night (18 May 2017) visitors to the Rotorua Night Market were treated to an impassioned flash mob haka.

Students from Rotorua Boys’ High School’s National champions of the Secondary Schools Kapa Haka Competition,Raukura appeared from all angles to deliver a powerful performance. This was delieverd to promote that next month Rotorua will come together in an attempt to break the Guinness World Record for the largest haka.

Multiple versions of the video were streamed live and have already achieved tens of thousands of views.

About the World Record Haka Attempt:

The International Rugby Club are organising the attempt as part of its Rugby Safari following the DHL NZ Lions Tour 2017.

Led by Rotorua Boys’ High School students and national kapa haka champions, more than 6,200 people will be required to perform the famous Ngāti Toa Rangatira haka, Ka Mate, at Rotorua’s Village Green. All comers will be encouraged to participate, regardless of the allegiance.

The International Rugby Club’s co-founder Tony Molloy says that there is no better place than Rotorua to reclaim the record for the world’s largest haka.

“Staging it before the Rotorua game where the Māori All Blacks will face off against The British and Irish Lions just couldn’t be a better setting,” Mr Molloy says.

The official record currently stands at 4,028 participants which was achieved at an event organised by car manufacturer Mazda in Brive-la-Gaillarde, France, in 2014. The number to beat however is 6,200 which was the number of participants who performed a haka in Masterton last November, although their attempt is yet to be officially ratified.

That means that the equivalent of 10% of Rotorua’s population will need to be at the Village Green at 12 noon on Saturday 17 June.

Mr Molloy says it’s about welcoming fans, visitors and The British and Irish Lions to Rotorua.

In the lead up to the attempt on 17 June The International Rugby Club, is encouraging local sports teams, organisations and schools to post their haka practise videos on the Giant Haka Facebook page.

For more information about the Giant Haka or to watch an instructional video to practise your haka skills go to the Giant Haka’s Facebook page

About Ka Mate:

In Te Reo Māori, ‘haka’ is the generic term for a war dance. Traditionally used on the battlefield, haka are a display of a tribe’s mana (pride) and strength.

Ka Mate, the haka that will be performed for the record attempt, is internationally recognised as the iconic challenge performed by the All Blacks before games.

It was composed in the 17th century by Ngāti Toa Rangatira chief Te Rauparaha, descendent of Hoturoa, captain of the Tainui canoe.

A well-known story within the oral histories of Ngāti Toa Rangatira and Ngāti Tuwharetoa, the two iwi (tribes) most associated with the haka’s origins, Ka Mate helped Te Rauparaha escape the advances of a war party from Ngāti Te Aho.

The words “Ka mate! Ka mate! Ka ora! Ka ora” translate to ‘Will I die!, Will I live!”, the famous words spelling out the challenge Te Rauparaha faced.

You can find more information about Ka Mate and its origins here.

Ka Mate

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