A six-year-old Kiwi boy is going viral for giving a stirring haka tautoko at his Koro’s university graduation.
Posted to TikTok by @missykarlene, the video shows the grandfather walking on stage to officially graduate from the University of Waikato. As his Koro gets onto the stage, the young fella leads his whānau in a haka with a powerful voice.
Commenters on the video - which has racked up over 170,000 views and 30,000 likes - are loving the passion from the kid, with many saying it made them emotional.
“This made me tear up,” one person wrote. “Congratulations on graduating I couldn't think of a better feeling than to be honoured by this young man.”
“Oh wow for sure you did your whānau proud especially your Koro,” said another. “Too much alright, that just brought a lump to my throat.”
“Unreal,” a third added. “He’d have the proudest Koro in New Zealand. Too much little man.”
“We were there and honestly made all us mamas cry with pride,” one more shared. “Awesome work whānau for letting him have his moment too. Love it.”
Last week another graduation haka tautoko went viral. This time it was a thirteen-year-old kid leading it as his māmā walked the stage.
Irene Moses graduated from Toi Ohomai-Te Pūkenga in Rotorua with a Bachelor of Social Work. She described her son’s haka as "beautiful", saying she turned around and saw him "in all his glory".
"My name got called out to go up and get my certificate, and then as I was greeting a couple of my tutors along the way, I just heard my son's voice start a haka, and I thought, 'Oh my God, there's my boy'," she told The Project in an interview.
