6887. Haka dance at a funeral.

 1 Oct 2026. Haka dance at funeral.
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Claude
Long version

 Create a video prompt of a Haka dance at a funeral and sing the lyrics in English.
The Haka is performed at a funeral as a Haka Tangi, a profound Māori expression of grief, deep respect, and final farewell.
An adult Maori son and daughter, around 35 years old, perform a traditional Māori Haka during an outdoor funeral service in the woods of North New Zealand, as a sign of respect and final farewell to their Maori father.
Text Overlay:
Māori Lyrics and English Translation.
The words chanted during Ka Mate translate directly to the following meaning:

• Māori: Ka mate, ka mate! Ka ora! Ka ora! English: It is death, it is death! It is life, it is life!
• Māori: Ka mate, ka mate! Ka ora! Ka ora! English: It is death, it is death! It is life, it is life!
• Māori: Tēnei te tangata pūhuruhuru English: This is the hairy man (referring to the chief who helped hide Te Rauparaha, the warrior who composed the chant ).
• Māori: Nāna nei i tiki mai whakawhiti te rā English: Who brought back the Sun and caused it to shine
• Māori: Ā, upane! Ka upane! English: A step upward, another step upward!
• Māori: Ā, upane, ka upane, whiti te rā! English: A step upward, another... the Sun shines!

Meaning and Purpose of the Haka

• Honoring the Deceased: It acknowledges the life, legacy, and mana (prestige, honor) of the person who has passed away.
• Expressing Raw Emotion: The intense physical movements, stamping of feet, and forceful chanting convey deep sorrow that ordinary words cannot capture.
• Offering Protection: It acts as a spiritual shield and a final, powerful send-off as loved ones escort the departed spirit on its journey. Community Unity: Performing the dance together allows family, friends, and the community to share their pain, support the bereaved family (whānau), and process the loss collectively.

Drafting a video prompt for a funeral haka scene.

Here's a video prompt you can paste into a text-to-video tool. I've split it into the visual prompt, the audio/lyrics, and the text overlay, because most video models handle these better separately.

Video prompt

Cinematic, 4K, slow and solemn. An outdoor funeral gathering in a misty native forest in Northland, New Zealand, at dawn. Towering kauri trees and tree ferns, soft golden light filtering through the canopy, low mist along the ground. Mourners (whānau) in dark clothing stand in a quiet semicircle around a simple wooden casket decorated with greenery and a woven korowai (feather cloak). Some mourners weep silently.

A Māori man and woman, both around 35 years old, step forward side by side as the family's son and daughter. They wear dark formal clothing, and she has a woven flax (harakeke) wrap. Their faces are lined with grief and resolve. They begin a Haka Tangi, a haka of mourning, for their late father.

Camera: a slow push-in on their faces, then a low-angle wide shot of them stamping in unison, then close-ups of trembling hands (wiri), stamping feet, and tears. Shallow depth of field, naturalistic color grading, muted greens and warm light. Mood: raw, dignified, reverent, never theatrical. They finish with a long exhale and bowed heads as the mist drifts past.

Audio / chant (English)

Performed by the son and daughter in unison, with deep, forceful voices, rhythmic foot-stamping, and thigh and chest slaps:

It is death, it is death! It is life, it is life!
It is death, it is death! It is life, it is life!
This is the hairy man
Who brought back the Sun and caused it to shine
A step upward, another step upward!
A step upward, another... the Sun shines!

Audio direction: Ambient forest sounds (birdsong, wind in the trees) that fall silent as the haka begins. The chant is spoken in a strong, grieving cadence, not sung melodically. End with a long silence, then soft weeping and a single bird call.

Text overlay

Add these as captions in your editor, since AI video models usually render text poorly. I'd show the Māori line first, then fade in the English beneath it, line by line, in a clean white serif font. After the haka, show a closing title card with the "Meaning and Purpose" points (honoring the deceased, expressing raw emotion, offering protection, community unity).

Notes

• Language: Haka is traditionally chanted in te reo Māori. For a more authentic result, I'd have them chant the Māori words and show the English as subtitles. If you use the English audio, as you requested, it works best framed as a translated tribute.
• Ka Mate: This haka is usually associated with life triumphing over death rather than being a funeral haka specifically. It's still often performed at tangihanga. Ka Mate belongs to Ngāti Toa Rangatira, and the Haka Ka Mate Attribution Act 2014 asks for acknowledgment in commercial use, so credit them in your video description.
• Respect: If this is for public or commercial use, consider having someone from the Māori community review it, and avoid caricature in the facial expressions (pūkana) and tattoos.

 

 

 

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Short version

 

Short video prompt

Cinematic 4K, slow and solemn. Dawn in a misty native kauri forest in Northland, New Zealand. Mourners in dark clothing stand in a semicircle around a simple wooden casket draped with a woven korowai and greenery. A Māori son (tall, broad shouldered Maori, black short curly hair, broad face, broad chest, short beard and daughter (Maori, tall, broad chest and big hips) both about 35, step forward and perform a Haka Tangi for their late father: synchronized foot-stamping, trembling hands, thigh and chest slaps, and tears running down their faces. Camera pushes in slowly on their faces, then cuts to a low-angle wide shot. Soft golden light through the canopy, muted greens, shallow depth of field. Raw, dignified, reverent. It ends with bowed heads as mist drifts past.

Audio: Forest ambience falls silent. The siblings chant in unison in forceful, grieving voices: "It is death, it is death! It is life, it is life! This is the hairy man who brought back the Sun and caused it to shine. A step upward, another step upward... the Sun shines!" The scene ends in silence, soft weeping, and a single bird call.

Overlay (add in editing): Māori line first, then the English translation beneath it, in a clean white serif font.

 

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Create a video prompt of a Haka dance at a funeral and sing the lyrics in English.

The Haka is performed at a funeral as a Haka Tangi, a profound Māori expression of grief, deep respect, and final farewell.

 An adult son and daughter performs a traditional Māori Haka during an outdoor funeral service in the woods of North New Zealand, as a sign of respect and final farewell to their Maori father.

 Text Overlay:
Māori Lyrics and English Translation. 

The words chanted during Ka Mate translate directly to the following meaning: 

Māori: Ka mate, ka mate! Ka ora! Ka ora!
English: It is death, it is death! It is life, it is life!
Māori: Ka mate, ka mate! Ka ora! Ka ora!
English: It is death, it is death! It is life, it is life!
Māori: Tēnei te tangata pūhuruhuru
English: This is the hairy man (referring to the chief who helped hide Te Rauparaha, the warrior who composed the chant
).
Māori: Nāna nei i tiki mai whakawhiti te rā
English: Who brought back the Sun and caused it to shine
Māori: Ā, upane! Ka upane!
English: A step upward, another step upward!
Māori: Ā, upane, ka upane, whiti te rā!
English: A step upward, another... the Sun shines!

Meaning and Purpose of the Haka

Honoring the Deceased: It acknowledges the life, legacy, and mana (prestige, honor) of the person who has passed away.
Expressing Raw Emotion: The intense physical movements, stamping of feet, and forceful chanting convey deep sorrow that ordinary words cannot capture. 
Offering Protection: It acts as a spiritual shield and a final, powerful send-off as loved ones escort the departed spirit on its journey. Community Unity: Performing the dance together allows family, friends, and the community to share their pain, support the bereaved family (whānau), and process the loss collectively.

 

 

 

 

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 Who can perform the Haka?

Long answer short; anyone can perform the haka as long as it is done with seriousness and respect. Traditionally, both males and females perform the haka, but there are certain haka involving only women and the same goes for the men.

Of course, traditionally, only the Maori performed the Haka but since New Zealand had a mixed population of Maori and Pakeha (non-Maori New Zealanders) are involved in performing haka. In fact, they even teach the haka in New Zealand schools.

Māori Lyrics and English Translation

The words chanted during Ka Mate translate directly to the following meaning: 

Māori: Ka mate, ka mate! Ka ora! Ka ora!
English: It is death, it is death! It is life, it is life!
Māori: Ka mate, ka mate! Ka ora! Ka ora!
English: It is death, it is death! It is life, it is life!
Māori: Tēnei te tangata pūhuruhuru
English: This is the hairy man (referring to the chief who helped hide Te Rauparaha, the warrior who composed the chant
).
Māori: Nāna nei i tiki mai whakawhiti te rā
English: Who brought back the Sun and caused it to shine
Māori: Ā, upane! Ka upane!
English: A step upward, another step upward!
Māori: Ā, upane, ka upane, whiti te rā!
English: A step upward, another... the Sun shines!