Māori

Glossary of Māori terms

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Note that in Te Reo Māori plurality is not indicated in the spelling but rather in the pronunciation of the vowel sounds usually indicated by the use of macrons. It is therefore necessary to determine whether singular or plural is intended by the sense of the sentence concerned.

A

  • ariki = first born of a high ranking family, often bestowed with chiefly or priestly status
  • aruhe = fernroot
  • atua = god
  • awa = mullet

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H

  • hapu = sub tribe
  • harakeke = flax
  • heke = migration
  • hine = young girl

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I

  • inaka or inanga = whitebait
  • iwi = tribe

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K

  • kai = food
  • kai moana = sea food
  • kaika or kainga = village
  • kaikomako = tree traditionally used for firemaking
  • kaimahi = worker
  • kanakana = lamprey
  • karakia = prayer or chant
  • kauati = block of wood that is rubbed to produce fire
  • kaurima = pointed rubbing stick used to produce fire
  • kiekie = a climbing plant
  • kiore = rat
  • koau = shag
  • koreke = native quail
  • koukoupara = cockabully

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M

  • mahinga kai = food gathering area
  • makutu = bewitched, black magic
  • mana = prestige, power

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N

  • Ngāti Māmoe = the main South Island tribe in residence prior to the advance of Ngāi Tahu
  • Ngāi Tahu = the dominant tribe in the South Island since about 1700

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O

  • oho = a species of bird

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P

  • pa = stockaded village
  • panako = a fern
  • parera = grey duck
  • patiki = flounder
  • patupaiarehe = fairy, nymph
  • pingao = a now rare native grass used for weaving
  • pioke = sand shark
  • poupou = carved post
  • putakitaki = paradise shelduck

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R

  • rangatira = chief
  • rangatiratanga = chieftainship
  • rapaki = waist mat
  • raupo = native bullrush

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T

  • taniwha = water monster
  • taonga = treasured possession
  • tapu = sacred
  • Te Wai Pounamu = South Island (translates as The Greenstone Waters)
  • tipuna = ancestor
  • tohunga = priest
  • tuahu = shrine
  • tuere = blind eel
  • tutukiwi = an orchidaceous plant
  • tuna = eel

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U

  • urupā = burial site

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W

  • wahi tapu = sacred place
  • waho = outpost
  • wai tapu = water burial site
  • Waitaha = an early tribe living in the South Island prior to Ngāti Māmoe and Ngāi Tahu
  • whakairo = carving

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