A whānau is making the rounds online after performing an intense and emotional haka for a daughter who’s just finished her home D1 college career.
Originally posted to TikTok by @kazzieet, the video has gained over 260k likes and 2.2 million views since being posted a couple of months ago.
“Grateful for my whānau in honouring me with the haka for my last home game,” the caption reads. “I feel so loved!”
Give the haka a watch below:
Just last week, ESPN reposted the TikTok to their Instagram account, sharing the awesome moment with their 24 million followers, most of which are American.
Those Americans shared their respect for the Māori culture. Even though they might not be super knowledgeable on what they're watching, heaps of them were saying it’s awesome.
“I’m not familiar with this but you can feel the love and beauty of their culture,” one commenter wrote. “Thanks for sharing this!”
“The haka is one of the coolest cultural traditions,” another person said. “Every time I see/hear one I get chills. Love it.”
“I respect the haka and find it to be one of the coolest things in a culture,” added one more. “I wish we had something just as cool here in the States, but unfortunately we do not.”
Kazna Tanuvasa is the name of the girl whose whānau is performing the haka and she’s just finished her final season with Utah Valley University’s top women’s volleyball team the Wolverines. The Wolverines made it all the way to the state final, but unfortunately lost there.
Kazna has shared some of her highlights on her TikTok but there’s one in particular that stands out - when she hits the ball with so much power during a strike that it knocks one of the other team’s players down.
Check it out below and watch that ball MOVE!
