New Zealand’s parliament was briefly suspended on Thursday after Maori members staged a haka to disrupt the vote on a contentious bill that would reinterpret a 184-year-old treaty between the British and Indigenous Maori.

New Zealand ACT Leader David Seymour says the protest haka in parliament shows a “total lack of understanding” over how democracy functions.

Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke of Te Pāti Māori stood and began a rhythmic Māori chant of challenge, which swelled to a roar as opposition lawmakers and spectators in the public gallery joined in.