Haka funeral jonah lomu biography

Friends, family and fans of Jonah Lomu attended a public memorial service on Monday to say goodbye to the New Zealand rugby great after he died of a heart attack earlier this month at the age of 40.

Thousands turned out at Auckland’s Eden Park, with many sporting Lomu’s famous No 11 All Blacks shirt, to pay their respects to the former rugby union star who died on the 18 November.

With many of Lomu’s former team-mates in attendance, a mass Haka was performed in front of Lomu’s coffin. Ex-players from the Hurricanes and the All Blacks lined up to carry out the war dance, which New Zealand regularly perform before their matches as a challenge to their opponents.

It took 12 pallbearers to carry Lomu’s coffin, with former All Blacks Michael Jones, Frank Bunce, Joeli Vidiri and Jerome Kaino, as well as New Zealand rugby league player Manu Vatuvei, among those who carried Lomu into the stadium.

Lomu’s wife, Nadene, followed the coffin alongside their two sons Brayley, 6, and Dhyreille, 5.

Speaking on behalf of Lomu’s family, former All Blacks coach John Hart thanked the outpouring of messages, tributes and condolences sent from around the world.

New Zealand’s Prime Minister John Key, who is currently in Paris attending the world climate conference, recorded a message that was played during the service in which he praised Lomu for making a real difference in people’s lives.

"He proved that you can come from anywhere in New Zealand in any background and make it to the top," Key said.

Pupils from Lomu’s school, Favona Primary in South Auckland, paid a moving tribute to their alumnus as they wrote and performed a song for the record Rugby World Cup try-scorer, in which they referred to him as "No 11, our friend in heaven."

World Rugby chairman, Bernard Lapasset, also attended the service after flying in from France. A private burial service will be held in Auckland on

In an especially moving moment, pupils of Lomu's former school in South Auckland, Favona Primary, performed their own tribute song, calling the rugby giant "Number 11, our friend in heaven".

The tributes were led by World Rugby chairman Bernard Lapasset, who travelled from Paris for the memorial. He described Lomu as "a giant of a man (who) leaves a giant space in world rugby".

"He will forever be a big part of rugby's story," he said.

New Zealand's Prime Minister John Key recorded a video tribute in Paris, where he is attending the world climate conference.

"He proved that you can come from anywhere in New Zealand, in any background, and make it to the top,'' he said in the message.

Jonah Lomu fought a nearly two-decade battle with kidney illness, which former All Blacks coach John Hart recounted, saying "he was a fighter until the very end".

Absorbing the Farewell Hakaz for Jonah Lomu in 2015

Michael Roberts

Tears welled up as I watched the public funerary rites for Jonah Lomu, the Kiwi rugby great who died prematurely in November 2015. I cried …. as sadness overtook me. He was not a friend. He was, in fact, an enemy when I watched the All Blacks play the Wallabies at rugby in his prime playing days.

So, “how come these tears” you may well ask. It was …. and is …. due to the intensity of expression and grief conveyed by the traditional grieving haka performances that adorned this moment of parting. The close friends and relatives who carried his coffin on to the ground were obviously grief-stricken, though not crying. But it was the deep commitment of the different collectives which moved powerfully and spontaneously into the funerary hakaz that honoured and farewelled a marvellous rugby player of Maori origins that grabbed my heart: whether white-shirted schoolboys from Jonah’s old school in the stands or rugby mates in suit and tie arrayed together within the grounds, their haka were moving episodes. These were, clearly, special haka chants and actions of funerary import to Maoris and islanders as well as the Kiwi pakeha – one and all enmeshed in the New Zealandness of the haka.

The import and meaning were so deep and profound for the participants and watchers at the ceremony that it penetrated my being and consumed me with sadness. Tears were the result. Goodbye, Jonah, powerful and fearsome three-quarter, Goodbye.

So, folks, absorb the power of their haka ….

TRIBUTE HAKAZ FOR JONAH LOMU

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•Dec 1, 2015

Thousands bade farewell to rugby legend, Jonah Lomu in an emotional memorial service at Eden Park in Auckland on Monday (November 30) to celebrate the 40-year-old’s life and honour the impact he had on the game. Many of the speakers at the

A Maori mourning chant echoed around the stadium on Monday as All Black legends including Michael Jones and Frank Bunce carried a black casket containing Lomu's body onto the field.

Lomu's wife Nadene and sons Brayley, 6, and Dhyreille, 5, wearing black shirts with the winger's number 11, followed with heads bowed.

New Zealand rugby greats united to pay tribute to the legendary player by performing the haka, a traditional war cry of the Maori people of New Zealand, which the All Blacks perform before every international match.

Lomu had been suffering from a kidney disease for 20 years and was awaiting a second transplant when he died on November 18.

"Too big, too fast, too much," Lomu's high school coach Chris Grinter told the mourners who gathered for the public memorial service, eloquently summing up the impact Lomu, rugby's first global superstar, had made on the game.

Many of the speakers at the service also referred to Lomu's feats off the rugby field and how he had brought hope to sick children through his many hospital visits. Several remarked on his impact as a role model for children in South Auckland, which has a high proportion of Pacific Island families related to Lomu, who was of Tongan heritage.

"You showed us to follow our dreams, never give up and follow our dreams," sang a group of students from Favona Primary School in Mangere, which Lomu attended.

The service, which was broadcast live on all major channels in New Zealand, also included musical interludes from South Auckland artists.

The service at the ground which was once a happy hunting ground for the hulking winger was the last chance for his compatriots to publicly mourn his death and pay their tributes.

Lomu is to be buried after a private funeral service on Tuesday.

ap/pfd (Reuters/AFP)