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He reo pōwhiri, he karanga whānui te waiata a Whāia Rā nā tētehi pēne waiata o Rotorua i tito ki te whakaakiaki i te motu ki te kawe i te reo Māori ki tōna taumata ikeike.
He rautaki nā ORA i whakatakoto ki te tuku i te waiata hou nei nō te wā ake o te wāhanga whakamana i te reo Māori ara ko te wiki o te reo e kawea nei e tātou katoa.
"Āna ka nui tō mātou hiahia ki te kōrero Māori kāua mō te rangi kotahi engari ngā rā katoa o te kaupeka, nā reira i nohopuku mātou ki te whakarite i tēnei kura huna, hai kura whakanui, hai kura whakarewa i te reo taketake o Hawaiki Tahutahu", e ai ki te manu korohī a Eugene Temara.
"He ohākī te waiata nei a Whāia Rā ki a tātou te tangata. Ki a whāia tonungia ngā moemoeā o te ngākau. Ko te pūtaketanga o taku wairua kaha, ka ahu mai i taku huatahi e whā noaiho te rahi. Ko ia rā te pou ihiiihi o tōku ao. He aroha nōku ki a ia, kino nei. He kupu ruarua nōku ki a ia tēnei waiata.
Tūturu he kupu iti noa ki te mārea ki te mākui. Kia kāua tātou e tikumu, kia horo kē ki te whakahua i tō muri aroha ki tō hoa rangatira ki tō makau teitei rānei,e kore ai e mōhiotia ko āhea rānei māhue ai i tēnei ao."
He tino mātanga a Eugene Temara ki te ao whakatangi pūoro. E toru tekau mā rima noa ōna tau. "He huarahi tēnei i poropitingia e taku ngākau nōku e itiiiti ai moroki noa nei he mātakitaki he whakarongo ki ngā waiata huhua o te ao." Ko Rūkingi tana tamaiti kai te kawea e ia te ingoa o tōna koroua, ara, ko te matua tane o tōna matua wahine a Erena. Ko Rūkingi Haupapa tōna koroua.
Tūturu nō Te Whanganui-a-Tara nō Newtown a Eugene engari kai kōnei tōna whānau e noho ana. Ko te reo tōna reo taketake, ā, he Waikato- Tainui, he Ngāi Tūhoe, he Ngai Te Arawa ōna kāwai rangatira.
Ko Whāia Rā tētehi waiata o te huinga tokowhitu waiata kua tūhia e te pēne i ngā marama e whitu ko tahā atu nei.
Hai te Oketopa o tēnei tau whakarewa ai te kōnae waiata, ā, ka arumia tēnei e te kōnae waiata reo Māori ā te tau e rua mano e rua tekau mā toru. He kaupapa kai te kaha tautokona e Te Māngai Pāho.
E hoki ana ngā māharatanga ki tētehi o āna uiuinga tuatahi i kī ai a Eugene ko te kōmata o te rangi te taumata ikeike mō te ao waiata. " Kai te hiahia mātou te pēne nei ki a paiakangia ōu mātou waewae ki te ao waiata i Aotearoa nei, ki te kawe ake i tā mātou ake hui ahurei, whaihoki ki a tu rangatira ake mātou i runga i tō mātou ake rangatiratanga'.
Kai te pae pāpāoho pāpori e whakahuahua ana ngā waiata o ORA. He papa tūranga mana nui tēnei e hono atu ai rātou ki te hāpori mātotoru.
"Koi a nei tētehi o ngā hua nui tētehi o ngā akoranga nui i hua ake i te wā o te māuiui kōwheori, i āta noho mātou ki te whakatakoto rautaki ki a pā tonu atu ai mātou ki te mārea, ā, kia whai kaha ai mātou ki te tuku i ā mātou waiata kia kitea tonungia mātou e te rohe i Aotearoa nei, ā, me tāwāhi hoki."
"Ko te wairua hāneanea pea o te pēne, wheoi anō ko te wairua Māori ake nei pea te take i tahuri mai ai ngā tangata ki te whakarongo i a mātou waiata, ko te nuinga hoki o ngā mema o te pēne nō Rotorua nei engari e kā ana te ngākau o ia tangata ko te tuku waiata tonu te take'.
Ko te titiro ki murī kai reira te puna o te ihiiihi me te māramatanga hai pokepoke hai awhina i ahau otīā i a mātou ki te tito waiata.
"Ko te taura tāngaengae ki te ao tawhito, ki te ao o nehe, ki ngā tātai kōrero e hoa mā kai reira katoa te puna o te māramatanga kai reira mātou e kaukau ana e unu ana ki a whai take ai ō mātou whakaaro ki a noho hāngai mai ki ngā take o naianei hai waiata kawe mā mātou e tukuna atu ai e mātou ki te ao e tere nei".
— Na Raimona Inia tenei purongo i whakamaoritia
Whaia Ra is a call to arms by Rotorua band ORA for Aotearoa to become champions of te reo Maori.
ORA (Origin Roots Aotearoa) wanted to release their first song of the year during an important time – and that is when the country celebrates te reo Māori.
"Of course, we want to celebrate and speak our reo every day of the year, but we've been quietly working in the background to create this song and it seemed right that it should be released to the world during an important time for us all," said frontman Eugene Temara.
"Whāia Rā is an ohaaki/living word to loved ones to follow their dreams and aspirations.
"I look to my four-year-old son who motivates and inspires me every day.
"These are words created as a reflection of the love I have for him. These are encouraging words to my son but that apply to anyone – take the time to tell your loved ones how much they mean to you, for tomorrow is not promised, " says the singer-composer and keyboard player.
Eugene plays a number of instuments because he likes to tutu.
"I felt like I was always destined to be a musician, right from a young age I watched and listened to all music genres."
The son who inspires Eugene is Rukingi and the boy is named after his mother Erena's father, Rukingi Haupapa.
Rotorua is home to Eugene and Erena but he was born and grew up in Newtown, Wellington.
Eugene was raised in the reo and is proud of his hononga to Waikato-Tainui, Ngai Tuhoe and Te Arawa. Whāia Rā is one of several songs the band has been working on over the past seven months.
The much-anticipated album is set to be released in October and a full reo Māori album is due out early 2023, thanks to the ongoing support from Te Māngai Pāho.
In an earlier interview Eugene made clear that the sky is the limit on the music scene.
"We want to be part of the New Zealand Music circuit and then being able to hold our own festivals and ultimately headline our own act."
ORA have taken to social media platforms to engage with the community.
"During the lockdown levels we found ways to promote our waiata and do random lives or garage style jams and we found that that resonated well not only in Aotearoa but overseas as well.
"We think it's the feel-good, homegrown factor and we're just a group of Māori, largely from Rotorua that are passionate and eager to get our message out to the marea (to all)."
Eugene finds inspiration from past experiences and stories.
"We absolutely draw on our strength from our past, our stories, our experiences to help in our content creation, waiata – our current climate and what's happening in our world and around the world all shape the type of messages and waiata we want to put out to the universe."
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