“Photo: still from video youtube.com/watch?v=V188_OKQ2Jo&t=73s In New Zealand, parliament was interrupted after MPs from the Te Pāti Māori party started performing a haka – a ceremonial group dance – just inside the chamber. As the BBC reports, the deputies performed the haka dance in honor of the protest against the controversial draft law, which aims to reinterpret the country’s founding treaty with […]”, — write: businessua.com.ua
Photo: frame from the video youtube.com/watch?v=V188_OKQ2Jo&t=73s
In New Zealand, parliament was disrupted after MPs from the Te Pāti Māori party began performing a haka – a ceremonial group dance – just inside the chamber. As the BBC reports, the deputies performed the haka dance in honor of the protest against the controversial draft law, which aims to reinterpret the country’s foundational treaty with the Maori people – the Treaty of Waitangi.
It all started with the fact that a deputy from the opposition party Khana-Rauhiti Maipi-Clark was asked if her party supported the bill, which was put to a first vote on Thursday. In response, the politician tore up a copy of the bill and began a traditional ceremonial group dance. Her colleagues from Te Pāti Māori and other MPs joined in the dance.
In response, the chairman announced a 30-minute break, after which the draft law passed the first reading with the support of all parties of the ruling coalition. Maipy-Clarke was suspended from working in Parliament.
The bill provides a new interpretation of the Treaty of Waitangi, a historic agreement between the British Crown and the indigenous Maori people, concluded 184 years ago. It was first signed in 1840 between the British Crown and more than 500 Maori chiefs. The document became the basis of the state formation of New Zealand and is still one of the main constitutional documents of the country.
According to New Zealand’s ACT party, which has released a bill to enshrine in law a narrower interpretation of the Treaty of Waitangi, the changes in the document aim to empower every person. However, many Maori and their supporters see the controversial bill as undermining the rights of the country’s indigenous people, who make up about 20% of the population.
Haka – (or haka) – a Maori ritual that combines dance, singing and a kind of mimicry. Haku was first performed by Maori warriors hundreds of years ago. With the help of terrifying body movements and screams, with bulging eyes and tongue sticking out, they tried to intimidate the enemy before each battle. Later, haka began to be performed during peaceful events as well.
Hana-Rauhiti Maipi-Clark is 22 years old. New Zealand politician, representing Te Pāti Māori as Member of Parliament after the 2023 New Zealand general election. She is the youngest member of the parliament. The girl attracted considerable attention with her first speech back in 2022, during which she spoke in her native language and criticized the government’s policies towards the country’s indigenous population, in particular the Maori community to which she belongs. In January 2024, the deputy already performed haka in the parliament.
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Source: kp.ua