Rukai vs. Maori Haka Challenge

Produced by Indigenous Bridges/ATAYAL organization.

The Haka, a traditional ceremonial dance of the Maori people is always fascinating to watch. When two tribes from thousands of miles apart face off and challenge each other with a haka dance, it is something unforgettable.

On December 11, 2013, during our Taproot Cultural Exchange Program, the unscripted event occurred in the lobby of the National Museum of Prehistory in Taitung, Taiwan. A group from the Rukai Tribe in Taromak Village completed several cultural dance performances. At the conclusion of their performances, they surprised everyone with a rendition of the Haka dance, to honor their Maori guests from AUT in New Zealand.

The Maori visitors were moved, and decided to respond in kind with their own Haka performance. Watching the two tribes perform the Haka as a traditional, respectful challenge to each other drove the audience into a frenzy of appreciation.