WELLINGTON, NEW ZEALAND - AUGUST 27: Kieran Read of the All Blacks leads the haka during the Bledisloe Cup Rugby Championship match between the New Zealand All Blacks and the Australia Wallabies at Westpac Stadium on August 27, 2016 in Wellington, New Zealand. (Photo by Phil Walter/Getty Images)
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WELLINGTON, NEW ZEALAND - AUGUST 27: Kieran Read of the All Blacks leads the haka during the Bledisloe Cup Rugby Championship match between the New Zealand All Blacks and the Australia Wallabies at Westpac Stadium on August 27, 2016 in Wellington, New Zealand. (Photo by Phil Walter/Getty Images)
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Editor’s Note: This article was originally published on March 26, 2019.

CNN  — 

It’s what representing their country is all about – walking out in New Zealand’s All Blacks jersey, facing their opposition, and delivering a spine-tingling, hair-raising Haka before the whistle blows for kick-off.

The sights and sounds of the Haka – feet stomping, fists pumping, vocal chords straining – are deeply entrenched within New Zealand culture.

“For me, the Haka is a symbol of who we are and where we come from,” former All Blacks captain Richie McCaw told CNN in 2015.

“This is who we are. Obviously it comes from a Maori background but I think it also resonates with all Kiwis.”

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Hakas were performed across the country in the wake of the Christchurch mosque shootings as a way of unifying people at times of grief. There are many different types of Haka, and