Vaccine authorization protesters performed the haka last week in Wellington, New Zealand.
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Vaccine authorization protesters performed the haka last week in Wellington, New Zealand.
Hagen Hopkins / Getty Images
A Maori tribe in New Zealand has asked supporters of anti-vaccination authorization to stop using their ritual dance, the “Ka Mate” haka, at protests.
The dance, traditionally performed before combat and intended to show tribal pride and unity, is a terrifying performance of chanting, stomping, sticking out tongues and rhythmic body flaps. gentle. It was popularized by the New Zealand All Blacks rugby team, who performed it before the start of each test match.
Ngati Toa, that gain legal control of Ka Mate – the tribe’s unique version of haka – in 2009, was strongly opposed on Monday after protesters were seen performing it during recent protests.
Taku Parai, a tribal leader, has urged protesters to stop using Ka Mate “immediately.”
“We don’t support their stance and we don’t want to [tribe] regarding their message,” he said, according to New Zealand Herald.
Last week, thousands of people, some waving Trump flags, marched or rode motorbikes to New Zealand’s Parliament to protest against a government order requiring doctors, pharmacists, nurses and other healthcare workers must be fully vaccinated by December, Sydney Morning Herald report. Teachers and other educators are obligated to vaccinate until January.
Brian Tamaki, leader of the fundamentalist Destiny Church in New Zealand and a right-wing activist, is a prominent figure in the anti-vaccination movement in the country.
Tamaki, himself a member of two Maori tribes, is said to be planning to teach the protesters Ka Mate haka to use at future protests, according to reports. Radio New Zealand.
“Our message to protesters who want to use Ka Mate is to use a different type of haka,” Modlik said.
Immunization rates among Maori are well below New Zealand’s national average, with only 61 per cent being fully vaccinated, according to the report. government data.
Some Maori leaders have criticized the government’s decision to end the strikes, with New Zealand’s Maori Party co-leader, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer, calling the move a “death order” for indigenous communities.
“Many of us [ancestors] have lost their lives in previous pandemics,” tribal chief executive Helmut Modlik said in a statement.
“We are absolutely clear that a COVID-19 vaccine is the best protection that we have available to us,” Modlik said, adding that Ngati Toa is “committed to supporting” vaccination of the population. “as soon as possible.”
