taotahi
1. (verb) to recite genealogy in a single line of descent.
2. (noun) single line of whakapapa.
Ko te whakapapa kōhikohiko, i roto i te whakapapa kōhikohiko kua kore e whai i te tātai taotahi, arā, whakaheke haere tonu mai i te taha kotahi anake, he taotahi tērā (Milroy 2015). / The genealogy recited in a selective way, the whakapapa kōhikohiko, does not follow a single line of descent, in other words tracing descent coming down one line only, which is taotahi.
2. (verb) to be piecemeal, irregular, spasmodic.
Ahakoa i kuraina a Pei i te kura tuatahi o Ōngarue, āhua kōhikohiko ana te whakaakoranga i a ia (TTR 1998:70). / Although Pei was educated at Ōngarue primary school, his formal schooling was spasmodic.
Synonyms: tūāporoporo, harangotengote
3. (modifier) flashing.
Kātahi taua Ārapi o te koraha ka tohu atu tōna ringa ki te rā e torengi ana, ko ngā hihi e uira kōhikohiko ana puta noa whiti noa i taua koraha (KO 15/5/1885:8). / Then that Arab of the desert pointed at the setting sun and the rays were flashing all over the desert.
4. (noun) genealogy recited in a selective way by not following a single line of descent.
Tētahi atu āhuatanga o te kōhikohiko ko tēnei nā, ko te whai haere ōu i tētahi whakapaparanga, ehara i te mea e heke mai ana koe i te tuākana anake (Milroy 2011). / Another aspect of the 'kōhikohiko' genealogical method is to pursue a particular generation and not through the senior line only.
whakapapa
1. (verb) (-hia,-tia) to lie flat, lay flat.
E kore a Kiki e puta ki waho, engari ka tōia te papa o tōna whare kia tuwhera, ka mate tonu iho te manuhiri, whakapapa tonu te manuhiri i te mate (NM 1928:145). / Kiki would not come out, but when he pulled open the door of his house the visitors fell down dead, they lay out dead.
2. (verb) (-hia,-tia) to place in layers, lay one upon another, stack flat.
Ka whakapapatia ngā mapi ko ngā mea o Aotearoa ki runga. / The maps were placed one on top of the other with the ones of New Zealand on top.
3. (verb) (-hia,-tia) to recite in proper order (e.g. genealogies, legends, months), recite genealogies.
Ko te ingoa o te whare, o te marae rānei, o Ngāti Rangi, ko Tāne-nui-a-Rangi kua whakapapatia ake nei e au (HP 1991:6). / The name of the house, or marae, of Ngāti Rangi is Tāne-nui-a-Rangi which I have set out above.
4. (noun) genealogy, genealogical table, lineage, descent - reciting whakapapa was, and is, an important skill and reflected the importance of genealogies in Māori society in terms of leadership, land and fishing rights, kinship and status. It is central to all Māori institutions. There are different terms for the types of whakapapa and the different ways of reciting them including: tāhū (recite a direct line of ancestry through only the senior line); whakamoe (recite a genealogy including males and their spouses); taotahi (recite genealogy in a single line of descent); hikohiko (recite genealogy in a selective way by not following a single line of descent); ure tārewa (male line of descent through the first-born male in each generation).
(Te Kākano Textbook (Ed. 2): 3; Te Māhuri Study Guide (Ed. 1): 13-14; Te Kōhure Textbook (Ed. 2): 237-240;)
He mea nui ki a tātau ō tātau whakapapa (HP 1991:1). / Our genealogies are important to us.
See also tararere, taotahi, whakamoe, tātai, kāwei, hikohiko, kōhikohiko, tāhū, ure tārewa
2. (verb) (-a) to give in marriage, marry off.
Ka mea atu a Tūtānekai, "Ko tōku tuahine rā, kia whakamoea mā tōku hoa takatāpui, mā Tiki." (NM 1928:113). / Tūtānekai said, "My sister should be given in marriage to my close friend, Tiki."
3. (verb) (-a) to close (the eyes).
4. (verb) (-a) to recite traditional lore.
He tangata whakamoe tau (W 1971:204). / A man who has knowledge of the seasons (W 1971:204).
5. (verb) to recite a genealogy including males and their spouses.
6. (modifier) having spouses included.
Ko tērā whakapapa he whakapapa whakamoe tōna ingoa, nō te mea kei te heria mai anō ki roto i te whakapapa ngā pānga o te wahine, ā, i te nuinga o te wā i ngā wā o mua i heke kē mai i te taha tāne te āhua o te whakapapa (Milroy 2015). / That whakapapa is called a whakapapa whakamoe (genealogy with spouses), because the connections of the wife are being included, and, most of the time in the past the whakapapa descended down the male side.
7. (modifier) sleeping.
I mea ia kia hoatu he rongoā whakamoe i a ia kia kore ai ia e rongo i te mamae, ka pokaia e ia (HTK 17/2/1894:2). / She said to give him some medicine to put him to sleep so that he would not feel the pain and then he cut it out.
8. (noun) marriage.
Ko ngā waha tētahi, ka āta tū ngā niho tapahi me ngā niho pū kātahi ka tino oti tēnā whakamoe tāne, wahine (JPS 1927:352). / The mouth was another thing, an even set of incisors and of double teeth was deemed desirable, and, if all these things were satisfactory, then marriage was assured.
Synonyms: mārenatanga, moemoe, moenga, mārenarena, moumouranga, mārena, whakamoemoe
9. (noun) genealogy with spouses included.
Kia whaiwhai atu au i ētahi atu kupu kua whakaingoatia mō ngā momo whakapapa a te Māori. Ko tētahi ko te whakamoe, arā ko ngā wāhine ēnei e uru mai ana ki roto i te whakapapa (Milroy 2015). / Let me follow with some words naming the types of whakapapa of the Māori. One is whakamoe, that is when wives are included in the genealogy.
kauwhata
1. (verb) (-hia,-tia) to recite old legends or genealogies.
Nōna tētahi hinengaro mau pū ki te kōrero, ina hoki, e toru rā kē ia e kauwhata ana i ngā whakapapa o Ngāti Koura me ōna kaupekapeka katoa (TTR 1994:115). / He possessed a prodigious memory, inasmuch as he recited Ngāti Koura genealogies with all its many branches for three days.
2. (noun) séance, human medium of an atua (or spirit).
Kauwhata: He waka nō te atua, he tangata (M 2006:378). / Kauwhata: A human as a medium of an atua.
Nā ka puta ake anō a Te Nākahi i ngā kauwhata a tōna kauwaka hou i a Hōne Tōia (Te Ara 2015). / Now Te Nākahi appeared in séances held by a new medium, Hōne Tōia.
3. (noun) stage, frame.
Ko tētahi kauwhata i hangaia ki mua mai o ngā tahua kai i toe mai nō era atu rangi, ko te roa o taua kauwhata e rima rau putu, ko tētahi i muri atu he mea poto iho. Ko ngā tini kākahu e tukua ana ki ngā manuhiri i whakairia ki runga ki aua kauwhata (TWMNT 4/4/1876:84). / A frame was built in front of the piles of food that remained from the previous days, the length of that frame being five hundred feet, with another shorter one behind it. Many cloaks being given to the visitors were hanging on those frames.
4. (noun) graph.
Ko tā te kauwhata e tohu mai ana, kia piki ake te paemahana, ka kaha ake te tipu o ngā pīni (PK 2008:243). / What the graph shows is that when the temperature climbs the beans' growth is stronger.
tātai
1. (verb) (-a,-hia,-ngia,-tia) to measure, arrange, set in order, plan, recite (genealogies).
Ka tīkina ngā whetū, ka tātaitia. Ka whakamārōkia Te Ika-o-te-rangi (Tr 7:33). / The stars were fetched and arranged. The Milky way was stretched out.
Synonyms: whakapai, ine, mehua, mēhua, meiha, rūri, whakatātūtū, whātau, kaupapa, tikanga, whakangārahu, mahere, whakatakoto, whakamahere, hoahoa, pēwheatanga, take, whakakaupapa, whakatakotoranga, whakaaro, tītakataka
2. (verb) (-hia,-ngia,-tia) to calculate.
Tātaihia te horahanga o te māra (TRP 2010:264). / Calculate the area of the garden.
3. (verb) (-a,-hia) to adorn, deck out, beautify.
Kātahi te tamāhine ka tahuri ki te tātai i a ia, nā ka heru i a ia, nā ka rākei i a ia ki ōna kaitaka, ka tia hoki i tōna māhunga ki te raukura - ko ngā raukura he huia, he kōtuku, he toroa, ka oti (NM 1928:198). / Then the daughter set about adorning herself, placing a comb in her hair, dressing herself in fine kaitaka cloaks, and placing feather plumes in her hair - feather plumes of huia, white heron and albatross feathers, and then she was finished.
4. (noun) lineage, line of ancestry, genealogy.
I te hononga o Tūrongo rāua ko Māhina-a-rangi ka hono hoki ngā tātai nunui o te Tai-rāwhiti ki ngā tātai o ngā iwi o Tainui (NIT 1995:73). / When Tūrongo and Māhina-a-rangi married they united the chiefly lineages of the East Coast with those of the Tainui tribes.
Synonyms: kāwei, kaha, kāwai, kākano, whakapapa, kauhou, kauwhau, kauhau
5. (noun) purpose, plan, tactics.
Mēnā he huatau ōu, he pakirehua kē rānei āu e pā ana ki tēnei tātai whakatairanga reo Māori a te Taura Whiri, kia hohoro te whakapā mai, kia hau ai te rongo ki ngā tōpito o te motu (HM 4/1993:2). / If you have ideas or enquiries concerning this Māori language promotional plan of the Māori Language Commission, contact us urgently so that the information can be spread to all parts of the country.
Synonyms: take, kaupapa, tikanga, aronga, hoaketanga, whāinga, koronga
6. (noun) arithmetic.
E tika ana kia ako ngā tamariki ki te tātai (Ng 1993:18). / It's right that children should learn arithmetic.
2. (verb) (-ngia,-tia) to interrupt, butt in, interject.
Ka kohikotia e Te Pukenui te kōrero (W 1971: 125). / Te Pukenui interrupted the narrative.
3. (noun) genealogy recited in a selective way by not following a single line of descent.
4. (noun) flash (for a camera).
I taua wā tonu, ka pā mai te kohiko o te kāmera (TWK 51:22). / At that very moment the flash of the camera went off.
kaha
1. (noun) rope, noose, snare for catching birds when they come to drink.
Nā, me titiro anō te tangata kua nui te manu ki tōna pua, nā kua tetere te manu, kātahi anō ka haere ki te tāhere i tōna pua, he mea herehere ngā kaha ki te peka o te rākau, kapi tonu i te kaha te pua (Pēhi 1942:472). / Now, one should watch for when there are plenty of birds in his bird tree, and when the birds are fat, then he goes to set snares in his birding tree, the nooses are set in the branches of the tree and the birding tree is full of snares.
Synonyms: taura, rino, kārure, whakaheke, taukaea, rāhiri, pūrengi, tāwai, tāwhiti, koro, kono, kōpeti, koromāhanga, tari, karu māhanga, māhanga, naha, reti
2. (noun) rope on the edge of a net.
Nō te kitenga o ngā iwi rā i te mahi kino a aua tāngata, ka riri, kātahi anō ka whitia te kaha o te kupenga, tō raro ki tō runga, ka hinga rāua ki roto o te ika, ka ngaua ō rāua kiri e te taratara o te ika, ka kainga rāua e te mahaki; nō reira te pūtake mai o te whēwhē, o te hakihaki, o te pātito (JPS 1907:221). / When those people saw the objectionable deed of those men, they became incensed and they reversed the positions of the upper and lower ropes of the net so that the two of them fell over amongst the fish. Their skins were assailed by the spines of the fish, which brought on skin diseases. These are the cause of boils, rashes and scabs.
3. (noun) lashings of the rauawa of a canoe.
Kātahi rātou ka tahuri ki te tapatapahi i ngā kaha o ngā waka, ki te unuunu hoki i ngā puru (NM 1928:143). / Then they set about cutting the lashings of the canoes and removing the bungs.
4. (noun) boundary line (of land, etc.).
Tuhia ngā kaha o te māra (W 1971:82). / Point out the boundaries of the garden.
5. (noun) line of descent, lineage, line of ancestry, genealogy.
kauhou
1. (noun) line of ancestry, lineage, genealogy.
Ka rere koe he kauhou ariki, nā Hinemakaho, nā Rongotehengia, nā Kahutia-te-rangi, tangata i titia ki Tītīrangi (M 2005:110). / You descend from a noble lineage, from Hinemakaho, from Rongotehengia, from Kahutia-te-rangi who was raised at Tītīrangi.
Synonyms: tātai, kāwei, kaha, kāwai, kākano, whakapapa, kauwhau, kauhau
2. (noun) depression, valley, hollow.
Ko Te Heuheu i Tongariro te matāpuna, kei reira pea te toka i patukia e te taniwha i pipī mai ai ko Waikato. Ka ngaki mai i waenganui o Taupō, ka tītaha mai i a Te Arawa, kātahi ka kōpikopiko, ka whati, ka mārō, ka whakawiri, ka miri i te whenua, i te rākau me te kohikohi haere i ngā awa ririki, i ngā awa nunui i ngā rukenga o ngā repo. Tae rawa ake ki Ngāruawāhia ka tomo mai a Waipa, nā reira nei i whakahiato mai ngā wairere o ngā whāwhārua o Maniapoto (TAH 17:16). / Te Heuheu at Tongariro has the source, where the taniwha smote a rock and out of it gushed forth the Waikato river to make for itself a path through Lake Taupō. Eschewing Te Arawa territory, it gathers in the tributaries until at Ngāruawāhia it is joined by the Waipā, which in its turn has gathered in all the tributaries of the valleys of Maniapoto.
4. (noun) genealogy tracing descent from a female ancestor.
Ko te whāwhārua e kōrero ana mō te tipuna wahine, whakapapa mai koe i te tipuna wahine. Ka whakaheke haere mai koe i te tipuna wahine, he whāwhārua te ingoa o tērā whakapapa (Milroy 2015). / The whāwhārua genealogy is talking about the female ancestor, where you trace descent from the female ancestor. You descend from the female ancestor, and the name of that type of whakapapa is whāwhārua.
2. (adjective) be selective in reciting genealogy - by not following a single line of descent.
He āhua hikohiko te whakapapa nei (W 1971:50). / This genealogy is somewhat selective and does not follow a single line of descent.
See also kōhikohiko, whakapapa
3. (modifier) random, moving from one thing to another, picking and choosing.
Ko te tātai hikohiko, te āhua hikohiko rānei he whakapapa poto e whakatakoto ana i ētahi tīpuna rongonui (Te Ara 2015). / 'Tātai hikohiko' or 'āhua hikohiko' are short genealogies setting out some famous ancestors.
Synonyms: tupurangi
4. (noun) movement, reflex.
Synonyms: kahuki, whakanekeneke, korikori, whakaoreore, whakatakataka, nukunuku, nekehanga, kori
aho
1. (noun) fishing line, cord, string, line, medium for an atua in divination.
Pupuri tonu tētahi ringa ki te aho kia mau tonu ai te pōro i te taha o te kānara, ko te matikara o tētahi ringa hei āta koropana i te pōro kia āta takahurihuri mārire ai (TWMNT 5/6/1877). / Hold the string with one hand so that the ball is beside the candle and with a finger of the other hand carefully flick the ball so that it slowly revolves.
2. (noun) weft, woof - cross-threads of weaving or a mat.
Whatua mai te aho kia kāwitiwiti, kia kātoatoa mō te oti wawe, e hine! (TTT 1/4/1929:s178) / For an earlier completion, weave the cross threads so that they taper and contract, girl!
3. (noun) line of descent, genealogy.
I heke iho a Tini i te aho ariki o tōna tupuna, o Tūhuru o Te Tai Poutini, me tana pānga anō hoki ki a Ngāti Toa o Porirua (TTR 1998:216). / Tini was descended by the senior line from her ancestor Tūhuru of Westland, and was also related to Ngāti Toa of Porirua.
4. (noun) chord (maths).
He rārangi tōtika te aho e hono ana i ētahi pūwāhi e rua i te paenga o tētahi porowhita (TRP 2010:94). / The chord is a straight line joining two points on the circumference of a circle (TRP 2010:94).
5. (noun) sine (maths) - for an angle, the ratio of the length of the side that is opposite that angle to the length of the longest side of the triangle.
Ko te aho he ōwehenga e hono ana i tētahi koki o te tapatoru hāngai ki te tāroa me te tapa tauaro (TRP 2010:94). / The sine is a ratio which connects an angle of a right-angled triangle with the opposite side and the hypotenuse (TRP 2010:94).
tohunga
1. (verb) to be expert, proficient, adept.
Nō waenganui o te tekau tau atu i 1920, i reira tonu a ia e tohunga ana, e noho kaitiaki ana (TTR 1996:159). / In the mid 1920s he was still active there as a tohunga and guardian.
Synonyms: kaiaka, ringa rehe, Kei a ... mō te ..., matatau
2. (noun) skilled person, chosen expert, priest, healer - a person chosen by the agent of an atua and the tribe as a leader in a particular field because of signs indicating talent for a particular vocation. Those who functioned as priests were known as tohunga ahurewa. They mediated between the atua and the tribe, gave advice about economic activities, were experts in propitiating the atua with karakia and were experts in sacred lore, spiritual beliefs, traditions and genealogies of the tribe. Tohunga mākutu, or tohunga whaiwhaiā, specialised in the occult and casting evil spells. Those chosen to specialise in carving are tohunga whakairo, in tattooing are tohunga tā moko, in astrology are tohunga kōkōrangi, in composing songs are tohunga tito waiata, in canoe making are tohunga tārai waka, in rituals are tohunga karakia, etc. Tohunga were trained in a traditional whare wānanga or by another tohunga.
(Te Māhuri Textbook (Ed. 2): 122-123;)
Ki te kore he kai, kua riro mā tētahi o ngā tohunga e karakia, kua rere mai he kai ki runga ki te waka. He ika, he manu me ētahi atu tūmomo kai mata (HP 1991:9). / If there was no food, one of the tohunga would say a ritual chant and food would fly onto the vessel - fish, birds and other types of raw food.
Me puta i a mātou tētahi kupu whakaatu mō ngā tohunga Māori o mua, mō ō mātou hoa Pākehā hoki kia mārama ai rātou ki te āhua o ērā tū tāngata. Arā, i te takiwā e mana ana ngā mahi mākutu he tino tangata te tangata tohunga i ngā kāinga Māori katoa atu, he tangata whai mana ia. He tangata ia e whakanuia ana, e manaakitia ana e te tangata katoa atu; ka kore i te aroha ki tōna tinana, he wehi pea ki tōna mana i pēnā ai. He atua ana kaimahi, arā ko ngā wairua o ētahi o ana tamariki kua mate atu, ōna whanaunga kē atu rānei, ā e rongo tonu ana aua atua ki āna tono. Ki te whakaaro a te tangata e whai mana ana aua atua ki te oneone, ki te rangi, ki te ahi, ki te wai, ki ngā tinana hoki me ngā tikanga katoa atu o te tangata. Nō konei ka pā he mate ki te tangata kia kīia tonutia he atua e ngau ana i a ia, he mea unga nā tētahi tangata mauāhara ki a ia. E kore e kimihia māriretia tōna take noa iho o te mate; engari ka kīia tonutia he atua kua uru ki te tinana o te tangata kua pāngia e te mate, ā e kore e taea te pei noa iho, me karakia anō e taea ai, kātahi ka tīkina te tohunga māna e mahi. Ehara i te mea he mahi whakaora anake te mahi a te tohunga, engari he kaha anō tōna ki te whakapā he mate ki te tangata, ki te mahi noa atu hoki i ētahi mahi whakamīharo nui, i runga i te kaha o ōna atua. Ka hiahia te tangata kia mate tōna hoariri, nā me tiki ia i tētahi wāhi o te kahu, tētahi o ngā huruhuru rānei o te māhunga, o taua tangata, tētahi mea noa atu rānei kua pā ki te tinana o taua tangata, arā o tōna hoariri, ka mutu ka mauria taua mea ki te tohunga hei whāngai hau; ā (ki te mea ka rahi he utu māna) ka karakiatia taua mea e te tohunga, kātahi ka werohia te tangata rā e ngā atua o te tohunga, ka nohoia rānei tōna tinana e aua atua, ka mate hoki ia, ka hemo rawa atu, arā ki te kore ia e kite i tētahi tohunga kaha rawa kia ripaia tōna mate; kātahi ka hoki mai ki te kai i a ia ngā atua o te tohunga nāna nei i mākutu te tangata e mate ana - he mea tāiro hoki (TWMNT 14/12/1875:294). / We must express a few words about the ancient Māori tohunga, and for our Pākehā friends so that they understand the nature of those kinds of people. At the time when witchcraft was prevailed, the tohunga was an important person in every Māori village. He was a person of prestige, was honoured and treated with consideration, if not for love of him as a person, then perhaps from fear of his power. His workers were atua, namely the spirits of some of his children who had died, or some near relations, and those atua heeded his requests. People considered that those atua had power over the earth, the heavens, fire, and water, as well as over the body and affairs of people. And so when a person became sick it was ascribed to an atua, instigated against him/her by someone bearing ill will. They would not search for any material cause of the disease; but would immediately attribute it to an atua, and it could not be ejected except by ritual chants, so then the tohunga were fetched to do his work. The tohunga could not only heal, but could also inflict diseases on someone, and perform amazing deeds through the power of his atua. When someone wanted to destroy his enemy, he needed to procure a portion of his garment, or a hair of his head, or something that had been in contact with that person's body, that is his enemy, and then take it to the tohunga to make ceremonial offering of food to the atua, and (provided the payment was sufficient) the tohunga would perform certain incantations over it. Then that person would be pierced by the tohunga's atua or his body would be invaded by the atua and he would become sick and die, that is unless he were able to procure the services of a more powerful tohunga to save him; in which case the tohunga's incantations would recoil upon himself, and he would probably become the victim.
whare wānanga
1. (noun) university, place of higher learning - traditionally, places where tohunga taught the sons of rangatira their people's knowledge of history, genealogy and religious practices.
Ā, i ēnei rā ka tū ngā kura reo ki ngā kuratini, ki ngā whare wānanga ko te iwi kāinga o taua rohe ngā kaiwhakahaere (HM 4/2008:1). / And these days language learning gatherings are held in polytehnics and universities and the local people of that area are the organisers.
See also whare pūrākau
wānanga
1. (verb) (-hia,-tia) to meet and discuss, deliberate, consider.
Nā te rūnanga i Pēria i whakahaere te kāwanatanga o te rohe, me te whakawā ina te wānangatia ki roto i te whare rūnanga (TTR 1990:321). / The council at Pēria provided local government and also dispensed justice, after discussion in the meeting house.
2. (noun) seminar, conference, forum, educational seminar.
Ka whakawāteatia atu e ia tōna marae mō ngā wānanga me ngā huihuinga mātauranga (TTR 2000:118). / He offered his marae for educational seminars and gatherings.
Synonyms: hui
3. (noun) tribal knowledge, lore, learning - important traditional cultural, religious, historical, genealogical and philosophical knowledge.
Kete tuauri, kete tuatea, kete aronui: Ko ngā kete o te wānanga i tīkina e Tāne i a Io-matua (M 2006:12). / Kit of sacred knowledge, kit of ancestral knowledge, kit of life's knowledge. These are the kits of knowledge that Tāne fetched from Io the-parent (M 2006:15).
Synonyms: akoranga, tikanga tuku iho, tikanga
4. (noun) instructor, wise person, sage, authority, expert, guru, philosopher, savant.
Kīhai i tae ki ngā pūkenga, ki ngā wānanga, ki ngā tauira (W 1971:479). / It did not reach the repositories of knowledge, the wise people and the skilled people.
Synonyms: ruānuku, whakatuatea, hīnātore, mātauranga
5. (noun) tertiary institution that caters for Māori learning needs - established under the Education Act 1990.
Ko te Wānanga o Raukawa kua tū hei whare wānanga mō te rangatahi Māori (Te Ara 2013). / Te Wānanga o Raukawa which has been established as a tribal centre of higher learning for young Māori.
tapu
1. (stative) be sacred, prohibited, restricted, set apart, forbidden, under atua protection - see definition 4 for further explanations.
I taua wā ko Te Riri anake te tangata o Ngāti Hine e kaha ana ki te noho i aua whenua. Ko te mea hoki e tapu katoa ana te whaitua nei, pokapoka katoa ana ngā hiwi i ngā rua tūpāpaku (TTR 1998:82). / At that time Te Riri was the only person of Ngāti Hine who wanted to live on the property, because the area was tapu and the surrounding hills were riddled with burial caves.
Synonyms: whakaihi, rohe, kura, whakatapu, puaroa, taparere, apiapi, rāhui, kōpiri, ārikarika
2. (modifier) sacred, prohibited, restricted, set apart, forbidden, under atua protection - see definition 4 for further explanations.
Kei te maumahara tonu ngā uri o Te Whiti ki te tūruapō, arā, te maunga tapu kei te tonga, kei tōna ātārangi he rākau, e pae rua ake ana i tōna peka ngā manu mōhio a Mumuhau rāua ko Takeretō (TTR 1994:172). / It is remembered by Te Whiti's descendants, namely that there is a sacred mountain to the south and in its shadow there is a tree with a branch and on this branch are two birds of knowledge, Mumuhau and Takaretō.
3. (modifier) holy - an adaptation of the original meaning for the Christian concept of holiness and sanctity.
Otiia hei minita anō rātou i roto i tōku wāhi tapu, hei tiaki i ngā kūwaha o te whare, hei minita ki te whare (PT Ehekiera 44:11). / Yet they shall be ministers in my sanctuary, having charge at the gates of the house, and ministering to the house.
4. (noun) restriction, prohibition - a supernatural condition. A person, place or thing is dedicated to an atua and is thus removed from the sphere of the profane and put into the sphere of the sacred. It is untouchable, no longer to be put to common use. The violation of tapu would result in retribution, sometimes including the death of the violator and others involved directly or indirectly. Appropriate karakia and ceremonies could mitigate these effects. Tapu was used as a way to control how people behaved towards each other and the environment, placing restrictions upon society to ensure that society flourished. Making an object tapu was achieved through rangatira or tohunga acting as channels for the atua in applying the tapu. Members of a community would not violate the tapu for fear of sickness or catastrophe as a result of the anger of the atua. Intrinsic, or primary, tapu are those things which are tapu in themselves. The extensions of tapu are the restrictions resulting from contact with something that is intrinsically tapu. This can be removed with water, or food and karakia. A person is imbued with mana and tapu by reason of his or her birth. High-ranking families whose genealogy could be traced through the senior line from the atua were thought to be under their special care. It was a priority for those of ariki descent to maintain mana and tapu and to keep the strength of the mana and tapu associated with the atua as pure as possible. People are tapu and it is each person's responsibility to preserve their own tapu and respect the tapu of others and of places. Under certain situations people become more tapu, including women giving birth, warriors travelling to battle, men carving (and their materials) and people when they die. Because resources from the environment originate from one of the atua, they need to be appeased with karakia before and after harvesting. When tapu is removed, things become noa, the process being called whakanoa. Interestingly, tapu can be used as a noun or verb and as a noun is sometimes used in the plural. Noa, on the other hand, can not be used as a noun.
(Te Kōhure Textbook (Ed. 2): 237-240; Te Kōhure Video Tapes (Ed. 1): 6;)
Kāore he kai maoa o runga i tēnei waka, i a Tākitimu, nā te tapu. He kai mata anake (HP 1991:9). / There was no cooked food on this canoe, on Tākitimu, because it was tapu. There was only raw food.
Ko tēnei i muri nei he karakia whakahorohoro i ngā tapu o ngā tāngata (TWMNT 3/4/1872:58). / The following is a ritual chant to remove the tapu of people.
See also rāhui
Synonyms: poropeihana, apiapi, aukatinga, here, kōpiri, rāhui
kai mārō
1. (noun) esoteric lore - a figurative term for the sacred rites, karakia, tribal history, genealogies, philosophies and other knowledge taught in the traditional whare wānanga.
Ka whāngaia a Tamarau ki ngā kai mārō, ki ngā tātai kōrero me ngā tikanga a tōna iwi (TTR 1994:113). / Tamarau was taught the esoteric lore, history and traditions of his people.
