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Idioms

Phrases

Proverbs

Loan words

Historical loan words

haka

1. (verb) (-a,-hia,-ina,-tia) to dance, perform the haka, perform.

E kīia ana i te wā e haka ana tētahi o aua matua, ngarue ana te whenua (TKO 30/6/1920:5). / It is said that at the time that one of those groups was performing the haka, the ground shook.

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See also hahaka

Synonyms: whakahua, whakahaere, whakarite, mahi, hahaka, whakatūtū, tapa, whakaatu, whakaataata


2. (modifier) haka performance, posture dance performance, cultural.

Nō te tau 1910, ka pōwhiritia a Mākereti rātau ko tana kapa haka kia taki haere ki tētehi whakakitenga ki Poihākena ki te mahi i ā rātau mahi ngahau i reira (TTR 1996:122). / In 1910 Mākereti and her cultural group were invited to go to a Sydney exhibition to perform.

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See also kapa haka


3. (noun) performance of the haka, posture dance - vigorous dances with actions and rhythmically shouted words. A general term for several types of such dances.

(Te Kōhure Textbook (Ed. 2): 65-69, 72-74;)

Tika tonu mātou ki te whare hei kākahutanga i ō mātou kahu Māori, e takatū ana mō te haka, tā rawa te kanohi ki te moko (TP 1/12/1902:3). / We went straight to the house to change into our Māori costumes, prepare for the performance and apply the moko to our faces.

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Synonyms: whakatangitangi, whakaaturanga, whakakite, purei

hāka

1. (noun) Canadian fleabane, Erigeron canadensis - an annual plant that grows to 1.5 m, with sparsely hairy stems. Grows to 1.5 metres. The leaves are unstalked, slender, 2–10 cm long and up to 1 cm across, with a coarsely toothed margin. They grow in an alternate spiral up the stem.

See also porerarua

haka pōhiri

1. (noun) welcome haka - ceremonial dance performed to welcome visitors. Sometimes leaves are waved as a symbol of death.

Anō tōna āhua, mehemea nei i kuhu ki roto i tētahi ana, e pūkai ana ngā kōiwi o te hunga kua mate, e tangi ā-wairua mai ana, anō rā ko te reo o ngā whakairo, o ngā tuhi, o ngā tukutuku, o ngā pou tokomanawa, o te tāhā, o ngā heke, o ngā pakitara, ngā haka pōhiri a Ngata mā (TTT 1/4/1930 wh / The welcome dances of Ngata and the others and the laments of those women were as if one had gone into a cave where the bones of the people who had died were piled up, weeping in spirit, and it was as if it was the voice of the carvings, painted art, tukutuku panels, central post, ridge pole, rafters, walls crying out.

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haka pōwhiri

1. (noun) welcome haka - ceremonial dance performed to welcome visitors. Sometimes leaves are waved by the performers as a symbol of death.

Ka tata mai te ope rā, ka whakahuatia te haka pōwhiri (TPH 20/6/1905:4). / When that party were close, the welcome haka was performed.

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haka taparahi

1. (noun) ceremonial haka - posture dance performed without weapons. At some stage during this type of haka the men descend to the ground.

Nui atu te mihi ki ngā mahi o te pō, ngā waiata, ngā poi, ngā waiata Māori, Pākehā, me ngā haka taparahi a ngā kaumātua (TTT 1/12/1931:81). / There was much praise for the activities of the night, the songs, the poi, Māori and English songs, and the haka taparahi of the elders.

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kapa haka

1. (noun) concert party, haka group, Māori cultural group, Māori performing group.

Hei ngā ahiahi pō ka akona te hunga mātātahi e tētehi tautōhito ki te haka, ā, whakatūria ana e Te Puea tētehi kapa haka, ko Te Pou o Mangatāwhiri te ingoa (TTR 1996:46). / In the evenings an expert in haka taught the young people to perform, and Te Puea formed a cultural group named Te Pou o Mangatawhiri.

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See also haka

haka whakaari

1. (noun) haka theatre.

Ko te haka whakaari te whakauruuru i ngā āhuatanga o te kapa haka, te whakaari, te waiata, te kanikani me te puoro i te whakaaturanga kotahi (RMR 2017). / Haka theatre is the combining or blending of elements of kapa haka, drama, song, music and dance in one performance (RMR 2017).

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haka a Tānerore

1. (noun) heat haze – shimmering in the air near the ground on a hot day.

Me te mea tērā ko te haka a Tānerore, e wiriwiri nei i te raumati (TPH 31/8/1900:4). / It was if it was the shimmering of heat haze in the summer.

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pōtēteke

1. (verb) to turn over and over, somersault.


2. (noun) haka in which the performers recited their haka while upside down - sometimes said to be a sexual dance performed naked.

Ka mātakitaki tērā te tangata whenua ki te mahi a te ope nei e mahia ana; ka whakatūria tā rātou haka, e whā ngā kapa. Ko te haka nei he pōtēteke, pare ai ngā upoko ki raro, ko ngā waewae ki runga, ka takitakina tā rātou haka (JPS 1928:268). / The local folk watched this performance of the group, and then performed their posture dance in four ranks. This performance was a pōtēteke, in which the performers' heads were downwards and the legs were uppermost as they recited their haka.

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3. (noun) turning over and over, somersault.

Ka rere a Whānui ka tīmata te hauhake i ngā kai; te potonga o ngā kai ka mahia ngā mahi a Ruhanui, koia ēnei: ko te tūperepere, ko te tōreherehe, ko te kai whakatāpaepae, ko te kokomo, ko te tūmahana, ko te kaihaukai, ko te haka, ko te poi, ko te whakahoro taratahi, ko te tā pōtaka, ko te pōtēteke, ko te taupiripiri, ko te mū tōrere, a te whai, a te pānokonoko, o te tararī, a te kīkīporo, a te pākuru, a te tārere, a te kūī, a te kūrapakara, a te rere moari, me ērā atu mea katoa (TWMNT 11/9/1872:110). / When Vega rose the harvesting of the food began; and when that was done the activities of Ruhanui were carried out, which were these: the ceremony and feast to celebrate the storing of the kūmara crop, tobogganing, the displaying of food, the exchanging of gifts between hosts and visitors, feasting and presenting food, performing haka and poi, flying kites, whipping spinning tops, doing somersaults, racing arm in arm, playing draughts, performing string games, playing the pānokonoko string game, playing the jewsharp, beating the time to songs with pieces of wood held against the cheek, playing the mouth resonator, swinging, calling kūī, playing kūrapakara, swinging on the moari, and all those other games.

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kaitaki

1. (noun) leader, leader of a haka.

Ki tētahi, i muri a Mokomoko i ngā kaitaki mau pū o Te Wākana e hari ake ana i te taura (TTR 1990:59). / According to one, Mokomoko was carrying the rope behind the armed men leading Völkner to the tree.

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Synonyms: manu taupua, kaitātaki, kaiārahi, kākākura, pouwhenua, kaiwhakataki, wheao, tumuaki, tumu whakarae, kaiarataki, kaikākāriki, ngārahu, tētēkura, uru, kaihautū, kaitakitaki, kaingārahu, manukura, kaiwhakanekeneke, tātāriki, amokapua, amokura, ariki, ihorei, kahika, tātarariki, poutoko, whakataka, amorangi, hautū

whakarewarewa

1. (noun) haka as a show of force before an attack in battle.

Ko te whakarewa, arā whakarewarewa he tūtū ngārehu (M 2006:122). / The 'whakarewa', or 'whakarewarewa' refers to the 'tūtū ngārahu' or war dance performed prior to battle.

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peruperu

1. (verb) to hop about, perform a war dance.

Ka ara hoki ia matua ia matua ki te peruperu (TP 4/1910:8). / And each division rose up to perform a war dance.

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2. (noun) war dance - leaping haka performed with long weapons to intimidate the enemy. The men leap off the ground left to right in unison.

(Te Kōhure Textbook (Ed. 2): 65-67;)

Ina rūpeke mai ngā waka waihoe ka tū te peruperu a te waka tuatahi ki te tauranga (JPS 1928:177). / When the competing vessels had assembled, the crew of the first canoe to reach the anchorage performed a war dance.

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3. (noun) potato, Solanum tuberosum - a general term sometimes used in the northern North Island, but also used for a particular cultivar.

Synonyms: kāpana, rīwai, pārete


4. (noun) white throat feathers (of the tūī).

ngeri

1. (verb) to perform a ngeri.

Ngaeke ana te whenua i te wā e ngeri ana a Waikato! (NIT 1995:357). / The ground shook as Waikato performed the ngeri!

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2. (noun) short haka with no set movements and usually performed without weapons.

Ko ngā ruri, ko ngā mata, ko ngā ngeri, ko ngā haka, ko ngā karakia kāore ēnā i whāwhātia i tēnei wā (M 2004:xx). / Ditties, prophetic songs, chants, posture dances and ritualistic chants have not been dealt with as yet.

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kaitakitaki

1. (noun) leader of a haka, leader.

Te āhua o aua kaitakitaki me te kakarapiti, ko aua pōhiri me te whatitiri te harurutanga (TPH 15/12/1900:3). / Those leaders looked like male New Zealand falcons and the welcome haka like the rumble of thunder.

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Synonyms: manu taupua, kaitaki, kaitātaki, kaiārahi, kākākura, pouwhenua, kaiwhakataki, wheao, tumuaki, tumu whakarae, kaiarataki, kaikākāriki, ngārahu, tētēkura, uru, kaihautū, kaingārahu, manukura, kaiwhakanekeneke, tātāriki, amokapua, amokura, ariki, ihorei, kahika, tātarariki, poutoko, whakataka, amorangi, hautū

kaea

1. (verb) to lead (a haka).

I whakamātau ia i te mahi ahu whenua, ā, i kitea hoki tana māia i reira ki ngā mahi a te tauira hōia me tana toa ki te kaea i te kapa haka (TTR 1996:62). / He tried farming and there his prowess as an army cadet and his ability to lead the haka group was seen.

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Synonyms: konumatā, taki, matā, whakahaere tikanga, whakahaere, ārahi, arataki, huataki, tātaki, , whakataki, kōkiri, whaitaki, takitaki


2. (verb) to wander, roam.

I a rāua e kaea ana i roto i te ngahere, ka rū te whenua. / While they were wandering in the forest, the earthquake occurred.

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3. (noun) leader of a haka or waiata.

(Te Kōhure Textbook (Ed. 2): 72-74;)

Ko ia te kaea o te kapa haka o Ngāti Porou. / He was the leader of Ngāti Porou's haka group.

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See also kaitātaki

whakahaka

1. (verb) (-ngia,-hia) to make someone dance or perform a haka.

kaioraora

1. (verb) to be threatening, cursing, menacing.

Kei roto te hanga tautoko e pakipaki ana, e umere ana, kei waho te hanga mautohe e kaioraora ana (PK 2008:73). / The supporters were inside clapping and applauding, while outside the protestors were acting menacingly.

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Synonyms: whakahakahaka, pōrukuruku


2. (noun) song of derision, cursing song, venting haka, abusive song - an abusive or belittling song of hatred.

Ka titongia e Topeora te kaioraora mō ngā rangatira o Ngāti Pou (TTR 1990:360). / Topeora composed a cursing song, about the chiefs of Ngāti Pou.

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taparahi

1. (noun) ceremonial haka - posture dance performed without weapons. At some stage during this type of haka the men descend to the ground.

Nā te rau o te poi i ngā ringa o ngā wāhine ātaahua, nā te taparahi, nā te peruperu, nā te reo marae o ō tātau tīpuna, nā ēnei i whakaea te taha ki te iwi Māori katoa (TTT 1/9/1925:300). / The beat of the poi in the hands of the beautiful women, the ceremonial haka, the war dance and the welcoming voices of our ancestors, these fulfilled the part for all Māori.

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arero whero o Kahukura

1. (adjective) The red tongue of Kahukura: an accomplished male performer of haka.

Hīnawanawa ana te kiri i kitenga o te arero whero o Kahukura, / The skin shivers at the sight of the dreaded exponent of haka.

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Synonyms: kaiwhakaataata, kaihaka, kaiwhakatau, kaiwhakaari

aroaro-ā-kapa

1. (noun) front rank of the kapa haka, front row.

E ai ki te mahara ake o tētehi o te minenga ki a Mere e wani mai ana i te whatārangi kia tū ai ki te aroaro-ā-kapa, ki reira haka tahi atu ai me rātau me te puta o te ihi, o te wana (TTR 1998:1). / One member of the audience remembered Mere gliding across the stage to stand in the front row of the haka group to join them in the haka with great excitement and gusto.

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