Wellington (dpa) More than 7770 people have come together in the New Zealand town of Rotorua to perform the largest Maori war dance in
history.
Locals and tourists end everyone from toddlers to seniors met Saturday in the North Island town of Rotorua to perform the Ka Mate
haka, the war cry that is traditionally performed by the New Zealand rugby team, the All Blacks.
Organisers said that even though they have to wait for the record to be officially confirmed by Guinness they were confident that the
record had been broken.
“We’re so ecstatic to have smashed the largest haka Guinness world record today,” Tony Molloy from the International Rugby Club said in
a statement.
Rotorua’s giant haka took the record from a haka in France from 2014 that had 4028 participants.
Rotorua, known for its volcanic activity, was bustling on Saturday with local and international rugby fans in town to see the British
and Irish Lions take on the Maori All Blacks in the evening.
The haka is traditionally used on the battlefield to demonstrate a tribe’s pride and strength.
Ka Mate (“I will Die”), is the iconic challenge performed by the All Blacks before games. A haka was first performed before a rugby match
on 3 October 1888 by the New Zealand Natives against Surrey and has since become beloved by the nation.
