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Idioms

Phrases

Proverbs

Loan words

Historical loan words

wharenui

1. (noun) meeting house, large house - main building of a marae where guests are accommodated. Traditionally the wharenui belonged to a hapū or whānau but some modern meeting houses, especially in large urban areas, have been built for non-tribal groups, including schools and tertiary institutions. Many are decorated with carvings, rafter paintings and tukutuku panels.

(Te Kōhure Textbook (Ed. 2): 265-266;)

tara nui

1. (noun) floor space on the right on entering a wharenui and the place where manuhiri sleep.

Ka haria mai e te manuhiri ā rātou kawenga ki roto i te wharenui. Ko rātou ki te tara nui o te whare moe ai, ko te tangata whenua ki te tara iti (TWK 46:13). / The visitors take their luggage into the meeting house. They sleep on the right side on entering a meeting house, the local people are on the left side.

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ihonui

1. (noun) corner and floor space on the right on entering a wharenui.

Te urunga atu o Tama-inu-pō haere tonu, ā, ka pahemo i te takuahi i te aronga ake ki te ihonui, kātahi anō ka huri mai (NIT 1995:121). / Tama-inu-pō entered and went straight on past the hearth that faced the floor space at the front of the house and only then turned round.

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See also tara nui

kopa iti

1. (noun) floor space and corner on the left on entering a wharenui - normally the place where the local people of the marae sit or sleep.

Ka tomo atu a Māhinārangi tika tonu ki te kopa iti i te taha mauī o taua whare, ka noho atu ki te taha o tōna matua (TAH 3:20). / Māhinārangi entered and went straight to the front left-hand corner of the house and sat down beside her father.

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apai

1. (noun) front wall inside a wharenui.

Ka karanga a Rongokārae, " Wāhia te apai o te whare." Kātahi te whitu tekau tangata rā ka turaki i te apai o te whare, o te puta auahi, hinga katoa (TP 5/1913:10). / Rongokārae called, "Smash down the front wall of the house." Then the seventy men demolished the front wall of the house and the window opening, it all fell.

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epa

1. (noun) posts at the inside ends of a wharenui - between the poupou and pou tāhū.

I kitea tēnei epa i Waitara ki Taranaki i te tau 1919 (Te Ara 2015). / This house post was found in Waitara, Taranaki, in 1919.

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pihanga

1. (noun) window, sliding slab of the traditional window of a wharenui.

Ka rapurapu noa ia i tētahi maro, i tētahi tū mōna, nōwhea hoki i kitea? Kātahi ia ka rere atu ki te kukume mai i ngā puru o te pihanga, o te whatitoka; kukume rawa mai, anana, kua tīkokekoke noa ake te rā o waho (NM 1928:8). / She searched everywhere for a maro , a girdle for herself, but could she find one anywhere? Then she rushed to pull out the plugs in the window and door, and when she finally pulled them out, low and behold the sun outside was high in the heavens.

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matakopa

1. (noun) floor space and corner on the left on entering a wharenui - normally the place where the local people of the marae sit or sleep.

Ka uru a Tukutuku ki roto o te whare ... ka tīkina ki te matakopa titiro mai ai (NM 1928:165). / Tukutuku entered the house and was taken to the corner on the left to watch.

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See also kopa iti

kopa

1. (noun) space in front of a house.

E puta ki waho rā, kia tāpapa koe te kopa o te whare (MM.TKM 1/2/1855:29). / Go outside to lie in the space in front of the house.

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2. (noun) floor space and corner on the left on entering a wharenui – normally the place where the local people of the marae sit or sleep.

tara iti

1. (noun) floor space on the left on entering a meeting house.

Ka haria mai e te manuhiri ā rātou kawenga ki roto i te wharenui. Ko rātou ki te tara nui o te whare moe ai, ko te tangata whenua ki te tara iti (TWK 46:13). / The visitors take their luggage into the meeting house. They sleep on the right side on entering a meeting house, the local people are on the left side.

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mihi whakatau

1. (noun) speech of greeting, official welcome speech - speech acknowledging those present at a gathering. For some tribes a pōhiri, or pōwhiri, is used for the ritual of encounter on a marae only. In other situations where formal speeches in Māori are made that are not on a marae or in the wharenui (meeting house) the term mihi whakatau is used for a speech, or speeches, of welcome in Māori.

kawa

1. (verb) (-ia,-ina) to perform the kawa ceremony, open a new house.

Nō te 23 o ngā rā o Ākuhata ka kawaia te whare nei (TTT 1/10/1922:7). / On 23 August the kawa ceremony was performed to open this house.

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2. (noun) a ceremony to remove tapu from a new house or canoe.

(Te Pihinga Textbook (Ed. 2): 170-171;)

Ko te tikanga o tēnei mea, o te kawa, e pure ana i te kawa tapu o Tāne kia noa (TTT 1/5/1930:2055). / The purpose of the kawa ceremony is to ritually remove the tapu of Tāne so that it becomes free of tapu.

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See also tānga o te kawa


3. (noun) karakia (ritual chants) and customs for the opening of new houses, canoes and other events.

Nā ngā kaumātua o Te Arawa i wewete ngā tapu o ōna whakairo, i karakia te karakia o te waere, te kawa, te toki, te takapou (TTT 1/10/1922:8). / The elders of Te Arawa removed the tapu from its carvings, recited the incantations of the waere (clearing the tapu of the building), of the kawa (calling on the powers to ruruku, or bind together, the uprights and rafters of the building), the toki (incantation addressed to the tree from which the carvings were made using the toki, or axe) and the takapou (incantation lifting the tapu to enable the entry of women into the house and spreading the mat of occupation and use).

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4. (noun) marae protocol - customs of the marae and wharenui, particularly those related to formal activities such as pōhiri, speeches and mihimihi. This seems to be a modern extension of the word.

Kāti, nō te taenga mai o Kuīni Irihāpeti Te Tuarua ki Rotorua i te 2 o Hānuere 1954, takahia ana e Heke te kawa, he ruarua nei ngā miniti e hauoraora ake ana tana kōrero ki te Kuīni mō te takoha roera, arā, mō te tokotoko hiriwa (TTR 2000:27). / Well, when Queen Elizabeth II arrived at Rotorua on 2 January 1954, Heke broke protocol by speaking animately to the Queen for several minutes about the royal gift of the silver cane.

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Synonyms: tikanga o te marae

Whare o Rongomaurikura, Te

1. (location) International Centre for Language Revitalisation - based in Te Ipukarea the National Māori Language Institute at AUT University. The name was given by Dr Wharehuia Milroy. Rongo is the god of peaceful pursuits and is usually associated with matters that are deliberated or debated in the sanctity of the wharenui, the meeting house, thus an academy or institute. Issues associated with language and language revitalisation efforts, should be considered as 'vested with a mauri' for those matters to then be acted upon in a positive way. It is the 'vital essence' that is required to allow the process to take shape, form and be inspirited. This comes through belief, united effort and dedication. Once achieved, the mauri operates in that belief that 'Tūwhitia te hopo, mairangatia te angitū' (i.e. eliminate the negative, accentuate the positive) will ensure sustained effort. Kura can be viewed as: 1. Knowledge regained, knowledge used, knowledge gained (discovery); 2. Staff and all associates; 3. The philosophies that serve to underpin all work that is entered into or undertaken; 4. The students; 5. The communities that will seek to benefit from the research; 6 The mauri, so long as it is maintained in a 'healthy state' by the combined efforts of the groups listed above, while distinct from kura in nature and form, is complementary and indeed kura can only continue to survive if the mauri is 'active'.

wheku

1. (noun) carved representation of a human face - with slanting eyes and commonly seen as a koruru, the head of an ancestor, depicted at the gable of a wharenui.

Te whakairinga o te kupu te whakapiringa o te tangata

1. The place where words are suspended te place where people come together: the wharenui or ancestral house (the words are suspended or hung in the carvings and kōwhaiwhai).

Nau mai e ngā iwi kia noho pūāhuru tātou i te pūmahana o te whakairinga o te kupu o te whakapiringa o te tangata / come hither people so we may sit close together in the warmth of the ancestral house.

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marae ātea

1. (noun) courtyard, public forum - open area in front of the wharenui where formal welcomes to visitors takes place and issues are debated. The marae ātea is the domain of Tūmatauenga, the atua of war and people, and is thus the appropriate place to raise contentious issue.

Kei te marae ātea te pōwhiri, he mahinga anō o te auahatanga o te ao i te wehenga o Papatūānuku rāua ko Ranginui (Te Ara 2011). / The pōwhiri takes place on the area in front of the meeting house and is a re-enactment of the creation of the world through the separation of Papatūānuku (Earth) and Ranginui (sky).

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See also marae

marae

1. (verb) to be generous, hospitable.

Kia mau ki te pai, kia atawhai ki te tangata, kia marae, kia mahi kai hei waewae mō te atawhai, ka tupu koe hei tangata (W 1971:180). / Hold to that which is good, be kind to people, be generous, prepare food to express your kindness, and you will grow to be a person of consequence.

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2. (modifier) generous, hospitable.

He wā he kiri kawa tōna wairua; he wā anō he tangata marae, he tangata nohopuku (TTR 1990:237). / Sometimes he was very short-tempered, and at other times he was generous or reclusive.

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3. (noun) courtyard - the open area in front of the wharenui, where formal greetings and discussions take place. Often also used to include the complex of buildings around the marae.

Kei te mihi ki a tātou mō ngā tikanga nunui a ō tātou tūpuna, kua ngaro nei i ngā Moutere e haeretia ana e au. Kia mau ki aua tikanga. Kia mau ki te pupuri i ngā marae o ō koutou kāinga. Ko tēnā te mauri hei paihere i tō koutou Māoritanga kei ngaro ki te kore. Ko ō koutou whanaunga o ngā Moutere e noho mai nei ahau, kua kore ngā marae, ā, kua noho tautangata i roto i ngā iwi nunui o te Ao (TTT 1/4/1930:2029). / It's praise to us all for the important customs of our ancestors, customs that have disappeared from the Islands that I am travelling around. Hold on to those customs. Strive to hold on to the marae of our villages. That is the vital essence to bind your Māoriness lest it be lost. Your kinsfolk in the Islands where I am living no longer have marae and live without identity amongst the dominant nations of the World. (Statement made in Māori by Te Rangi Hīroa).
Ka roa tēnei au e ātiutiu ana i runga i ō koutou marae (TP 1/11/1899:2). / I have been travelling about on your various marae for a long time.

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wairua

1. (noun) spirit, soul - spirit of a person which exists beyond death. It is the non-physical spirit, distinct from the body and the mauri. To some, the wairua resides in the heart or mind of someone while others believe it is part of the whole person and is not located at any particular part of the body. The wairua begins its existence when the eyes form in the foetus and is immortal. While alive a person's wairua can be affected by mākutu through karakia. Tohunga can damage wairua and also protect the wairua against harm. The wairua of a miscarriage or abortion can become a type of guardian for the family or may be used by tohunga for less beneficial purposes. Some believe that all animate and inanimate things have a whakapapa and a wairua. Some believe that atua Māori, or Io-matua-kore, can instill wairua into something. Tohunga, the agents of the atua, are able to activate or instil a wairua into something, such as a new wharenui, through karakia. During life, the wairua may leave the body for brief periods during dreams. The wairua has the power to warn the individual of impending danger through visions and dreams. On death the wairua becomes tapu. It is believed to remain with or near the body and speeches are addressed to the person and the wairua of that person encouraging it on its way to Te Pō. Eventually the wairua departs to join other wairua in Te Pō, the world of the departed spirits, or to Hawaiki, the ancestral homeland. The spirit travels to Te Reinga where it descends to Te Pō. Wairua of the dead that linger on earth are called kēhua. During kawe mate, or hari mate, hura kōhatu and other important occasions the wairua is summoned to return to the marae.

(Te Kōhure Textbook (Ed. 2): 221-228;)

Haere rā i a koe ka kōpikopiko atu ki Te Hono-i-wairua, ki te kāpunipunitanga o te wairua (TTR 1998:37). / We farewell you as you wend your way to the Gathering Place of Spirits, the meeting place of departed souls.
Te tinana, te hinengaro, me te wairua ēnei e toru, te mea nui o ēnei ko te wairua. Te tinana: he anga kau nō te wairua. Te hinengaro: he kaiwhakaatu ki te ao he pēnei nā te wairua kei roto i te tangata (TTT 1/12/1930:2215). / Of these three things, the body, the mind and the spirit, the most important is the spirit. The body is the vehicle for the spirit. The mind shows the world what the spirit of the person is like.

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2. (noun) attitude, quintessence, feel, mood, feeling, nature, essence, atmosphere.

Ko te wairua o te kōrero, kia Māori mai (HM 2/1994:10). / The feel of the language should be Māori.

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Synonyms: piropiro


3. (noun) bonfire moss, common cord-moss, Funaria hygrometrica - a moss that grows in profusion on moist, shady, and damp bare soil, especially on sites of old fires, and in plant pots in glasshouses and shadehouses. Found throughout Aotearoa/New Zealand.

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