When LSU defensive tackle Breiden Fehoko saw his dad, Vili, in the crowd at the end of the “Tiger Walk,” he was overcome with emotion.
After giving his father and mother a hug, Vili started to perform “Ka Mate,” a well known Maori Haka war dance.
“I just lost it,” Fehoko said. “I had to do it, too.” Fehoko performed the chant with his brother and father in front of thousands at first confused-but-then-elated, Tiger fans. The dance even had a lasting effect on junior linebacker Devin White and sophomore safety Grant Delpit, who stayed to watch the entire dance go down.
As Fehoko and his family were performing the Haka, White and Delpit can be seen in the background trying to mimic as much as possible, even though they had no idea what they were saying, much less what it meant.
“As soon as I get in the locker room they’re like ‘Ahhhhh,’ Fehoko said. “They were like ‘I’m doing it with you next time, man. I’m doing it with your daddy next time.’”
The dance, known as “Ka Mate,” is often done in Hawaii, where Fehoko grew up, before a game to get the teams pumped up to play. But before then, it was a war cry soldiers would chant before battle.
The origin of the story comes from a Maori chief called Te Rauparaha, who back in 1820 was the leader of the Ngati Toa tribe. Te Rauparaha was being hunted by opposing war tribes and went to a neighboring particular chief for aid.
The chief had Te Rauparaha hide in a potato pit while the wife sat above the pit to keep out intruders. Thinking he was as good as dead Te Rauparaha started to chant “Ka Mate” which means “I die.”
When he wasn’t discovered, Te Rauparaha began to slowly climb his way out of the pit and chanted “Ka Ora” which means “I live.” Upon making it out of the pit, Te Rauparaha performed the Haka dance that is still used today.
“Whenever I see my dad do it, there’s a flip I switch and it gives my spine tingles just thinking about it,” Fehoko said.
At the end of the dance, when Vili sticks his tongue out, there is also a special meaning, according to Fehoko.
“It means I’m going to kill you,” Fehoko said. “So when I stick my tongue out at the end, it means I’m coming.”
Saturday wasn’t the first time the team has seen Fehoko perform the Haka. At a 6 a.m. meeting before LSU’s 2017 Citrus Bowl matchup with Notre Dame, coach Ed Orgeron told Fehoko to wake the team up.
“Big Breiden,” Orgeron said that morning. “You got something for the team? Man, get your butt up here and do that Haka.”
Fehoko said learning the dance takes a long time and he doesn’t know if White and Delpit will be able to grasp it in time.
“The first thing to teach in the Haka is to understand where the back story comes from,” Fehoko said. “I think people appreciate it more if they know where the story comes from. It’s not just a dance, you’re calling on your ancestors.”
Fehoko thinks White and most of the defense could learn the Haka but doesn’t know about defensive end Rashard Lawrence.
“Devin’s got the motions down and is eager to learn it,” Fehoko said. “I don’t know about Rashard, he’s got more of a passive personality. I don’t know if he could get that mean except for a game.”