ope
1. (verb) (-ngia,-a,-hia) to scoop, scrape together, bail out water.
Ka tae ki uta, werohia atu te kauati ki te whenua, haere tonu atu te whakarui i te kaunati, kua tū; aparia mai ngā wahie ki runga, kua kā, ope tonu i te kuku ki runga ki te ahi; kua maoa (TP 6/1906:4). / When they reached the shore the piece of wood to make fire was stuck in the ground and the pointed piece of wood was rubbed against it and once it started firewood was heaped on top and when it was burning mussels were scooped onto the fire and cooked.
2. (noun) army, troop, party, entourage, contingent - group of people moving together.
I whawhai anō ia me tana ope ki Te Pirirākau i raro i a Pene Taka i Te Whakamārama, i Kaimai, i Paengaroa (TP 8/1901:9). / He and his group also fought against Te Pirirākau under Captain Tucker at Te Whakamārama, Kaimai and Paengaroa.
ope taua
1. (noun) battalion, troops, armed force, war party.
Kātahi ka puta mai a Tawa me tana ope taua o Te Arawa anō i te 7 o Pēpuere, ka turakina te haki mā, te tohu o te rangaawatea (TTR 1990:221). / Then Gilbert Mair and his Te Arawa troops appeared on 7 February and tore down the white flag, the symbol of a truce.
Synonyms: pātariana
waerea
1. (noun) protective incantation - used as an ope approaches the marae of another kinship group.
Ki te tū ake te tangata i ngā rā o mua ka heria ake e ia tētahi tau māna, he pēnei pea i te waerea nei, he tauparapara, he whakaataata i te āhua o tāna whakapono ki te ao, ki te āhuatanga o tōna ao Māori (Wh4 2004:244). / In former times, if a man stood up to speak he would perform a chant, such as a protective recitation, or a ritual incantation to begin a speech, which reflected his beliefs about the world and aspects of his Māori world.
