Glossary of Māori Words

This glossary contains a list of all the Māori words used in Guilty as Charged?, apart from those appearing in book or song titles, and some of those appearing in quoted passages where the meaning is not relevant…

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This glossary contains a list of all the Māori words used in Guilty as Charged?, apart from those appearing in book or song titles, and some of those appearing in quoted passages where the meaning is not relevant, or necessary, to understand the purpose of the quote. Rather than just give simple ‘dictionary’ definitions, for a number of words I have given a slightly more in-depth discussion of the term. Many of the Māori words I have used in this book are part of everyday language in New Zealand. As a result many misconceptions have arisen as to their true meaning. The purpose of the discussions in this glossary is to present these misconceptions alongside a more accurate definition. The reasons for this are two-fold. First, it is hoped that these discussions will give the non-New Zealander some appreciation for the nuances of the words as used by both Māori and Pākehā. This is important because, in some instances, I have used the words somewhat sarcastically according to their common perception. Second, by discussing where the common misconceptions lie, it is hoped that this is a step towards eradicating these misconceptions amongst Pākehā in the future.

Having said all this, I refer the reader to the discussion in Chapter 2 about the impossibility of precisely defining anything in the Māori world objectively. Not least in this discussion is the fact that there is disagreement amongst Māori about the precise definition of many key concepts. In some of the words below I have mentioned alternative meanings to give a flavour of this disagreement.

Finally, there are many dictionaries around providing straightforward English translations of Māori words. I have two—a simple one (The Reed Concise Māori Dictionary¹), and a more detailed one (Dictionary of the Maori Language²). Where no reference is given in the glossary below, or a phrase such as, ‘a dictionary definition of this term is…’, then, by and large, the reference is the first dictionary, with perhaps something from the second added in.

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A:

• amorangi

  leader; priest.

• ao	world; bright; cloud; dawn; daytime.

• Aotearoa

  this is the increasingly popular Māori name for New Zealand. Many Māori, and even some Pākehā, will use this in preference to the European given name. Others will combine the two in the name Aotearoa New Zealand.1 In pre-European times, however, there was no name for the whole of New Zealand. According to Margaret Orbell2, Aotearoa was just one of several names for the North Island alone, although even that may not predate the nineteenth-century. What is known is that Aotea, meaning ‘white, or clear’, ‘cloud, or day’, was an ancient name for the North Island. The addition of ‘roa’ gives Aotearoa the meaning ‘Long Aotea’. This gives credence to the popular translation of Aotearoa that every Pākehā will know: ‘Land of the long white cloud’. This particular translation is based on the Māori story of the legendary Kupe’s discovery of New Zealand. In this story, Kupe and his wife saw ‘clouds resting upon high hills in the far distance and realised that they had discovered a new land’.3 Nevertheless, there are other rationales for the name Aotearoa. ‘Another story is that since Aotea is the traditional name of Great Barrier Island [an island close to the North Island], the North Island, being so much larger, became known as Aotearoa’.4 As I eventually decided to do in the title of this book—see the Introduction for my reasons for this, and why I don’t use the name ‘Aotearoa New Zealand’ throughout the text. The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Māori Myth and Legend. Ibid. Ibid.

• aroha

  love (although it is more restrictive than the English usage of love in that it does not include sexual love); affection; compassion, pity.

• atua	normally translated as ghost or god. However, one respected source I have seen translates it as ‘ancestor of on-going influence’.1 Ki Te Whaiao: An Introduction to Māori Culture and Society (edited by Tānia Ka’ai et al.).

H:

• haka

  most Pākehā would say this is a war dance. However it is more correctly defined as a ‘posture dance with actions’. It has even been translated as simply ‘a dance’ or ‘a song accompanying a dance’. In any case, haka cover a whole variety of dances, not just war dances. The correct name for the true Māori war dance is peruperu. It is this dance that was used on the battlefield to prepare the warrior physically, mentally, and spiritually for battle. As well as preparing the warrior for battle, the peruperu also had the dual purpose of frightening and intimidating the enemy. Peruperu have even been used for this purpose in 20th century conflicts, such as the two World Wars and the Vietnam War. Despite the fact that haka need not be war dances, this is the image of haka taken away by visitors to New Zealand after attending Māori cultural performances. This image is reinforced further by the performance of the haka Ka mate! by the All Blacks prior to any international rugby match. For more information, see Wira Gardiner’s Haka: A Living Tradition.

• hāngi

  earth oven in which food is cooked by hot stones; contents of the oven.

• hapū

  often translated as sub-tribe. However, this is somewhat misleading.1 The reason for this is that before the arrival of the Pākehā, hapū were somewhat autonomous political units that in many cases functioned completely independently of any wider iwi. Also, in many cases, hapū independence continued in some measure well beyond the arrival of the Pākehā, right up to the present day. Whether hapū means ‘sub-tribe’ or not, I am referring to these political groupings when I use the word hapū in this book. Hapū also has alternative meanings—namely, ‘descendants’ or ‘pregnant’. As Angela Ballara points out in Iwi: The Dynamics of Māori Tribal Organisation from c.1769–c.1945. See the section ‘Tribal Māori’ in Chapter 5 for further discussion of Ballara’s argument.

• hara	to miss; offence; sin; to violate tapu.

• Hawaiki

  commonly thought of by Pākehā as the place ‘where the Māori came from’. However this is misleading for two reasons. First, the Māori come from New Zealand, not anywhere else. The Māori are descendants of people who emigrated from some island(s) in the Pacific Ocean and adapted to the New Zealand environment. These ancestors were no more Māori, than the Vikings or Romans were British. Second, according to Ranginui Walker, Hawaiki is simply a generic term for ‘homeland’, and refers only to the last homeland of any particular people and not a specific place.1 Ka Whawhai Tonu Matou: Struggle Without End, by Ranginui Walker, p. 37.

• hīkoi

  to walk, or march. The use of this word now is associated in Pākehā minds with long peaceful marches to Parliament starting from some distant part of the country.

• hongi

  pressing of noses in greeting. This is generally not like the quick kiss Pākehā might give on greeting each other, but a prolonged and determined touching of noses and foreheads. This ceremony is performed on the marae at the end of the welcoming ceremony (pōwhiri). In some regions, the hongi is performed in a single pressing of noses, whereas others will give a short press, followed by a longer one. The hongi has great spiritual significance. On one level it represents the peace that existed between the sky father, Rangi-nui, and the earth mother Papa-tūā-nuku when they were joined together (see the entry below for Papa-tūā-nuku). On another level, it represents the life given to the first woman Hine-ahu-one by the atua Tāne. Tāne made this woman out of clay and then breathed life into her nose and mouth. The hongi thus represents this life given to humans by the atua.1 See Tikanga Whakaaro: Key Concepts in Māori Culture (by Cleve Barlow), pp. 26–27, or Ki Te Whaiao: An Introduction to Māori Culture and Society (edited by Tānia Ka’ai et al.), pp. 81–81 for further details.

• hui

  a dictionary definition of this word is simply: ‘meeting, gathering, assembly; to meet’. However when people talk about hui ‘they are nearly always referring to a ceremonial gathering on a marae’. This quote is taken from page 1 of a book devoted solely to hui by Anne Salmond (Hui: A Study of Maori Ceremonial Gatherings). Quoting from the back cover of this book, ‘Hui incorporate all Māori ceremonial gatherings such as openings of new marae, tangihanga (funerals), hurahanga kōhatu (unveilings), birthdays and anniversaries, and tribal gatherings’. They, and associated rituals, form ‘the life blood of the marae’. In other words, hui are a fundamental part of Māori culture, and each different type has its special set of rituals. Out of all the aspects of contemporary Māori culture, hui, or at least tangihanga (funerals), remain among the closest to what they were prior to colonisation.1 Ki Te Whaiao: An Introduction to Māori Culture and Society (edited by Tānia Ka’ai et al.), pp. 85.

I:

• iwi

  often translated as tribe. However, this is somewhat misleading.1 The reason for this is that before the arrival of the Pākehā, iwi were not political, but rather conceptual units. Iwi never functioned as a group in a way that one would expect a ‘tribe’ to do. Instead, it was the hapū that functioned closer to this model. Nevertheless, since the arrival of the Pākehā, many hapū combined under the umbrella of the larger iwi for political strength. Nowadays many iwi do function more or less as political units. Whether iwi means ‘tribe’ or not, I am referring to these political groupings when I use the word iwi in this book. Iwi also has alternative meanings—namely ‘nation’, ‘people’, ‘strength’, or ‘bone’. As Angela Ballara points out in Iwi: The Dynamics of Māori Tribal Organisation from c.1769–c.1945. See the section ‘Tribal Māori’ in Chapter 5 for further discussion of Ballara’s argument.

K:

• kāinga

  as used in this book means a ‘traditional Māori unfortified village’. It can also mean ‘home’ or ‘place of residence’.

• kaitaka

  fine cloak with ornamental border.

• kaitiakitanga

  the short definition of this is ‘guardianship’. However, it is a complex word whose meaning has become significant to non-Māori because of its inclusion in the Resource Management Act 1991 (New Zealand’s key piece of legislation concerning management and control of natural resources). In particular, section 7(a) of this Act requires decision makers to have ‘particular regard to’ kaitiakitanga. Kaitiakitanga has been defined in a 1997 amendment to this Act as ‘the exercise of guardianship by the tangata whenua of an area in accordance with tikanga Māori in relation to natural and physical resources; and includes the ethic of stewardship’.1 This quote comes from an article on kaitiakitanga and the Resource Management Act 1991. In this article the author (Tikitu Tutua-Nathan) also defines kaitiakitanga as ‘obligations of decision-making over taonga’.2 He also observes that ‘[t]he practical application of kaitiakitanga involves a broad set of practices based on both physical and spiritual management of taonga’.3 The author also points out that the interpretation of kaitiakitanga varies between different iwi, hapū and whānau. Local Government and the Treaty of Waitangi (Janine Hayward, ed.), p. 40. Ibid., p. 39. Ibid.

• kai-whakaatu

  literally, one who makes (something) come out; an informant who is actively involved in the development of understanding.1 Quoted from New Growth From Old: The Whānau in the Modern World by Joan Metge, p. 333.

• kapa haka

  group of action song performers.

• kaumātua

  elder; old person; adult. According to some authors, such as Ranginui Walker1, this is an exclusively male role. However other sources allow this title for either sex. For instance, Joan Metge gives the following fuller definition: ‘a person of senior social status, of either sex, who is knowledgeable in tikanga Māori; a person of grandparental or equivalent age of either sex.’2 Ka Whawhai Tonu Matou: Struggle Without End. New Growth From Old: The Whānau in the Modern World, p. 333.

• kaupapa

  pressing principle; purpose; subject, theme, topic; project; cause; fleet of canoes; floor; level surface; platform.

• kāwana

  governor. According to Ranginui Walker, kāwana is ‘a transliteration of governor’.1 In other words, this was a term introduced to Māori in early colonial times. Initially, if Māori had any understanding of a kāwana, it was via a privileged few who had visited New South Wales and seen a governor in action, or via the missionary teaching of the New Testament in which Pontius Pilate is referred to as a governor. In both cases, the understanding was likely to be that a governor was a satrap, someone ruling on behalf of someone else. Ka Whawhai Tonu Matou: Struggle Without End, p. 92.

• kāwanatanga

  governance, governorship, or government. This word was derived from kāwana, which, in turn, is derived directly from the English word governor (see the definition of ‘kāwana’ above). Kāwanatanga is used in the Māori text of the Treaty of Waitangi as a substitute for sovereignty. As a result much attention has been given to what Māori may have understood by this term in 1840.

• Kingitanga

  the Māori King movement. See the Prologue for a little more detail on this. More extensive detail may be found in Ranginui Walker’s Ka Whawhai Tonu Matou: Struggle Without End, Lindsay Cox’s Kotahitanga: The Search for Māori Political Unity, or Robert Mahuta’s ‘Kingitanga’ in Te Ao Hurihuri: Aspects of Maoritanga1. Edited by Michael King.

• kōauau

  a short traditional Māori flute, usually with three holes.

• koha

  gift; respect. The word is most frequently used in connection with the gifts given by guests during hui. Once upon a time, these gifts would be in the form of food, but nowadays money is more common. On some marae it is standard practice to place the koha on the marae during the pōwhiri for all to see. On other marae, koha is given quietly to an appropriate person.1 See the entry for ‘koha’ in Tikanga Whakaaro: Key Concepts in Māori Culture by Cleve Barlow (pp. 49–50).

• kōhanga reo

  literally ‘language nests’. Kōhanga reo are pre-schools in which children are in an environment where nothing but te reo Māori is spoken (‘total immersion’). In addition, they also operate according to Māori custom and values within a whānau (family) environment. The first kōhanga reo began in 1982, and they are now ubiquitous throughout New Zealand. In fact, by 2003 about 30% of all Māori children entering primary school had experienced kōhanga reo.1 This popularity has given rise to a significant revival of te reo Māori and Māori culture. Such is the success of kōhanga reo that the idea has been adopted in several other countries, such as Australia, America, and various Pacific Islands.2 Further details of kōhanga reo may be found on their official website. Ngā Tai Matatū: Tides of Māori Endurance by Mason Durie, p. 240. See, for example, Cleve Barlow in Tikanga Whakaaro: Key Concepts in Māori Culture.

• koru	be folded, looped, coiled; fold, loop; the shrub Pratia physaloides. The most common use of the word, though, is to refer to a particular type of coiled motive in carving, moko, or other art forms, particularly necklaces.

• kotahitanga

  unity. This is also the name of a Māori political movement that began in the nineteenth-century, largely at the inspiration of northern iwi. The idea behind this movement was to give Māori a unified voice. It even got as far as forming a Māori parliament in 1892. Nevertheless, the parliament was short-lived, and inter-iwi differences prevented the movement ever achieving the unity it desired. On the other hand, this movement has never died out. In fact it was quite prominent in Waitangi Day protests during the 1980s. For more information on this movement see Lindsay Cox’s Kotahitanga: The search for Māori Political Unity.

• kuia	female elder; old woman; female kaumātua.

• kura kaupapa Māori

  state-funded, total immersion Māori language schools. These are school equivalents of kōhanga reo (see the entry above).1 The first one started in 1985. There are considerably fewer kura kaupapa Māori than kōhanga reo, with the result that only 4% of all Māori of school age in 2006 were enrolled in kura kaupapa Māori.2 For a recent, and official, statement of the philosophy of kura kaupapa Māori, see the Official Version of Te Aho Matua o ngā Kura Kaupapa Māori and an Explanation in English in the Supplement to the New Zealand Gazette, No. 32, 22 February 2008. The source of this fact was a report from 2007 by Te Puni Kōkiri (Ministry of Māori Development) called Quality of Life Indicators for Māori: A Discussion Document for the Māori Potential Forecast Report, p. 81.

M:

• mana

  authority, power, prestige, psychic force. It refers to authority and power derived from atua. These dual aspects are defined by Maori Marsden as ‘lawful permission delegated by the gods [atua] to their human agent to act on their behalf and in accordance with their revealed wills’, and ‘power, might, strength; the power to perform… power in action, power to perform miraculous works, and the power of the spoken word’, respectively.1 The concept of mana is closely linked to that of tapu. Whereas tapu refers to potential power, mana refers to power in action, or power that can be acted upon. It is thus something that can be built up or lost during a life-time. Being a scientist by training, I distinguish mana and tapu in my own mind by thinking of tapu as voltage and mana as current (as in electricity).2 ‘God, Man and the Universe: A Māori View’ in Te Ao Hurihuri (edited by Michael King). See also Whakaaro: Key Concepts in Māori Culture by Cleve Barlow, or Tikanga Māori: Living by Māori Values by Hirini Moko Mead.

• manaaki

  look after, entertain (especially guests); show respect or kindness; hospitality; hospitable. Joan Metge expands it slightly further by saying it is ‘caring in the fullest sense of the word, the expression of aroha’.1 New Growth From Old: The Whānau in the Modern World, p. 333.

• mana Māori motuhake

  mana motuhake for Māori, i.e. separate power for Māori. See ‘mana motuhake’.

• mana motuhake

  separate power; autonomy. It can be used as an alternative for tino rangatiratanga. However, it does have one distinct difference in that it was the name of a political party. This party was launched in 1980 by the disaffected Māori Labour MP, Matiu Rata (the same person who introduced the legislation for the formation of the Waitangi Tribunal in 1975). Throughout the 1980s, however, Mana Motuhake did not fare well in elections, so it joined the Alliance Party in 1990s. From there they obtained their first MP, Sandra Lee, in 1993. Nowadays Mana Motuhake no longer exists as a registered political party. No doubt its agenda is still carried forward somewhat in the Alliance Party, although it is much more likely that the new Māori Party is the closest heir to their particular politics.

• mana whenua

  this is often translated as mana over land, however Jim Williams says this is tantamount to claiming mana over Papa-tūā-nuku, i.e. authority over the Earth Mother.1 Since this would be an anathema, Williams prefers to think of mana whenua as mana ‘drawn from Papa-tūā-nuku’. Thus, mana whenua ‘is held in an area and relates to decisions about resources’ (author’s bold type). In other words, mana whenua is more about having the authority to manage land and its resources with a view to guarding it for future generations—rather than having absolute power of exploitation, as is the case, more or less, in the Pākehā idea of ownership. ‘Papa-tūā-nuku: Attitudes to Land’, in Ki Te Whaiao: An Introduction to Māori Culture and Society (edited by Tānia Ka’ai et al.).

• manuhiri

  guest; visitor. The most familiar use of this word occurs in the pōwhiri—the formal ceremony of welcome onto the marae. In this context, the manuhiri are the group who are to be welcomed. They will begin the ceremony outside the marae and gradually move both physically and spiritually closer to the hosts (tangata whenua) throughout the ceremony.

• Māori

  as used in New Zealand now, it means the native, or indigenous people of New Zealand. However, the word originally meant ‘normal’ or ‘natural’.

• Māoritanga

  Māori culture; explanation; meaning.

• marae

  many Pākehā would say this is a Māori meeting-house. However, this is more correctly defined as the courtyard, or open space, in front of the meeting-house (see the entry for ‘wharenui’). Alternatively, it is this open space plus the buildings around it. In any case, it is a place where Māori traditionally gather. Marae are very important places in Māori culture. Each one is given a name, either that of some important ancestor or, less commonly, a significant event or even concept. Contemporary marae fall into one of two broad categories—those associated with a particular iwi or hapū, and therefore built on or near ancestral homelands, and those purpose built to serve the needs of a particular community or institution, e.g. urban marae or university marae. In theory, every Māori should have at least one marae that is ‘theirs’, in the sense that it is a physical and man-made manifestation of their spiritual home. In practice, only about one-third of Māori have regular access to marae,1 although, presumably, this will include Māori who do have a marae that is ‘theirs’, but are not able to visit it frequently for whatever reason. According to figures from a report in 2000 quoted by Mason Durie in Ngā Tai Matatū: Tides of Māori Endurance, p. 45.

• moko	traditional Māori tattoo.

Ng:

• ngāi	South Island variant of ngāti.

• ngāti

  prefix denoting an iwi or hapū, e.g. Ngāti Whātua. It literally means, ‘the descendants of’. A South Island variant of this is ngāi, or even kāi.

P:

• pā	fortified village. This is its most common usage. It can also be used to mean ‘touch’, or a form of address to a male elder or superior.

• Pākehā

  as used in New Zealand now, it normally means ‘white New Zealander’, or those of European descent (predominantly British or Irish). More infrequently it is used to mean any non-Māori.1 According to Ranginui Walker, the word derives from pakepakeha or pakehakeha, which are imaginary beings with fair skins.2 However there appear to be several theories around as to the origin of this term.3 For example, in Pakeha Maori by Trevor Bentley. Ka Whawhai Tonu Matou: Struggle Without End, p. 412. See, for example, New Growth From Old: The Whānau in the Modern World by Joan Metge, note 10, p. 316.

• Papa-tūā-nuku

  the Earth Mother; literally ‘widespread Papa’, which, in turn, literally means ‘widespread foundation or flat surface’. Papa-tūā-nuku is often simply referred to as Papa. In Māori creation myths (with slight variations for different iwi), Rangi (or Rangi-nui—great Rangi or great sky) and Papa-tūā-nuku were the primeval pair, the first beings of creation. The myths begin with this pair in a close embrace. This embrace kept the world in complete darkness. Eventually some of their children decide to separate them. Only Tāne, (or Tāne-mahuta, Tāne-tūturi, as well as other names) is able to do this by lying with his back on Papa-tūā-nuku and pushing with his legs against Rangi. By doing this, Tāne lets light into the world and became the atua for the forest (and also birds). In Māori myths, Papa-tūā-nuku is the first woman. She supports and sustains her human children, providing food and other necessary conditions for life. She is the mother of all and ‘women were thought to derive their nature from the first female; like her they were fertile, productive, and greatly loved and valued’.1 For more information on these myths, see Margaret Orbell’s The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Māori Myth and Legend, or Alexander Reed’s (revised by Ross Calman), Reed Book of Māori Mythology. Quoting from Margaret Orbell’s The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Māori Myth and Legend.

• pō	night; chaos; darkness; place of the dead.

• poi	ball on a string (traditionally flax) used in action songs and posture dances. These feature in virtual any modern performance of Māori song and dance. Modern dancers use two different type of poi—the long poi and the short poi.

• pounamu

  greenstone or New Zealand jade. This is primarily found on the west coast of the South Island. Although primarily green, pounamu can come in a variety of colours from black to milky white. In pre-colonial times, pounamu was highly prized by Māori ‘on account of its hardness, enduring quality, and beautiful appearance’.1 Pounamu was ‘an important barter and gift item between tribes’2, and was used to make ornaments and weapons. In fact, such was the importance of pounamu in traditional Māori life that one of the Māori names for the South Island of New Zealand is Te Wai Pounamu—literally ‘the water of greenstone’. Unsurprisingly, pounamu is still of huge significance to Māori today, who continue to work it, both for themselves and the tourism industry. Ownership of pounamu was vested in the Ngāi Tahu iwi by the Ngāi Tahu (Pounamu Vesting) Act 1997. The word ‘pounamu’ also has the alternative meanings of ‘greenstone weapon’, ‘bottle’, or ‘dark green’. Taonga Tuko Iho: Illustrated Enclyclopedia of Traditional Māori Life by A. W. Reed and revised by Buddy Mikaere. Ibid.

• pōwhiri

  a dictionary definition of this is: ‘beckon; to wave; welcome’. The most familiar use of the word is as the name for the formal welcome given to visitors on a marae. Technically, the word ‘pōwhiri’, in this sense, only refers to the ‘action chant of welcome’ that forms part of an overall ceremony of welcome.1 However, it is common to use the word pōwhiri to refer to the overall ceremony itself. This ceremony is extremely important in Māori custom, and contains many important and detailed elements. These details are often confusing to many Pākehā, although Pākehā are increasingly being required to take part in the ceremony. There is no space here to go into the various aspects of a pōwhiri in detail. The interested reader may consult Chapter 5 in Hui: : A Study of Maori Ceremonial Gatherings by Anne Salmond, or Te Marae: A Guide to Customs & Protocol by Hiwi and Pat Tauroa. The basic idea of the welcome ceremony is that it is a ceremony which gradually moves from a place of tapu to one of that is less tapu; of one in which visitors and host are separated physically and spiritually, to one where they meet physically and spiritually. Thus a wero (ritual challenge) outside the marae often forms an early part of the pōwhiri to determine the attitude of the visitors, while hongi (pressing of noses) on the marae form a later part. In between, there are various chants, songs, and speeches. The ceremony will always end in the sharing of food. Hui: A Study of Maori Ceremonial Gatherings by Anne Salmond, p. 142.

• pūtātara

  shell trumpet. They were traditionally used for signalling rather than as musical instruments.1 In particular, they were ‘employed for sounding the alarm, and for various signals in time of war’.2 Such an alarm could have been given when a stranger approached a Māori community. Nowadays it has become common practice to use the pūtātara at the beginning of a formal Māori welcome (i.e. a pōwhiri). Taonga Tuko Iho: Illustrated Enclyclopedia of Traditional Māori Life by A. W. Reed and revised by Buddy Mikaere. Ibid.

• pūtōrīno

  a traditional Māori flute, often enlarged towards the centre and with only one hole.

R:

• rangatira

  in brief, this is a chief. This has two possible interpretations (quoting Joan Metge): ‘person of senior descent and high rank’ (i.e. of noble birth), or ‘chief of a hapū and in many cases of iwi’ (i.e. leader).1 New Growth From Old: The Whānau in the Modern World, p. 334.

• rangatiratanga

  a simple definition of this word is: ‘control; chieftainship, sovereignty’. This word has attracted much attention because it appears in the Māori version of Article 2 of the Treaty of Waitangi and is crucial to its interpretation. According to Ranginui Walker, the word is a ‘missionary neologism derived from rangatira (chief), which, with the addition of the suffix tanga, becomes chieftainship. Now the guarantee of chieftainship is in effect a guarantee of sovereignty, because an inseparable component of chieftainship is mana whenua [authority in connection with land]. Without land a chief’s mana and that of his people is negated’.1 In this case, Article 2 of the Treaty of Waitangi confirms Māori sovereignty over all their lands, homes, and treasured possessions. This contradicts the English version of Article 1, which says sovereignty is ceded to the Crown. Thus the stakes involved in defining the meaning of rangatiratanga are high and often highly political. Ka Whawhai Tonu Matou: Struggle Without End, p. 93.

• reo

  language.

• rohe	area; boundary; region, especially tribal region; zone.

T:

• taiaha

  hardwood weapon about 1.5 metres long with pointed tongue at one end and a long flat narrow blade at the other.

• tangata

  human; man; person; slave.

• tangata whenua

  host people or tribe, especially in the context of a marae; indigenous people; original inhabitants; people of the land. Thus Māori are said to be tangata whenua of Aotearoa New Zealand, while particular iwi, hapū or whānau are said to be tangata whenua of a marae or a region of the country (e.g. Tainui is tangata whenua of the Waikato region).

• tangihanga

  funeral; wake. In popular speech, this word is often shortened to tangi. However, this latter word technically refers to weeping or lamenting, such as would normally take place at a tangihanga. Tangihanga are a form of hui with very specific rituals. They are extremely important and may last several days. Grief is expressed very openly and the dead body often remains in view on the marae for visitors to pay their respects. There is much tapu associated with death. This is gradually lifted throughout the process of the tangihanga. Out of all the customary practices of Māori today, tangihanga are probably the closest to what they were prior to colonisation.1 Ki Te Whaiao: An Introduction to Māori Culture and Society (Tānia Ka’ai et al., eds.), p. 85. See also Chapter 8 in Ki Te Whaiao; pp. 122–124 in Tikanga Whakaaro: Key Concepts in Māori Culture by Cleve Barlow; or Harold Dansey’s chapter in Te Ao Hurihuri: Aspects of Maoritanga (Michael King, ed.), for more information on the rituals involved in tangihanga.

• tāniko

  border for cloaks, mats, etc., made by finger weaving.

• taniwha

  fabulous monster. These fearsome creatures usually take the form of giant lizards or fish and are often said to live in water. One author, Mason Durie, sees taniwha as synonymous with, or an allegory for, caution or risk.1 Ngā Tai Matatū: Tides of Māori Endurance, p. 69.

• taonga

  treasures, possessions, valuables. Due to a number of rulings by the Waitangi Tribunal, these treasures are now universally acknowledged to extend beyond the realm of physical objects to include more intangible things, such as myths, performing arts, whakataukī, and the Māori language.

• tapu

  to many Pākehā this has connotations of something akin to witchcraft or Voodoo. This is a travesty of its true meaning. Its true meaning is: ‘sacred; prohibited; restricted; under the influence of atua protection’. Since everything was created by atua (the supreme atua Io, or the Sky Father Rangi and Earth Mother Papa-tūā-nuku), everything has some inherent tapu. According to Maori Marsden, tapu ‘is close to the Jewish idea translated in the words “sacred” and “holy”, although it does not have the later ethical connotations of the New Testament of “moral righteousness”’.1 The concept of tapu is very closely linked to that of mana. Tapu is often referred to as something inherent in the person or object, something that they (it) is born (created) with. It is a potential power, and can neither be earned by merit, nor lost through misfortune or recklessness, unlike mana. Being a scientist by training, I distinguish mana and tapu in my own mind by thinking of tapu as voltage and mana as current (as in electricity). Mason Durie sees the concept of tapu as a protective mechanism.2 Declaring an object or place tapu was a way of identifying and marking these things as high risk (e.g. the tapu involved in the rituals of death).3 ‘God, Man and the Universe: A Māori View’ in Te Ao Hurihuri: Aspects of Maoritanga (edited by Michael King). Ngā Tai Matatū: Tides of Māori Endurance, p. 10. For further discussions of the concept of tapu, see Whakaaro: Key Concepts in Māori Culture by Cleve Barlow, or Tikanga Māori: Living by Māori Values by Hirini Moko Mead.

• tātai

  recite genealogies; line of ancestry; arrange; calculate; measure; plan.

• te	the (singular).

• te ao Māori

  literally, ‘the Māori world’. It is phrase commonly used to refer to the Māori world-view, or the world as viewed through the eyes of Māori culture. The phrase even appears in legislation, such as the Law Commission Act 1985 (s. 5). In this Act it is translated as ‘the Maori dimension’.

• Te Ika a Māui

  a traditional Māori name for the North Island of New Zealand. It literally means ‘the fish of Māui’. Māui is a significant figure in a whole cycle of Māori myths (and, indeed, those of many other Polynesian peoples—one of the Hawaiian Islands is even named after him) and is often referred to as a demi-god. In one of the Māori myths, Māui goes fishing with his brothers and hauls up a great fish, using the jawbone of his grandmother as a hook and blood from his own nose as bait (the latter because his brothers wouldn’t give him any bait). He then ‘left for their home to make offerings to the gods [atua], telling his brothers to leave the fish alone until his return. But the greedy brothers began at once to chop it up. It was not yet dead, and it thrashed and writhed into mountains, cliffs and gorges. That is why the lie of the land is now so bad’.1 This fish became the North Island. For more information on the Maui myths, see Margaret Orbell’s The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Māori Myth and Legend, or Alexander Reed’s (revised by Ross Calman), Reed Book of Māori Mythology. The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Māori Myth and Legend by Margaret Orbell.

• tēnā koutou

  either ‘hello’ or ‘thank you’ to three or more people. The version for two people is ‘tēnā kōrua’, and the version for one person, ‘tēnā koe’.

• te reo Māori

  the Māori language.

• Te Wai Pounamu

  a traditional Māori name for the South Island of New Zealand. It literally means ‘the water of greenstone’. See the entry above for ‘pounamu’.

• tikanga

  culture; custom, habit, practice; meaning; method, way; purpose, reason; rule. Tikanga Māori, or Māori custom, is being increasingly recognised in the New Zealand courts. This is particularly true of the Māori Land Court.

• tino rangatiratanga

  self-determination or self-rule. It is a phrase that appears in Article 2 of the Māori version of the Treaty of Waitangi. As far as Māori are concerned, it is probably the most important phrase in the whole Treaty. It is their guarantee, in writing, that they should be allowed some degree of autonomy within New Zealand. See also rangatiratanga (the prefix ‘tino’ means ‘self’ in this case).

• tohunga

  to many Pākehā this is probably something akin to a witch-doctor. Certainly some classes of tohunga practice medicine according to ancient remedies and traditional beliefs (how much this is still true is very difficult to determine—at least for a Pākehā, due to the tapu nature of these practices). A hundred years ago this form of medicine was seen as a threat to the introduction of Western medicine to Māori—a fear that led to the Tohunga Suppression Act 1907 outlawing the practice of traditional medicine. In any case, the meaning of tohunga is much wider than ‘traditional medical practitioner’, or similar. A dictionary definition of tohunga is actually ‘expert; priest; artist’. However, Maori Marsden objects to the word ‘expert’ and prefers to think of a tohunga as a ‘chosen one’ or ‘appointed one’.1 Either way, there are many classes of tohunga depending on their speciality. For example, there are tohunga for carving (tohunga whakairo) and tohunga for tattooing (tohunga tā moko). Other important categories are the tohunga mākutu (tohunga for the black arts or occult) and tohunga ahurewa (high-class priests). Tohunga (especially tohunga ahurewa) are people of considerable mana. ‘God, Man and the Universe: A Māori View’, in Te Ao Hurihuri: Aspects of Maoritanga (edited by Michael King).

• tūrangawaewae

  home-place; spiritual home; a place to stand.

• tūtūā

  commoner, person of low birth.

U:

• utu

  most Pākehā would say this is ‘revenge’, or an ‘eye for an eye’. However its true meaning is much broader: ‘compensation, payment or reciprocity’. Thus, utu is a more positive term than revenge, as it means that gifts are to be paid for with gifts, favours for favours, in addition to wrongs for wrongs. Andrew Sharp talks of utu as ‘roughly justice in transactions’.1 He expands this idea slightly as follows: ‘The imagery—utu as repayment, returning, satisfying, rewarding, replying etc….—is archetypically that of transactional justice.’ Justice and the Māori: The Philosophy and Practice of Māori Claims in New Zealand since the 1970s, p. 165.

W:

• waiata

  song or chant (or the verb, ‘sing’). While most Pākehā will know many (Māori) waiata, and be familiar with their entertainment value, many are not aware of their more fundamental importance to Māori culture. Waiata are not simply there for musical entertainment, but are a ‘medium through which sacred and profane knowledge is passed from one person to another, from one generation to another’.1 In the past, waiata were one of the ‘principle means of disseminating prized knowledge’.1 Waiata are still used extensively in various Māori rituals and ceremonies, for instance the pōwhiri. In fact it is quite common to use waiata at the end of a speech. For these reasons, waiata should generally not be considered as public property, but part of the personal property of each hapū. There are several categories of waiata, such as songs of lament, lullabies, epic songs, or love songs. Tikanga Whakaaro: Key Concepts in Māori Culture by Cleve Barlow, p. 151. Ibid.

• wairua

  spirit; soul.

• wānanga

  educational gathering, workshop; to hold in-depth discussions; Māori place of learning. In pre-European times, wānanga, or whare wānanga (‘whare’ meaning house), were schools of learning where such things as tribal histories or spiritual knowledge were taught. Their use dwindled with the spread of colonisation, however they have recently been revitalised and modernised in the form of state-recognised and funded Māori tertiary institutions. There are currently three of these institutions offering a variety of courses at many sites throughout New Zealand.1 Although some of the courses are obviously concerned with Māori knowledge or arts and crafts, they are by no means confined to those subjects. In fact it is possible to study anything from computing, to education, to business studies at one of these wānanga. What makes them specifically Māori is their approach to learning and their attitude towards students. In other words, instead of wānanga teaching specifically Māori things, they teach in a specifically Māori way. They teach a Māori philosophy and not necessarily a Māori subject. They are Te Wānanga o Raukawa, Te Wānanga o Aotearoa, and Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi.

• wero

  a dictionary definition is: ‘challenge; dare; injection; pierce; sting; throw spear’. However, the term is mostly associated with the ritual challenge often performed at the beginning of a ceremony to welcome visitors onto a marae (i.e. a pōwhiri). As it is performed today, the challenge involves a ‘warrior’ from the host people (tangata whenua) coming forward with a taiaha (a spear-like weapon) in hand. As the ‘warrior’ comes forward, there is much protrusion of tongue, wide-eyes, grimaces, and guttural noises, accompanied by swift and skilful actions with the taiaha—the purpose of which is to display the warrior’s skill. When the warrior has advanced far enough, he will put a gift, such as a feather, on the ground and point to it with his taiaha. If the guests come in peace, then a representative of them will pick up the gift. From there the warrior will lead the guests into the next stage of the pōwhiri. Nowadays wero are normally only performed for important visitors, and their use largely symbolic. However, in pre- and early colonial times, some type of wero was performed whenever strangers met. Many wero of the past were much more war-like than they are today. For instance, a spear may have been thrown instead of the modern action of placing a gift on the ground (Captain Cook encountered this when he first stepped foot in New Zealand and mistook it for a threat, so the warrior was shot). In addition, the warrior performing the wero may have been chased back to his group by one of the visitors. If caught, there would be a pretend, or possibly real, fight.1 See Hui: A Study of Maori Ceremonial Gatherings by Anne Salmond, pp. 132–137, for further information.

Wh:

• whakapapa

  genealogical table; to lie flat.

• whakataukī

  proverb, cryptic saying. However, these differ from English proverbs, in that they are often highly condensed and cryptic. Moreover, they are not part of common received wisdom like they are in English, but vary from hapū to hapū (or iwi), and are claimed as part of each hapū’s personal property.1 See New Growth From Old: The Whānau in the Modern World by Joan Metge, p. 315.

• whānau

  the traditional definition of this is ‘extended family’. See, however, New Growth From Old: The Whānau in the Modern World by Joan Metge for further clarification and various nuances of this term (e.g. a set of siblings, a Pākehā-style nuclear family, a group of kin who interact frequently and see themselves as a unit, or even a whole hapū or iwi). Whether whānau means ‘extended family’ or not, I am referring to a group of people when I use the word whānau in this book. Whānau also has alternative meanings—namely, ‘birth’ or ‘offspring’.

• whanaungatanga

  kinship; relationship.

• wharenui

  Literally ‘large house’—from ‘whare’ = ‘house’, and ‘nui’ = ‘large’ or ‘great’. Wharenui is one of several terms used for the meeting house on a marae. Other possible terms include wharepuni (sleeping house), whare rūnanga (council house), wharehui (meeting house), or whare whakairo (carved house). It is incorrect to use the word ‘marae’ to refer to the meeting house (see the entry for ‘marae’). In pre-colonial times, the wharenui would simply have been the rangatira’s house. It was generally neither particularly big nor elaborate.1 Nowadays they are generally much bigger and can be very intricately carved and decorated. They also serve a number of different functions, as indicated by the various different names listed above. Put simply, though, the meeting house is the place where a hapū and any visitors may gather—for whatever purpose. If the gathering takes place over more than one day, then it is quite normal for the meeting house to be used for communal sleeping as well. See Ranginui Walker’s chapter in Te Ao Hurihuri: Aspects of Maoritanga edited by Michael King.

• whenua

  land; placenta. For Pākehā, these two meanings couldn’t be more different. However, Māori have a custom whereby a baby’s placenta is buried in their ancestral lands. This binds the individual to the Earth Mother, Papa-tūā-nuku, just as a placenta joins an unborn child to its natural mother.1 See Tikanga Māori: Living by Māori Values by Hirini Moko Mead, pp. 288–289, for more details of this ritual.