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Maori tribe has called on demonstrators to "immediately" stop using their famous traditional dance, the haka, at anti-vaccination protests in New Zealand.
The corresponding strict warning for anti-vaxxers was issued by the Ngāti Toa tribe, which guards the traditions of the haka, according to the BBC.
"Ngāti Toa condemns the use of the Ka Mate haka to push and promote anti-Covid-19 vaccination messages," said its chief executive officer Helmut Modlik stated, as quoted by the BBC.
Protesters have performed Ka Mate, a Maori haka composed around 1820 by Te Rauparaha, war leader of the Ngāti Toa tribe, at their rallies over the past few weeks against vaccine mandates and pandemic restrictions.
Among Maori, who make up 16 percent of New Zealand's population, vaccination rates remain rather low against New Zealand's target of vaccinating 90 percent of those eligible before ending lockdowns.