Mā ngā waiata o te manu tīoriori, a Toni Huata, e whiti ana ngā rā o te wiki o te reo Māori i tēnei tau.
A te Rātapu nei he rā whakahirahira mō tēnei wahine o Ngāti Kahungunu me Rongowhakaata, i te mea ka tuku atu tōna kōpae waiata tuatoru ki te rohe. Ka orua tēnei whakangahau me Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori.
Mai i ngā karapu pā auahi o Rānana, ki ngā ahurei pūoro o ūropi, ka hoki mai te Kōkā ki Te Whanganui-ā-Tara, ki Te Papa Tongarewa hei tuku i tōna kōpae – Whiti – ki Aotearoa.
Ko Te Papa hoki te wāhi i tuku a Kōkā Toni i tōna kōpae waiata tuatahi – Te Māori E – i ngā tau e iwa kua pahure.
Nā te kaha o tēnei Kōkā ki te tū māia ki runga i te atamira waiata, te whakamahana me te hōhonu o tōna reo waiata i āhei ia ki te tū māia ki Aotearoa, ki tāwāhi hoki. Ko te whakangahau mō tōna kōpae tētahi o ngā mea whakamutunga hei oti i Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori, ā, ko tēnei wiki tēnā.
Ko te tikanga o Whiti, hei tiaho, hei kawe atu te kaiwhakarongo ki runga. “Ko tōku tūmanako mō Whiti, ka hikia i ngā kaiwhakarongo ki runga,” tā Kōkā Toni kī mō tōna kōpae.
Heoi, e kore e riro mā Kōkā Toni noa iho e hari i a koe ki runga i tēnei haerenga pūoro. I te hanga o tēnei kōpae, ka mahi ngātahi ia ki ētahi o ngā tohunga o te ao pūoro Māori. Arā, ko Maaka McGregor e whakaaria i te hanga o Whiti. Nā Gareth Farr i tuku a tōna reo ki te waiata “Taku Tamaiti e” – ko tēnei waiata hoki te hiringa o Whiti. Nā Charles Royal i tito i te waiata “Koa”. Tino āhuareka a Kōkā Toni i te pātai a Te Taite Cooper ki a ia hei waiata i te tino waiata o ngā pūoro Māori a “Te Hokinga Mai”. E rua tekau ngā tau i mua ka tuku atu tēnei waiata ki te rohe. Tautokohia mā runga rakuraku a Karl Teariki mō taua waiata, mō te waiata Soul True hoki. Nā Hira Huata hoki i tautokohia i te Kōkā hei whakanui i te reo o tō rāua whānau o Ngāti Kahungunu.
Ka tau te whakangahau mō te tukunga i tēnei kōpae o Whiti ki te taumata tuawhā o Te Papa, arā, ki te marae, a te Rātapu, te tuatahi o Here-turi-kōkā, a te rua hāora i te ahiahi. Ka taea ki te hoko i te kōpae Whiti huri noa i te motu mai i te rā tuarua o Here-turi-kōkā.
Kaiwaiata: Toni Huata
Kōpae pūoro: Whiti