Kiwi fans of Australia’s soap opera ‘Home and Away’ have taken to social media to praise a very powerful and emotional Haka scene which recently aired. Recently the show has been exploring a storyline which revolves around the Paratas, a Maori family who have come to live in Summer Bay. The family lose a family member back in New Zealand, but unable to return home they choose to Py their respects in Australia by performing a Haka on the beach.
The Haka performed by the fictional Parata family was extremely moving for fans of the show. The Haka is ceremonial dance that is integral to Maori culture and is often performed by sports teams like New Zealand’s All Blacks ahead of their games. The dance has been performed for hundreds of years and is often performed to show respect at a funeral or during other significant occasions.
During the ‘Home and Away’ scene the male members of the Parata family gathered on the beach to perform an emotional haka near the ocean. The scene ended the episode and finished with silence which left many viewers emotional and pushed many to take to social media to discuss how extraordinary it was. Fans of the show praised its cultural awareness and talked about how touching and beautiful the scene was. Actors also talked about how touched they were by the scene, with Rob Kip-Williams experiencing the situation in real life, saying the episode was a tribute to his aunty whom passed away in New Zealand. The actor said that although he could not attend the funeral in person he still played an important role in the funeral and was glad to be able to a tribute for her on the show and that the scene was close to his heart.
