By Lucy Craymer and Lewis Jackson WELLINGTON (Reuters) -Tens of thousands of New Zealanders rallied before parliament on Tuesday in one of the country's largest ever protests to oppose a bill that opponents say seeks to dilute the rights of Maori and threatens to set race relations back decades.

A proposed law that would redefine New Zealand’s founding treaty between the British Crown and Māori chiefs has triggered political turmoil and a march by thousands of people the length of the country to Parliament to protest against it.

New Zealand citizens staged a protest in front of the parliament building to oppose a bill that would diminish Maori rights

Police estimated that over 15,000 people were marching towards parliament, with 2,000 already gathered at the parliamentary precinct.

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.

The Treaty of Waitangi, which is the focus of the proposed bill, dates back to 1840 and is considered New Zealand's founding document. The agreement was signed by Māori chiefs and the British monarchy and focused on rectifying wrongs done to the indigenous people when the country was colonized.

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.