herenga waka
1. (noun) place where a canoe is tied up, mooring, marina.
Ko ngā kaipuke, te huarahi hokohoko oranga mai mō Te Whakatōhea, i tahuna ki ō rātou tumu herenga waka (TTR 1990:60). / Ships, the means of commerce for Te Whakatōhea, were burnt at their moorings.
Synonyms: tumu herenga waka, tauranga, pou herenga waka
tumu herenga waka
1. (noun) mooring, canoe mooring post, marina, port.
Ko ngā kaipuke, te huarahi hokohoko oranga mai mō Te Whakatōhea, i tahuna ki ō rātou tumu herenga waka (TTR 1990:60). / Ships, the means of commerce for Te Whakatōhea, were burnt at their moorings.
Synonyms: herenga waka, tauranga, pou herenga waka, wāpu
2. (noun) notable leader, charismatic leader, influential leader - a figurative phrase for a strong, stable, highly respected leader .
He tangata nui - nui tinana, nui whakapapa, nui mana, nui whakaaro, nui aroha! He whare kōrero, he puna waiata, he tangata mātau ki ngā rerenga kōrero tuku iho i te Pō, he tohunga ki te whakaheke kāwai tangata, he poutāhū nō te Hāhi Ringatū, he tumu herenga waka. He kārearea topa ki tua o ngā rārangi maunga, he kūaka mārangaranga i runga o ngā marae, he kākā i waenga i te marea (EM 2002:232). / He is a big man - large in stature, genealogy, mana, ideas and charity! An orator, a fount of traditional songs, a person knowledgeable of traditional narratives, an expert in genealogies, a stalwart of the Ringatū Church, and a charismatic leader. He is a falcon souring beyond the mountain ranges, a bar-tailed godwit bobbing up and down (seen regularly) on marae, and a leader amongst the masses. (Part of a citation by Wiremu Parker of Ngāti Porou for Eruera Mānuera of Ngāti Awa when an Honorary Doctorate was conferred on him.)
pou herenga waka
1. (noun) mooring, canoe mooring post.
Nā rāua i ārai atu a Ngāti Maniapoto i roto i ngā pakanga maha. Ka rite rāua ki te pou herenga waka ki ō rāua iwi (M 2005:244). / The two of them resisted Ngāti Maniapoto in many battles. Thus they were likened to a canoe mooring post for their tribes.
Synonyms: tauranga, tumu herenga waka, herenga waka
2. (noun) chief, leader - a figurative term for a chief.
Tērā kē te kupu mō te rangatira, te pou herenga waka, e kīia nei e ā tātou kupu poroporoaki ki te rangatira e mate ana, "Haere, haere, e te pou herenga waka." Ki te whati hoki te pou i herea ai te waka, kua tere te waka, waihoki ki te mate te rangatira, kua marara te iwi (TP 3/1910:4). / There is the saying for a chief, the canoe mooring post, which we say in our farewell speeches to a dying chief, "Farewell, Te Pou Herenga Waka." If the stake to which the canoe is tied breaks, the canoe will drift off; similarly if the chief dies the tribe will be disunited.
