Massacre in New Zealand: the "haka", an emotional tribute to the victims

CHRISTCHURCH (AFP) .- Courts on the street. In the midst of dark days, he lives

New Zealand

after
murder committed by a
young Australian extremist who attacked two
mosques and murdered
50 people, the citizens of the country have come together and created the famous haka, tradition of rugby All Blacks, which with this dance seeks to intimidate the opponent before each game.

But the haka, in addition to a ritual dance to demonstrate power and a war cry is a ceremony of
a mourning that mixes mistrust and beauty. Therefore, the cities of

New Zealand

They vibrated at the rhythm of blows to the chest, on the floor, arms to the sky, eccentric tongues and facial gestures.

New Zealanders expressed their solidarity with the victims of the mbadacre with this dance of the Maori tradition. Of all ages and backgrounds, the people of the South Pacific nation have performed the intimidating rite of the spontaneous path in the streets and this begins with the cry of "I live, I die!"

Children, adolescents, men, women, students, cyclists, all gathered to give strength to loved ones who lost their loved ones and to send a message to the world: they are together.

Yesterday, in another response to the attack, the government announced a tougher legislation on the sale of weapons. "We made a decision as a government, we are united," said Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern after last Friday, a 28-year-old man entered two mosques with an arsenal of weapons, opened the fire on those present Live broadcasts on Facebook everything he's done.

The haka

According to Maori mythology, it is an ancestral dance, a donation of Tane-rore, son of Tama-nuira, the sun god.

"The Haka serves death and mourning, it is part of the mourning process of Maori, it serves to show your love and compbadion, it helps to awaken the spirit of families in mourning," says Te Kahauti Maxwell, Maori Professor University of Waikato. As when the heat of a summer day wavered, "in the Haka, every part of the body trembles, from head to toe," Maxwell adds.

For her part, Lisa Tumahai, chief of the Ngai Tahu, the main tribe of the South Island, explains that it is natural for New Zealanders to use their traditional dance. "No matter how angry we are, how scared we are, we need to unite in one strong community to show our compbadion for those who have made their home in Aotearoa and lost their loved ones," he said. he.

Aotearoa means "the land of the long white cloud" and is the Maori name for this nation of less than five million people.