Ko Origin Roots Aotearoa tētehi pēne toropā, he pēne pakeke ki te whakahuri i tōna āhuatanga ki a māori noa tana tū ki te ao e nōhia nei.
Nō tō rātou muri aroha ki te waiata me te ao Māori e whakaihiihi ai tō rātou tinana ki te tuku i tētehi tangi mamahutanga tapu nō Aotearoa. Ko Eugene Temara te manu tito waiata, he mātanga pūrei patōro, whakatangi rakuraku, whoi anō he nanakia tōna wairua, koia hoki tētehi o ngā pou tupuna o te rōpu ORA.
"I whakahua mai a Origin Roots Aotearoa i te tau, e rua mano e rua tekau te tau, ko te ngākau whakakōtahi i ngā mema o te pēne me tō rātou muri aroha ki te whakatangi waiata te take i maranga ai tēnei kāhui.
"Ko Luke Whaanga te amokura nānā mātou i arahi ki te ara i whakaputaina e mātou tā mātou waiata takitahi ko Ukaipō me Humanise i te hiku o taua tau. Kātahi a Luke ka takahia tana huarahi pou waiata takitahi, ā, ka wehe atu hoki etehi mema o te pēne, me te mea hoki ka whakatata mai ētehi mema hou, ko tētehi whakamīharotanga ki a mātou ko te wā o te rāhuitanga māuiui korona, nā reira i whai wā ai mātou ki te tito waiata hou, nā wai rā ka whakaputaina tā mātou kōpaki waiata tuatahi ko Light of Music i te tau e rua mano e rua tekau mā tahi i te Akuwhata."
Hei tā Eug ko te tino kaupapa o ORA ko te whakawhanaungatanga me te aroha tōhukihuki ki te pūoro.
"Nā reira e mea ana tēnā tūāhuatanga kāore te nuinga o mātou i akongia ki te pūoro, whoi anō kai ia tangata ōna ake pūkenga, taonga pūoro mai, reo korohī mai, ka whakauruuru ēnei wāhanga katoa ka puta ko ORA".
E toru tekau mā rima ngā tau o Eug, hai tāna ko Rotorua tōna kāinga i ēnei rangi he ahakoa i whānau i whakapakeke mai i Berhampore, Newton he whaitua kai Poneke rātou ko ōna taina. Ko Hemopo-Tuhono tō rātou matua wahine nō Waikato-Tainui ia, whaihoki nō Ruatāhuna tō rātou matua tāne. Engari rā whai pānga ai rātou ki a Ngāti Raukawa ki Wharepuhunga ki a Ngai Tuhoe me Ngai Te Arawa.
Ko Erena tōna mākau rangatira ( Nō Ngāti Te Roro-o-te-rangi me Ngāti Pikiao), he uri ia nō te whanau Te Kowhai-Haupapa, ko Rūkingi tā rāua tamaiti. He ingoa nō tōna koroua ake nō Rūkingi Haupapa. Ka tini kē hoki ōna maumaharatnga matareka nōna e itiiti ai e hakoke noa i ngā koko huhua o Newton me āna hoa Māori me ngā iwi kē atu engari ko te aronga inaianei ko te whakahono ki tōna pā taunaha."
Katahi rā tēnei haerenga ko te whakahono ki ngā whānau engari ko tō mātou ake marae, whoi anō tō mātou whānau, ara tōku matua wahine me tōku kuia, kua waia kē atu ki te hoki haere ki te pā he ahakoa te wā, tūturu kua māori noa ngā manea ki te oneone me te wairua me te tinana ki ngā tikanga me te reo".
"Nō mātou hoki te waimarie he tamariki nō te kura kaupapa i Pōneke mātou e whai pānga ai ki te rōpū Ngāti Pōneke Young Māori Club. He ahakoa he māori noho tāone mātou, he mōhio kē mātou ki tō mātou Māoritanga tō tātou tūākiritanga, ā, tūturu ki tō mātou Waikatotanga me tō mātou Tūhoetanga.
E harikoa ana a Eug e noho nei tōna matua tāne i a rātou māna a Rūkingi e amo e poipoi e whāngai hoki ki te reo rangatira.
"Tūturu ko Rotorua taku kāinga inaianei, e ū nei ō māua ngākau kia whakatupungia ai ā mātou tamariki i roto i te reo Māori me te mea hoki e tino pātata ana ki tōku pā taunaha kai Kihikihi. Ko te marama o Mei te wā o te waiata i Aotearoa - nau mai ki te ao o Eugene." Nā tētehi wairua taku huarahi o te ao pūoro i whakatakoto māku nōku e itiiiti ai he matakitaki he whakarongo ki ngā momo waiata katoa taku kai.
Erena Temara, Rukingi Jnr Temara, Eugene Temara.
"Nā Te Ao Māori i pakeketia ai tēnei huarahi, ko te waiata Māori, te kapa haka me te whakatuitui ki ngā waiata o te ao hou . I ēnei rangi ko ngā pēne pēnei i a LAB kai te kaha whakaihiiihi i ahau". I pakeketia a Eugene i te mātotorutanga o te reo Māori, he mahita reo Māori ako pakeke ki Te Whare Wānanga o Aotearoa. Nā tētehi tokorua wahine a ORA i puaki mai, nā Erana me Christina Diamona nō Rotorua a Christina. " Nā rāua i puaki ai tēnei kaupapa, he hiahia nō rāua kia whāia te ara o te ao pūoro e ō rāua mātua, nā reira ka whakakōtahi mai rāua, nānā ko ORA".
Hai tā Eug, ko te ao onamata ngā pakikōrero me te aha noa atu te oroko whakaihiihi māna.
"Tīka, ka tōia e tātou te mana tiketike o ngā tūpuna o te pōuriuri nā reira i whai kaha ai i whai take ai a mātou waiata- te huringa o te ao nei kauaka i Aotearoa anake engari te ao hurihuri, kāpuia kātoatia ēnei māuri ka tukuna ki te ao tukupū." Ko Luke Whaanga tētehi o ngā pou akiaki i a Eugene."
Ko Luke Whaanga tētehi o ngā pou tokomanawa o tēnei rōpū me te rahi hoki o ngā toki kua whai wāhi mai ki tā mātou pēne. Ko Jimmy Colbert nō te pēne 1814 kai te noho mai inaianei. " Kua ora mātou i tā mātou whānau noho kāinga ko rātou tā mātou take e kaha nei mātou.
Nā te mea ko te nuinga o ngā mema he tāne e tika ana kia rangatira ngā mahi hei whakakitenga mā ngā tamariki". Koinā te pae tawhiti me e rangatira ana mātou ka kitea tēnei e ngā taiohi. " Āna ko te rangatiratanga te mea nui ki a mātou e rangatira hoki ai ā mātou tamariki me te tumanako ā te pae tawhiti pea ka puta mai te hiahia ki a rātou tēnei kaupapa e kawe, kai te rohe nei, kai ngā tamariki, kai ngā whānau me ngā tamariki te āpōpō".
"Kai te pirangi mātou ki a uru atu ki te porowhita pūoro o Aotearoa, ka rua, ki te kawe i a mātou ake whakangāhau mātua kia tū motuhake kau mātou ki te ātamira whakangāhau nui". I awhinatia rātou e te pae pāpāho pāpori .
"I te wā o te rāhuitanga rokohanga e mātou ētehi ara e puta ai ā mātou waiata ka waiata kau mātou, ā kāreti hoki kātahi mātou ka kitea e rata ana tēnei āhuatanga kāua ki ngā tangata o Aotearoa anake engari te ao whānui tonu. " Ko te wairua ngāwari pea, me te āhuatanga o tātou te iwi Māori pea i rata ai ngā taringa. Ko te nuinga o mātou nō Rotorua nei e hikaka nei ki te whakaputa i ā mātou karere ki te marea. I tēnei tau kua tahuri mātou ki te TikTok he papa whakaputa hoki i a mātou waiata whoi anō kai te hāngai rawa ki te hunga rangatahi, ā — e hari koa ana".
Kua tino patua mātou a ORA e te māuiui korona me ngā rāhuitanga. " Nā te māuiui korona mātou i apo, me te āuē hoki. Ka rāhuingia mātou, ka whakakorengia ā mātou whakangahau whoi anō e ora ana i runga i te mōhiotanga kai te mahi tonu te nuinga o ngā pou waiata o te pēne, kāti he wā e whai wā ai mātou ki te whakarite i a mātou rautaki ki te tito me te whakaputa waiata. Ko ngā akoranga o te māuiui korona kia tatau kia āta haere, kia kaua hoki e kahakina mātua, ko te whakangūngū e tae ai te wā ki te whakangahau manuwhiri kua māori noa te tū, kua māia.
Hai whakakapinga māna. Kia rangatira te tū, whakapou kaha i runga i te wairua o te pono kai a koe te mana he ahakoa, he ahakoa. Tērā tētehi waiata kua oti nei i a mātou te tito, ka whakaputaina inākuanei ko "Change the world " te taitara whoi anō anei ētehi rerenga o taua waiata: Kai te whakahuringia te ao E kūare hōhā e ō kau ana Ka whakahuringia te ao E manawa ora ai e angiangi ana Maranga e tū riria riria Maranga kia ora kia whiti ai te pono Kai te whakahuringia te ao, 'mātua ko ahau.' — Na Raimona Inia tenei purongo i whakamaoritia
Origins Roots Aotearoa grow and adapt to fit spaces they find themselves in.
Their love of waiata and te ao Maori inspires them to diversify to produce a sound uniquely Aotearoa. Eugene Temara, composer, keyboard player, guitarist and musical tutu, is one of the original members of ORA.
"Origin Roots Aotearoa was formed in 2020, with a core group of us keen to jam music. "Luke Whaanga, our lead singer at the time, was a formidable leader and experienced musician who led us to releasing our first two singles Ukaipō and Humanise later that year.
"Luke then continued on in his solo career and we had a few members leave and new ones join our waka, and in 2021 throughout the ongoing Covid Lockdown period this gave us some time to work on creating new waiata with the release of our first EP Album – Light of Music in August 2021."
According to Eug, ORA has been more of a kaupapa about whakawhanaungatanga and a passion for music.
"So that means most of us aren't formally trained in music, heoi we each bring our own set of skills and expertise in instruments and/or vocals and mash it all together to create what is known as ORA today."
Eug, 35, calls Rotorua home these days but he was born and raised in the Poneke suburb of Berhampore, Newtown with his two siblings. Their mother is of the Hemopo -Tunoho whanau of Waikato-Tainui and their father is from Ruatahuna. He has hononga to Raukawa ki Wharepuhunga, Ngai Tuhoe and Te Arawa.
His wife Erena (Te Roro o te Rangi, Ngati Pikiao) is of the Te Kowhai-Haupapa whanau and their son is named Rukingi after Erena's father, Rukingi Haupapa.
Eug has fond memories of the many hononga made with Māori and non-Māori and diverse communities in Newtown, but it's been a journey reconnecting with his pa.
"It's been a journey re-connecting with whānau and in particular our marae.
"Heoi our whānau, mum and my kuia in particular have always ensured that we returned back whenever and wherever possible and always had that sense of belonging, ngā tikanga, te reo.
Origin Roots Aotearoa band members, (Left to right) Joel King Hazel, John Wikaire, Eugene Temara, Tuariki Brown,
Jess Rapana.
"We were also fortunate to attend kura kaupapa in Pōneke and be part of Ngāti Poneke Young Māori Club. So, although largely urbanised, we still had that sense of identity, tuākiri and staunchly proud of our Waikato, Tūhoetanga."
Eug is also happy that his father lives with them as he helps in raising Rukingi and ensuring our reo is spoken and heard all the time.
"I now consider Rotorua my home, where we're committed to raising our tamaiti amongst his people, i roto i te reo Māori and where it's closer for me to return back to the pā [near Kihikihi]."
May is Music Month in Aotearoa and that's Eugene's life.
"I felt like I was always destined to be a musician, right from a young age I watched and listened to all music genres.
"Te Ao Māori has helped shape this path too, from waiata māori, kapa haka and now fusing it into mainstream music. "Today, it's the LABs who inspire me to continue and follow my dreams."
Eug grew up in te reo Māori and in his professional career he teaches te reo Māori to adult learners at Te Wānanga o Aotearoa.
ORA came about because of two wahine toa — Eug's wife Erena and Rotorua local Christina Diamond.
"They were the instigators of creating this kaupapa – they wanted their partners to pursue their music careers in Rotorua and what better way than to collaborate – hence the forming of ORA."
Eug 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."
Asked who had been instrumental in their success and growth Eug quickly cited Luke Whaanga.
"Luke Whaanga first and foremost as our founding member, and we've had some amazing local musicians join our waka and our current mentor and friend Jimmy Colbert from 1814.
"Our whānau have been the backbone of our success, they are our why and they are our purpose. "As a largely male Māori music group we really wanted to be role models for our children."
That's his succession plan to provide models for their tamariki to follow.
"Absolutely about that positive role modelling to our children so that one day, they may want to carry on this kaupapa. Our succession plan is in our rohe, our rangatahi and most importantly our whanau and tamariki."
As far as Eug is concerned 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 get their waiata out there and 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).
"This year we're giving Tiktok a go as another way to engage with our audiences, that seems to relate to our rangatahi and are enjoying engagement there."
The Covid pandemic and the various lockdowns and levels have had a huge effect on ORA.
"We are essentially a product of COVID 19, it hasn't been easy. In fact, each lockdown period has seen our gigs cancelled literally overnight heoi we're grateful in the fact that most of our members still have jobs and it's given us that extra time to perfect our craft, get creative and write more waiata.
"This time has taught us to just bide our time, practise, practise, practise and be prepared for when the opportunity arises to get back out there and perform in our rohe and travel around the motu to get our music out there."
Be the best that you can be, in whatever way that looks and feel to you. One of our recent waiata that we're about to record called 'Change the world' says: We want to change the world Sick and tired of just fitting in We are going to change the world To give hope where it runs thin Gonna get up and fight it Gonna live for the righteous We are going to change the world, and it starts within.
