Cross-cultural marriage shows that love transcends all barriers.
It’s a beautiful emotion that is kind, accepting and understanding, one that sees no differences between people. So, how do you celebrate a marriage between a man and a woman who come from a different cultural environment? The best way is to cherish the nuances between their traditions.
That’s exactly what guests at this wedding did.
The bride belongs to the Māori culture and the haka dance was performed to honor the newlyweds. Throughout history, haka has been performed to acknowledge great achievements or special occasions—and a wedding certainly falls in that category. The ceremonial dance is quite famous across the globe, and it’s synonymous with New Zealand. After all, the New Zealand national rugby union team, known as the All Blacks, always perform a haka before their games.
The first haka dances were performed by different Māori tribes, and it was considered a war dance.
If you’ve ever seen one yourself, you know that it involves stomping feet, shouting, aggressive facial expressions and poking out the tongue. Why all that? In the past, tribes fought against each other, and such a ritual was done to scare and intimidate the opponent. At the same time, it was a way to call upon the god of war. Now, haka is a symbol of the strength of the community. Its meaning has evolved a lot, and performers don’t use weapons anymore.
The main goal is to move the viewers, not to cause fear.
As the video shows, it was Aaliyah’s family who decided to surprise everyone with a powerful haka dance.
The bride and the man of her dreams are standing on the side, watching the whole act.
We were impressed that all the shouting didn’t scare the little children at the wedding!
Instead, they were intrigued by what’s going on, just like everyone else.
As the camera shows most of the guests, you can see how interested and engaged they are. In the end, Benjamin joins the performers, sticks his tongue out, and shouts the unusual language of caring and acceptance.
As tears run down Aaliyah’s face, we figure out that it was probably the most important moment of their wedding—the moment when Ben became a part of everything her family represents to her.
The final scene shows everyone hugging and kissing when it’s all over.
Two minutes of haka ended very quickly, and everyone started hugging each other and wishing the happy couple all the best.
We can all agree on one thing: it was a beautiful ceremony that opened up new perspectives on how spouses’ lives become entwined into one mutual adventure.
May we remind you that people across the globe have different ways to celebrate the marriage: from French couples eating chocolate from a toilet bowl after the reception to stealing the groom’s shoes in India.
Aaliyah and Benjamin are still happily married and they’ve recently welcomed a baby boy!
From the date the video was filmed, we quickly concluded that these two got married in 2016.
Four years later, baby Leo was born, and the happy family is generous with sharing their special moments on social media. The fact that their wedding video was viewed almost seven million times on YouTube makes us think that the audience is still interested in what’s going on with these two. We wish you all the best—and baby Leo will probably dance haka in no time!
Watch the moving performance in the link below:
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