Son honors mother's graduation with emotional and powerful Maori ceremonial dance

Millions of people are moved to tears by the powerful haka, a Maori ceremonial dance performed by a loving son to honor his mother on her graduation day. The teenager's elder sister Shay aka @shay_anar recorded the emotional moment and posted it on TikTok. The video gathers over 3 million views and over 655k likes. The text inlay in the video reads, "My mum graduating her bachelor in social work and my little brother getting up to Tautoko in the best way we know how."

The video shows her son performing a powerful ceremonial dance before his mother gets up on stage to get her degree. He continues to perform the entire dance with powerful vocals and everyone in the ceremony cheer for his mother as she gets up on the stage. According to NewZealand.com, a traditional Maori dance or challenge, known as the haka, is typically performed by a group to showcase a tribe's unity, strength and pride. It involves rhythmic body slapping, stomping of the foot, and protrusion of the tongue while chanting loudly. The lyrics of the haka are often expressed in a poetic manner, describing the tribe's history and ancestors.

Haka performances are still a part of ceremonies and celebrations today, serving as a way to pay tribute to guests and emphasize the significance of the event. These occasions may include various family events such as weddings, graduations, funerals, and birthdays. This young boy performed the dance in the best way and caught everyone's attention while he honored his ancestry and tradition. Moreover, people from his family joined in to amplify the chant and make it even more powerful and memorable. TikTok users appreciated and were emotional seeing this video.

TikTok user @nexithegoddess said, "He didn't care what anyone thought. He was going to pay his respects to his mother." Shay revealed while replying to this comment that he did not tell anyone in his family that he was going to perform haka and it was a surprise. TikTok user @leanne.hayden said, "Well done mama! And what a proud moment to be a mama, when your son gets up and does a haka for you." User @ashb1111s commented, "Whenever I see these done I always get so emotional. They are so powerful. What a beautiful part of your culture."

User @long_island_iewa said, "Love this so much! So much respect for the Maori culture. What a beautiful tautoko. Watching from Fiji with love." A TikTok user @ky071717 said, "Can we get a mom grad picture reveal? This was beautiful." Shay replied to this comment through a video sharing pictures from the graduation ceremony and also her brother performing haka on various other occasions. User @queenjuicyjade said, "What an amazing family. I love seeing children being taught to be firm in their culture no matter what! So proud." Another person @oshagirl64 said, "Congratulations to your Mom! That haka was powerful. Thank you."