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When Rachel Tapou served up dinner for her extended family last night, she had no idea about the emotional display of gratitude that would follow soon after.

“It really surprised me hey. I had no idea,”

Shortly after the delicious spag bol meal, the 56-year-old mother of six and grandmother of four was subject to an emotional display of majestic ceremony, in the shape of a viral haka video.

“My sons decided to celebrate the fact that it was the best spag bol I had made in years. We had a bit of family visiting so they decided pay tribute to my cooking in the most kiwi way possible,”

Rachel’s oldest son, Jason (32) says the moment he tasted his mother’s delicious beef mince pasta sauce, he could feel the mana (tribal magic) burning inside him.

“It just felt right. I just looked at my brothers and we all had the same feeling. Her cooking is just that darn good, bro”

“Luckily my sister-in-law was there with her new Canon C500 65mm handheld digital video camera, so she was able to film it and get it up on social media within the hour. It went viral straight away,”

The haka is a traditional ancestral war cry, dance, or challenge from the Māori people of New Zealand and surrounding Polynesia cultures. It is a posture dance performed by a group, with vigorous movements and stamping of the feet with rhythmically shouted accompaniment.

War haka were originally performed by warriors before a battle, proclaiming their strength and prowess in order to intimidate the opposition, but haka are also performed for various reasons: for welcoming distinguished guests, pre-rugby match ceremonies, funerals for popular schoolteachers, weddings and more recently for families to signify that their matriarch has mastered the art of cooking spaghetti bolognese.