Rotorua-based band Origin Roots has released a new waiata called Nui Te Aroha.
Lead singer Eugene Temara (Tainui, Te Arawa, Mataatua), who was elated after Te Matatini celebrations, talked to teaomāori.news about the significance of the waiata.
He said the motivation for the waiata was a response to the lack of compassion and whanaungatanga shown in the Parliament protests early in 2022 in Pōneke.
Temara said aroha could ripple through individuals, iwi, hapu and the wider community. “It's showing unconditional love to everyone.”
During the 2022 Parliament protest, there were a lot of people seen against each other, not just Māori. I wanted to create a waiata to try and draw everyone back together as one.
“Compassion and love for our people, although having ups and downs, we have to rally together.”
To showcase te reo Māori
Temara said that the disasters in recent weeks had embodied the values of the waiata. “Our communities have come together and they showed aroha to one another to build their communities so they can get back stronger again."
Temara said he and the band want to showcase te reo Māori and think the waiata will help draw Aotearoa’s diverse cultures together.
Temara competed in Te Matatini with Te, Kapa Haka o Ngāti Whakaue, which won many awards and placed second equal with Whangara mai Tawhiti and said the experience was "unreal".
“There weren’t any expectations for us to make the finals, it was about 'let’s go to Te Matatini, let’s be us and let take our Koro Bom, let’s take our koeke, our iwi our hapū and let's unite together as one and be Ngāti Whakaue."