Haka chants rang out during the demonstration in Wellington on Tuesday - Mark Tantrum/AP Tens of thousands of people have marched on New Zealand’s capital against a bill to redefine Maori rights in one of the largest protests in the country’s history.

A nine-day march by Maori and their supporters across New Zealand has culminated in Wellington on Tuesday at a rally with thousands readying to protest against a bill that opponents say seek to dilute the rights of the Maori.

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.

A vote in New Zealand’s parliament was suspended and two lawmakers were ejected on Thursday when a ringing haka began – a rhythmic Māori chant of challenge – over a controversial bill redefining the country’s founding agreement between Indigenous Māori and the British Crown.

Tens of thousands of New Zealanders confronted parliament to protest a law to redefine a treaty between the Maori and Britain.

The protests have evolved into “a celebration of a resurging Indigenous language and identity that colonization had once almost destroyed,” the Associated Press wrote.

Booming Indigenous Maori "haka" chants rang out across New Zealand's capital on Tuesday, as tens of thousands rallied against a conservative push to redefine the nation's founding treaty.

A controversial bill has ignited a 'flashpoint in race relations' as opponents claim it will undermine the rights of Indigenous people