NZ soldiers perform emotional haka for fallen comrades
The video of a moving, passionate haka, a Maori war cry, performed by the comrades of three fallen New Zealand soldiers, has connected with people across the globe.
The New Zealand Herald‘s Paul Harper wrote about the incredible tribute carried out by the 2nd and 1st Battalion Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment for Corporal Luke Tamatea, 31, Lance Corporal Jacinda Baker, 26, and Private Richard Harris, 21, at their funeral service at the Burnham Military Camp in Christchurch on Saturday, August 25.
The video was put on YouTube by the New Zealand Defence Force, and has now attracted 1,458,635 views (as of this post). Harper writes that the tribute was also tweeted by CNN host Piers Morgan to his 2.6 million followers.
Army spokesman Major John Gordon told the Herald that the haka represented their “outpouring of emotion.”
“Our military is a small organization,” Gordon told the Herald, “and people tend to all know each other.” (SOURCE)
The video speaks for itself
Emotional ... New Zealand soldiers perform haka for fallen comrades
VIDEO 2nd 1st farewell their fallen comrades with a huge haka
You are all amazing wonderful beings! I have never seen such respect and comradeship ever shown before. I love and honor everyone whom participating in this beautiful farewell. The embrace of such a wonderful culture shared by all no matter where the blood lines are from. Very powerful, if only everyone were able to embrace and share as this footage has done, what a wonderful world it would be.
To those families of those departed from this world, my heart and love go to you. May each day get a little easier and may your hearts be lightened as you know they walk and watch over you now and always.
God Bless and Namaste to each and everyone of you. <3 xo
What a beautiful and powerful way to honor a being. This is the most potent and sincere expression of grief and honoring I have ever encountered.
Thank you for sharing....
A cold shiver goes down my spine. Guys you are all HEROES in my eyes. What respect for your fallen comrades. My condolences to those family members, friends of those soldiers.
God bless you all.
...thank you for sharing this with us.
I live in a culture that has lost its indigenous soul. There is no heart or core of the sacred within this society and my wild spirit grieves for the lack of it.I honour both the fallen comrade and the traddition of haka and traddition of these people where such weaving of sanctity and traddition are current and normal in a world gone mad for the lack of such harmony. I am blessed to have witnessed this ceremony and am glad for the technology that teaches me and all who view this the power and depth of such a culture.
Really good job, guys. You are all so beautiful.
I just attended the Peachtown Native American Festival at Wells College in Aurora, NY- We had various events there all week. Yesterday was the culmination of the events and we had music and a social dance all afternoon and into the night. I danced, sang, and was deeply moved by the event. We had some spirits there that were strong... the result of the Sullivan & Clinton Campaign. I am not kidding! Today, I came across this video, and your blog. I have to say that the events of the past 24 hours touched me deeply, and as I watched this video, I felt the HONOR, raw emotion and dedication of these soldiers. It made me cry, and feel a gamut of things from my own experience of having worked as a police officer for almost 15 years. Thank you for sharing....wakan tanan kici un
Your culture is amazing!!!
RESPECT....the best farewell a soul can get....
thanks marama for sharing this video, I can the strenght of all soldiers loving your culture. I am so touched for it.
Maururu e te aroha ia rahi
Amazing respect and ceremony in uniformed guardsmen!!
thank you for sharing this vital ceremony honoring, not only their comrades, but their grief and the inherent need for expression
This brought tears to my eyes and pain in my heart. This was the most beautiful thing I believe I've ever witnessed. Thank you for sharing. I will never forget what I've seen...the pure respect of these final moments on earth is something to behold. May God Bless the family, friends and comrades with eternal love, good health and great happiness while on this earth and beyond.
What an amazing display of bravery, mourning and comradery. Hopefully those who see this will learn something. I know I did.
Thank You for letting me watch this; I feel so humble and proud to witness this ceremony honoring fallen comrades;in such a nobleway. God Bless all of you.
Namaste <3
WOW...this gave me goosebumps and I ended up crying. The feeling stuck with me for quite a while. I will definitely view this more than a few times. Powerful!
Love honor and respect! That made my heart sing!...
The Haka is a big part of Maori culture and not just to be performed before an All Blacks rugby game.Our dear departed are often farewelled with a haka, we also celebrate happy occasions with haka, acknowledge achievements with haka. It is an integral component of who we are and is used as a vehicle to illustrate our world view as a people. From what I have seen of the First Nations (Tangata Whenua of America) culture there are similarities between us, our beliefs, our connection to the land and nature. It came as no surprise that you all felt the wairua (spirituality) in this farewell. My heart goes out to you Kat Demeter and all I can say is Kia kaha, kia maia, kia manawanui. Be strong, be steadfast, show conviction for your culture. We owe that to our ancestors. Peace be with you
greetings from america....it was moving to see....the whole concept of haka is something that should be incorporated into all groups of people...not just sports...but for community...i think it is safe to say...its more than just a show of pride or a battle call...from what ive seen...it has a deep spiritual meaning.... i felt and understood it and never have seen or hear of this..myself being of african decent,..i wish i could create something as this for my people...for we have a epidemic of our youth dying in our streets...aging...much respect to you all....
Heartfelt....
a very deeply moving representation of the power of commradrie and how it touches all of us regardless of culture... to those whose lives have changed on this level may peace find you, and know that your loved ones are always as close as your heart. thank you for sharing.
Thank you for sharing this.
Very, very moving.
Wow, that was something else...we as NZers have the power and dedication to our nation, to our people, as one...you are all amazing and command the respect of serving our country so proudly. Well done and god bless. Thank you.
At first, watching the ceremony unfold, it seemed very strange to me, and I was a bit uncomfortable. After a few minutes, as the action of the participants became more focused and unified, I found tears coming to my eyes as I absorbed internally the emotions and feelings of those who honored their fallen comrades in such a dramatic, poignant, and meaningful way. I had a vision during the ceremony that the fallwen ones were there in spirit and appreciated the gesture of their former fellow soldiers. I felt a blessing descend on all of them.
I have lived over 77 years and am so very grateful to have enriched my life by witnessing this intense show of respect and love for a fallen comrade.There are amazing people in this world and The Maori Nation are among the most wonderful people on earth.Such heartfelt sincerity,tears came to my eyes.Thankyou.
Tramendous, greetings from Durban , Kwa-Zulu natal , South Africa
OH MY GOD thats truely amazing i watched it three times each time brought more tears. had to post it on facebook so emotional too watch wish the USA had something like this. i think thats better than the military style here.very earthy i think
The power of the masculine showing the fierce force of love ~ the spirit world was tempestuous~ these warriors are honoring their brothers~ something those of us in the western culture don't get. They controlled the very air. Their bodies remembered the ancients as though they were alive. Makes us look like emotional limp dicks. Pardon Francaise.
This was beautiful.it exemlifies how a country respects it military, who defends the people, and how the people in turn respects their self and the military.
It is very humbling to watch this video,It made me cry for the one who was taken from their family and for their family.I am honored to have been allowed to watch this. God Bless.
Fitting farewell for the Fallen. This is a memory of the respect that the True Warrior has, a heritage that has been handed down from the warriors of the past. Well done Comrades!!!
What a wonderful display of honor and respect for the fallen. Many blessings and deep peace to the late warriors and their families.
What a loving tribute. Beautiful.
I strongly encourage everyone to learn more about New Zealand's involvement in the U.S. war on Afghanistan in the first place. http://www.maoritelevision.com/tv/shows/anzac-2013/episode/he-toki-huna-new-zealand-afghanistan-0 And also, please think critically about the co-option of important aspects of Maori culture, by the New Zealand military and others.
Wow! That was unbelievable Awesome! Gave me goose bumps and made the hair on my arms stand up. Rest in peace.
Red Cloud
What a marvelous gift to witness.
Wow, so moving to the soul! May the Great Spirit be with you all. Sad to say a lot of Native Americans no longer follow the traditions of our home lands. Which was taken from the tribes by the new government. In so doing away with a lot of the tribal rituals. Our heritage is a scattered mess. Bless you for showing us that some do still thrive!
REAL WARRIORS SHOWING REAL FEELING !!!!
What a beautiful way to send off your fellow comrades respect personafide blessings to all
As I sat here and watched this video, I was amazed at the dedication, love and raw emotion these fellow soldiers felt. They approached with dignity and respect for their fallen comrade and were still in a protected mode for him and were each one in unison with their gestures. I felt they were speaking to his spirit as they said their farewells. As the tears began to fall from my eyes I felt such a part of this and wished we all lived in a society where our love and devotion were so prevalent...what a wonderful world this would be. My condolences go out to those fallen soldiers - there and everywhere - and I pray that one day we will live in a world where there is no war and all we know is peace. God bless.
A moving and admirable farewell from amazing comrades.
My respect to all of you.
Powerful and beautiful. I cry for your fallen hero.
I'm from Europe, But I think I can, I am able to understand you. It was great and beautiful, that all of you danced together...
Such respect I have never seen you all are wonderfull. Lifted your comrade higher than heaven
Its self stay gold each and everyone of you x