Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke, New Zealand’s youngest member of Parliament, became an internet favourite after her first appearance in the parliament where she presented a traditional Haka.
She become the youngest MP in New Zealand’s 170 years of democracy.
Maipi-Clarke belongs to the Māori tribe which has many ceremonial dances and Haka is one of them which is performed before the start of war or games.
“To the tamariki Maori who have been sitting in the back of their classroom their whole life, whakama, waiting generations longing to learn their native tongue, to the tamariki who haven’t been to their pepeha yet, it is waiting for you with open arms,” she said.
“Never fit in. You are perfect. You are the perfect fit,” she added.
While the 21-year old delivered a powerful speech promising her people of true representation, it was the traditional Haka that grabbed the attention of the people across the world.
The young MP said that she never distanced herself from her culture.
Maipi-Clarke’s traditional dance casted a spell on the Parliament as other members were seen amazed by her speech and the traditional Haka.
She was recently elected to the Parliament and delivered her first speech in mid-December last year which she named after the Māori youth.