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haka

Friendship

American coworkers surprise grieving Māori man with haka after he missed family funeral

He was stuck in America for his grandmother's funeral so his friends brought New Zealand to the states.

Representative photo Gary Stockbridge|Get Archive

American friends learn haka for grieving Māori man

It's not easy living away from family, especially when you live in a completely different country. The distance can become increasingly more difficult to adjust to when tragedy strikes your family back home. It can be cost prohibitive to fly back home and depending on your employer's attendance policy, it may be nearly impossible.

Jarom Ngakuru recently faced this very situation. The New Zealander of Māori descent is living in the United States while his family still resides in his home country. Unfortunately, when Ngakuru's grandmother died, he was unable to make the trip back to the island to give his proper goodbye.

Not being able to attend his grandmother's funeral left him sad and broken. He wanted nothing more than to be there with his family. Ngakuru's friends knew how important it was for him to send his grandmother off properly so the group of American colleagues worked in secret to learn the haka.

Haka is a traditional dance performed by Māori people for important events like weddings, funerals, and significant life events as a sign of respect. The dance has been known to bring viewers to tears, and this haka is doing the same. Not just because of the haka itself, but because of everything that went into a group of American men learning a dance from another culture to honor their friend and his grandmother.

Ngakuru uploaded the video to his TikTok page with the caption, "Hardest part about living in America is that we live so far away. I couldn't make it home for my nan's funeral and I was BROKEN! So my boys at work learned the haka without me knowing and brought home to me."

See why commenters could not stop crying below:

@jaromngakuru

Hardest part about living in america 🇺🇸 is that we live so far away. I couldnt make it home for my nans funeral and i was BROKEN! so my boys at work learned the haka without me knowing and brought home to me 🇳🇿🏠 #haka #grateful #maori #newzealand #brothers #fyp #foryou

"I don't think they even understand how beautiful of an act this is," one person writes.

"There is so much depth of emotion attached to the Haka I uncontrollably cry every time. This was beautiful," another says.

"Well I'm sobbing like a baby in my office now," a commenter reveals.

"You can feel the mana [spiritual power] and the aroha [love]they have for you they know your mamae [hurt], what a beautiful tribute to you and our culture. Arohanui [deep affection] for your loss," someone else writes.

Ngakuru explains in the comments that it's his brother-in-law, who is Tongan, leading the chant. He is also the one that taught their friends the haka in a single day. What an impressive show of love for their grieving friend. There's no doubt that Ngakuru will remember this for the rest of his life.

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Joy

Why people are finding this teen's haka send-off at the airport particularly moving

It's a strong signal of cultural traditions being successfully passed from one generation to the next

TikTok/@curlyheadnikau

An airport haka is making people emotional.

If there's one thing people around the world associate with Māori culture, it's the haka. We've seen the traditional dancing and chanting before international sports matchups and in viral videos from wedding parties to tiny toddlers.

Haka originated as a way to prepare warriors for battle, but it has also been performed as a custom when groups came together in peace. Today, in addition to symbolizing a challenge to a sports opponent, haka is used to honor people and show the importance of an occasion.

In New Zealand, it's not uncommon to see haka performed at airports, as people send off or welcome home loved ones. But one airport haka has people feeling particularly moved.

In a video shared by @curlyheadnikau on TikTok, a young man who is heading off to the U.S. for school, having received a basketball scholarship to Utah, stands opposite a group of young men who honor him with the haka. "Send off for the big cuzzy," reads the caption.


What's particularly notable in this haka video is that all of the participants appear to be youth—no obvious elders among them—which sends a strong signal of a culture being successfully passed down from one generation to the next.

Watch:

@curlyheadnikau

send off for the big cuzzy good luck over in the us 💯 @tuhi2x #fyp #nz #haka #foryou #us #foryou

Upworthy posted the video on our Instagram page, and people are sharing how moved they are by it.

"I love how they transform from modern teens to timeless warriors, in spirit with their ancestors. So incredibly moving and significant," wrote one person.

"The release of emotion in Haka makes me cry!" wrote another. "So beautiful, healthy and moving."

"It's so moving to see non-toxic demonstrations of strong masculinity. This is how it's done," shared a third.

Several people shared this sentiment:

"I can never watch this incredible ritual without tearing up. This is pure magic!!!!"

Seeing these guys in their T-shirts and Nikes put their all into the haka is so powerful. Knowing how many indigenous cultures have had their traditions stripped away, with many being lost altogether, makes this video all the more moving.

The New Zealand tourism website shares a bit about the origins of the haka:

"The Māori legend describing the origin of the haka paints it as a celebration of life. The story goes that Tama-nui-te-ra, the sun god, and his wife Hine-Raumati, who embodies summer, had a son named Tane-rore. On hot summer days, Tane-rore would dance for his mother, causing the air to quiver. This light, rapid movement was the foundation of all haka."

The Māori people have inhabited the islands of New Zealand for more than 700 years, their ancestors having arrived by boat from Polynesia around 1300 A.D. The population declined following British colonization and hit a low point in the early 20th century, but thanks to the influence of key Māori leaders, the country changed. Today, the Māori people play a significant role in New Zealand society and government.

With young people like this carrying on the traditions of their ancestors, this beautiful nation's cultural diversity will be preserved for generations to come.

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Most Shared

A war dance at a wedding ended with a bride in tears. Tears of pure joy.

Sometimes weddings can be a little unpredictable.

More

Meet the student fighting for his country's native language. He's great.

A very specific request reveals a pretty great life lesson.

This kid has a point. About life. About relating to other human beings.

He's talking about being earnest and doing your best. In this case, it's in order to pronounce the language of your neighbors. But when you think about it ... this is true of life, right? What a great way to be.

Enjoy seven minutes of well-researched wisdom. (I can't believe this kid, whose name is Finnian Galbraith, is only in high school!And he did this for a school project?!)

"I wrote this speech initially for a speech competition in 2014 because I see this as a big issue and I believe it is very important that we take action," Finnian wrote.

I highly recommend watching the whole video. But if you can't, here are the biggest lessons.

It's OK to not be perfect.

But people deserve respect. All that matters is that you make an effort.

And who knows? You might get invited to a fun party by a Māori celeb just for the effort.


All that matters is that you are trying.

Finnian came up with this magical state of trying when he noticed the way people in his native New Zealand were (mis)pronouncing Māori words.

Māori is an official language of New Zealand, which means there's basically one way to pronounce this extremely rare language. So when folks from the country where it originated mispronounce it, it's not like, "Oh, but I'm saying it with an accent!" — it's more like, "Oh, I don't care!"

Which is a shame because Māori words are all over the place in New Zealand.

Such as the longest place name in New Zealand. Image via Archives New Zealand/Flickr.

Image via Map of the Urban Linguist/Flickr.


Image via luvjnx/Flickr.

There's even a Māori Wikipedia! And it's a good thing because Māori is a rare language!

While I shouldn't have to convince you that Māori is an awesome culture — because, hello, they're people and they deserve respect — here's a quick dip into the culture.

From films with Māori characters like "Whale Rider" or the less intense "Eagle vs. Shark" (starring Jemaine Clement of "Flight of the Conchords fame," who's of Māori descent)...


GIFs via "Whale Rider" and "Eagle vs. Shark."

...to dances like the Haka...

Māori is the language of the indigenous people of New Zealand, and it shares cultural origins with the Haka that the national rugby team All Blacks performs. Have you seen 'em? GIFs via New Zealand All Blacks.

...to the hardcore tattoos, beautiful landscapes, cool art, and the Māori battalion from World War II.


Image via Imperial War Museum/Wikimedia Commons.

Also, the main writer on the new Disney princess movie "Moana," Taika Waititi, is Māori!

It's EASY to see a culture worth respecting.

Respect!

That's what it's all about.

I agree with this kid. It's not about being perfect. But what matters is that when given the chance to preserve a culture and show respect for your neighbors ... you take it!

You try.

That's true of pronouncing Māori, but it's also true of life. Wisdom is all around us!

Kia ora!

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