Glossary

hangi earth oven

hapu sub-tribe within a larger tribe

heitiki prized ornament made from pounamu

hui meeting

huia extinct bird once endemic to Aotearoa/ New Zealand, tail
feathers used as prized hair ornaments

iwi tribe

kahu garment

kahu hururu finely woven feather cloak

kāinga home

kaitaka cloak made of the finest flax, with ornamental border

kaitiaki guardian

kākā large native parrot

kākahu woven garment

karakia giving thanks; prayer

kaupapa project

kereru wood pigeon

kia ora hello; thank you

kiwi wingless bird

kōrero discussion

korowai cloak ornamented with black twisted thrums

kuia beloved woman

kuru prized ornament

mana authority, influence

mangai spokesperson

Māori clear, natural, ordinary

marae enclosed space in front of a house

maunga mountain

mere thrusting and striking pounamu weapon

moko permanent decoration of the skin

moko kauae chin tattoo worn by women

moko wānanga gathering of moko practitioners

mokopuna grandchild; descendant

morehu a person who represents the end of an era

ngutu pūrua having both lips permanently inked

fortified settlement

Pākehā European

pepeha instructive saying

pihepihe a garment with pokinikini tags similar to a modern piupiu

piupiu waist garment consisting of cylindrical tags that are 
free-swinging

pōhue a name given to climbing or trailing plants sometimes 
worn during mourning

pokinikini decorative cylindrical tags made from flax strips naturally
rolled into tubes on drying

pou fixed or immovable post, pole, support, stake; expert or
teacher

pounamu Aotearoa/ New Zealand nephrite used for ornaments
often loosely translated as greenstone or jade

puhoi skin of a huia

rangatira aristocrat; chief

rangi pāruhi a face fully tattooed

rohe region within boundaries

runanga iwi organisation

taiaha long staff used for close combat

tangata person; human being

tangihanga funeral ceremony

tāniko decorative Māori weaving technique

taonga anything highly prized

taonga tuku iho treasures of an earlier time

tapu sacred; under religious restriction

taua expedition summoned after an occurrence of a disaster

taura tangata binding relationships

te reo Māori language

Te Tiriti o Waitangi The Treaty of Waitangi

tīwhanawhana swooping forehead lines

tohunga specialist

tupuna/tipuna ancestor

uri whakaheke descendant

urupa resting place

waiata song; poem

wairua spirit

waka canoe; loose association of tribes

whakamīharo amazing

whakapapa genealogy; line of descent

whānau extended family

whare house

whare whakairo carved meeting house

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