E mea ana te kōrero ko te whānau ka whakatangitangi pūoro tahi he whānau ka noho pūmau, koinei te momo o te whānau McLeod ō Tauranga Moana, ō Te Iwi Morehu hoki e whakakīkī ana i ngā tūranga ki roto i te pēne rongonui o Te Reo o Ratana Te Tuatoru.
He tuku ihotanga ēnei tūranga mō te whānau tonu, e ai ki a Manihera McLeod, te kaiako o tēnei pēne he mahi pai, he mahi uaua, erangi ko tā rātou whakapono kia Ihoa o ngā mano, te tino take e whakatinanahia ratou i ēnei mahi.
“Mai i te tau 1990 pea i uru ai au ki roto i tēnei tūranga. Mai i te timatanga o tēnei Reo, Te Reo o Ratana Te Tuatoru ko tōku Pāpā me ōna teina i uru ai ki roto i Te Reo tuatahi o Ratana Te Tuatoru,” hei tā Manihera.
“He tika, he pono anō ēnā kōrero a te wairua tapu kia Tahupotiki Wiremu Ratana. E mau ana ki ahau nei, e mau ana te māramatanga a tō tātou tīpuna mai i mua i te hekenga mai o ngā waka i Hawaiki ki Aotearoa," hei tāna anō.
"E mau ana rātou i te māramatanga o Ihoa i tāua wā. Āe, ko tērā te take e haere tonu mātou kei roto i tērā whakapono o Ihoa.”
Kua whakatangata ai e tēnei whakapono me tēnei pēne ia Sharon McLeod te tamāhine tonu a Mahinera, kaiwhakatangi i te pūoro taonga pūtētere, ā, ko tōna tūranga ko ‘Drum Major’.
“I picked up an instrument when I was 10 years old at my first band practice, so 36 years,” hei tā Sharon.
“We watched our parents and our grandparents, our Aunties, our uncles, our cousins all do this mahi before us, so it was natural, it was always known that this was going to be our path and the same for our children. They all understand that this is their path aswell, “ hei tā Sharon anō.
“As a morehu, for us it starts with whakapono. Our whakapono in Ihoa o ngā mano and to be given this tūranga as a part of that whakapono it’s a privilege and it’s one of great honour aswell,” hei tā Sharon.
“For us it’s just always been something that was known, I don’t think it was ever really something that was discussed, it was just something we knew would always be. We were born into it.”
Ko te oranga tonutanga o Te Reo o Ratana Te Tuatoru kua tuku iho ki ngā tamariki mokopuna e whai mai nei. E ai ki te whānau McLeod e mau nei e ngā mokopuna ki ngā taonga ō Ihoa o ngā mano.
