Guinness World Record for the largest haka comes home to Aotearoa

It started as a fundraiser to acknowledge 20 years of the Raukatauri Music Therapy Centre. It became a moment in history when people from across Aotearoa and beyond came together to perform the Ka Mate haka at Eden Park yesterday afternoon. Zahra Shahtahmasebi reports from the pitch.

Despite being on tour in Europe and Australia, a chance to be part of the Guinness World Record attempt for the largest haka was something Six60 just couldn’t pass up.

Landing in Tāmaki Makaurau at 2pm yesterday afternoon, the band was on stage at Eden Park by 8pm, bringing the vibes for the crowd who were preparing for their own performance.

Six60 played Don’t forget your roots/Kia Mau Ki Tō Ūkaipō before Ngāti Toa took over with the intro to Aotearoa’s most well-known haka, Ka Mate.

One minute performance

Then, the thousands of people gathered behind them joined in, their voices and action reverberating to fill the stadium. To be considered for the Guinness World Record, the group had to perform for one minute, which meant performing Ka Mate four times over.

“To see everyone’s aroha and heart right out there, they left nothing on the ground,” says Dame Hinewehi Mohi, co-founder of Raukatauri Music Therapy Centre, and champion of the world record attempt. The centre is named for her daughter, Hineraukatauri, who has severe cerebral palsy and has experienced firsthand the benefits of music therapy.

“I don’t know if we can truly capture in that moment all the extreme coming together and how that makes us feel as New Zealanders to share our cultural heritage in this way. So, it is in the spirit of kotahitanga that has really brought us all together,” Dame Mohi adds.

It’s a far cry from when Dame Mohi performed the national anthem in te reo Māori for the first time at the opening game of the Rugby World Cup in 1999.

“I was a sole voice in 1999 in a stadium of 75,000 but now 25 years on, I think we can all be proud of how far we’ve come as a nation.”

The pride, passion and aroha was palpable as soon as people started filling Eden Park at 4.30pm, kitted out in the event merchandise. T-shirts with the Haka logo, created by the team at Extended Whānau, were emblazoned across many chests, with the proceeds going to Raukatauri.

Famous faces

Entertainment kicked off after 6pm, with the lineup of artists including Hollie Smith, Kings, Che Fu, and metal band Shepherd’s Reign who were introduced by boxer David Tua.  

Along with Tua, director Taika Waititi and US TV host Conan O’Brien, who was making his first visit to Aotearoa, were spotted among the crowd.

Iwi Ngāti Toa and Ngāti Whātua Ōrakei conducted a beautiful pōwhiri as the sun set over Eden Park before the participants found their spots and rehearsed Ka Mate altogether.

It was a relatively impatient wait after it was over to find out if Aotearoa had succeeded. So when official adjudicator Brian Sobel returned to the stage, a collective intake of breath went through the whole stadium.

He began by saying the grand total of participants was still unknown because 15 minutes wasn’t enough to get official count on just how many people were on the pitch.

But what he did share was that the amount counted so far surpassed that of the previous record of 4,028, as he held up the official Guinness World Record plaque.

Cheers and tears

That intake of breath was released in an eruption of cheers, and probably for most people, more tears. r Sobel’s face was also damp – he later shared that the emotion of the event snuck up on him too.

“My first and foremost role as the adjudicator is to measure and to observe… We’re here to make sure that what you say you’re doing is what you’re doing, and you’ve absolutely smashed that.

“We’ve been so focused on the numbers and the registration and the count and all of a sudden I found myself on stage and the haka is starting and it hits you like a force,” says Sobel.

Dame Mohi herself performed to close off the event, before speaking to the gathered media, Guinness World Record plaque in hand.

She says the plaque will take pride of place at the Raukatauri Music Therapy Centre. Mohi extends her thanks to everyone who was involved with bringing this event and campaign to life, which was born of a desire to raise money for the centre.

‘A truly magic time’

“It’s really important that we share that gratitude with everyone raising funds and it has been a truly magic time to see that come together.

“Hineraukatauri was there tonight, she wasn’t on the pitch, she won’t be counted but she’ll totally be counted every other way.”

Dame Mohi acknowledged Deborah Pead of pead PR, whose team worked hard on the organisation and providing exposure for the event. There were shoutouts too for Mike Mizrahi of Inside Productions and creative agency Corner Store.

The number of participants currently stands at 6,531, with this likely to fluctuate as the official count is reviewed.

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