{"id":5368,"date":"2016-05-14T17:05:24","date_gmt":"2016-05-14T17:05:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dailydigest.com\/?p=5368"},"modified":"2016-05-14T17:05:24","modified_gmt":"2016-05-14T17:05:24","slug":"funeral-haka","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailydigest.com\/funeral-haka\/","title":{"rendered":"The Entire School Turned Up For This Teacher’s Funeral. When They Did THIS My Jaw Dropped"},"content":{"rendered":"

When\u00a0Dawson Tamatea, a popular gym<\/a> and math teacher at Palmerston North school in Wellington, New Zealand<\/a>, passed away<\/a>, his students and co-workers were devastated. He had been teaching at the school for over thirty years, and had touched the hearts of many. As a testament to his popularity, Palmerston North closed on the day of his funeral<\/a>, and every single pupil and colleague attended the service.<\/p>\n

As a special tribute to Mr Tamatea, the school decided to perform the Haka at his funeral service. The Haka is a traditional dance<\/a> of the Maoris, the aboriginal people of New Zealand. The dance was traditionally\u00a0used to intimidate enemies, and is now associated with the New Zealand Rugby Team.<\/p>\n

The school said:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe entire school performed the Haka during the arrival of Mr. Tamatea in the hearse. This was a very emotional and powerful performance. We are extremely proud of our boys\u2019 performance and we know that Mr Tamatea would be too.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Watch the intense tribute below:<\/p>\n