There’s nothing quite like a good haka. We shared a lot of emotional, fiery, beautiful, and goosebump-inducing hakas this year on Mai FM, and plenty of them went viral (even if they do get confused by them, Americans do love a haka).
So, as 2022 wraps up, we decided to share our five favourite viral hakas of the year and a special mention to a performance we couldn't forget.
Young Fellas Say Goodbye
The first haka on our list comes from a group of young fellas sending their mate off to the US with an intense airport haka. ‘Game of Thrones’ actress Nathalie Emmanuel was one of the millions of people to see the vid - it racked up 2.8 million views on TikTok and even more after it was reposted by a big US Instagram account.
“It gives me chills every time I see the haka performed,” Emmanuel wrote. “It’s so emotional and powerful.”
Last Home Game Whānau Haka
Kiwi Kazna Tanuvasa wrapped up her D1 American College Volleyball season this year, and her whānau celebrated by visiting her and giving her a haka she’ll remember for the rest of her life.
ESPN reposted the clip to their 24 million Instagram followers, and it gained over 600,000 likes and over 4,000 comments.
Tribute to Sean Wainui
The Māori All Blacks honoured their late teammate Sean Wainui with a haka before their game against Ireland in June of this year.
Sean’s family were also given a jersey by the Irish team, presented by Bundee Aki, and stood centrefield during the AB’s haka.
‘Not A Dry Eye In The House’
This one happened over in Aussie at the Perth Airport. According to the YouTube video’s description, the father and son hadn’t seen each other in a while.
A crowd gathered as the dad performed the haka and, as the Reddit post title says, “there was not a dry eye in the house”.
Little Man Goes Hard
At just six years old Maddox got the whole family going when he led a haka with his uncle and dad at a wedding.
His mum said that "his confidence, pride and love for his cultures have grown so much,” and you can tell she ain't lying.
Kapa Haka’s Te Reo Adele
Back in August Tāmaki Herenga Waka, Herenga Tāngata Hakangahau went down with plenty of awesome performances, and we just had to mention this one, even though it's not a haka.
However, kapa haka group ‘Angitu’ stole the show and gained hundreds of thousands of views for their rendition of Adele’s smash hit ‘Easy On Me’.
