whakatū rākau
1. (verb) to practise with weapons, show weapon skills.
Ka tahuri atu a Te Whata-karaka ki a Te Iwi-tuaroa, ka mea ko ia e tū atu ki te whakatū rākau, i te mea hoki ko tērā kē o rāua te mea tino mōhio ki te mau taiaha (NIT 1995:359). / Te Whata-karaka turned to Te Iwi-tuaroa and told him to to demonstrate his weapon skills, because he was the one who knew how o wield a taiaha.
2. (noun) weapon skill practice, weapon skill demonstration.
Mutu rawa tona whakatū rākau, kātahi ka tahuri atu ki te iwi, ka puta i konei ona kupu poroporoaki (TTT 1/12/1929:1940). / When he finally finished demonstrating his weapon kills he turned to the people and this as when he delivered his farewell speech.
pūkenga whakarongo
1. (noun) aural skill, listening skill.
Ko te pūkenga whakarongo te āhei o te tangata ki te hopu, ki te tautohu, ki te tātari, ki te tārua i ngā oro ka tau atu ki ōna taringa (RTP 2015:81). / Aural skill is the ability of a person to hold, to identify, to analyse and to duplicate the sounds that she hears (RTP 2015:81).
2. (noun) repository, skill, expertise, lecturer.
Ki tāna, he hua nui kei roto i te taha mākohakoha, whakahoahoa hoki o te Māori i tana noho, tāpiri atu hoki ki ana pūkenga auaha me tana manaaki i te tangata, he painga mō te motu kei te katoa o ēnei āhuatanga (TTR 2000:71). / In his opinion, there was great value in the relaxed and friendly nature of the Māori lifestyle in addition to their creative skills and hospitality for the benefit of the country as a whole.
Synonyms: kaiwhakaako, kaikauwhau
3. (noun) specialist, expert.
He pūkenga ngā tohunga ki ngā momo toi whakairo, toi moko, te waihanga whare me ngā mahi ā-wairua (Te Ara 2013). / Tohunga were specialists in areas such as carving, tattooing, building houses and spiritual matters.
ringa rehe
1. (modifier) skilled, skilful, accomplished, practiced, competent, proficient - especially in crafts. Sometimes written as one word, ringarehe.
Kātahi ka whakaritea anō he wahine māna, arā, ka whakamoea ia ki a Te Urikore (ko Te Taupoki tētahi o ōna īngoa), he wahine whānui nei tōna mōhio ki ngā tikanga me ngā kōrero tuku iho a Ngāi Tūhoe – me te aha – he wahine ringa rehe ki ngā mahi toi o te raranga me te whatu (TTR 1998:196). / Then another wife was arranged for him and he married Te Urikore (otherwise known as Te Taupoki), a woman with extensive knowledge of Tūhoe customs and history and a woman who was skilled in the arts of platting and weaving.
See also rehe
Synonyms: matatau, kaiaka, tohunga, Kei a ... mō te ..., toa, kei a [koe] mō te ..., tareka, waewae kai pakiaka, riwha, taea
2. (noun) expert, deft hand, craftsperson, dab hand, professional.
Kātuarehe: He wā anō whakamahia ai tēnei kupu hei whakaahua i te tangata, ā, e tohu ana he nui ōna pūmanawa, he ringarehe rānei, he tangata rānei kua puta tōna rongo (HKK 1999:30). / Kātuarehe: At other times this word is used to show what a person is like, and to indicate that she has many talents, or skills, or is a person who has become famous.
Synonyms: ringa ngaio, mātanga, ngaio, ringa whaiutu
2. (noun) student, pupil, apprentice, pattern, example, model, design, draft, sample, specimen, template, skilled person, cadet.
Kei te kōwhaiwhai, kei te tukutuku, kei te tāniko ngā tauira hangarite maha (PK 2008:74). / Rafter paintings, lattice-work and tāniko have many symmetrical patterns.
Synonyms: tauira mahi, whakatakoto, ākonga, tīpako, whakatauira
3. (noun) precedent.
Kāti, ko ngā mahi e mahia nei he mea whakahaere i runga i ngā tauira kua takoto noa mai i mua, me te whakaarotanga iho he tauira ko te mahi a Te Whiti rāua ko Tohu (TPH 8/6/1903:4). / Well, the tasks that were done were proceeded with according to the precedents that have been set out in the past, and with consideration of the precedents in the work of Te Whiti and Tohu.
tautōhito
1. (verb) to be adept, experienced, skilled.
Ka akona hoki e te pāpā kia tautōhito ki ngā momo mahi e ora ai rātou i ngā rā kei mua: ki ngā mahi pāmu, ki te whakatupu kararehe, ki te mahi parakimete (TTR 1998:21). / The father also taught them to be skilled in the types of activities which they would benefit from in later life: farming, animal husbandry, and blacksmithing.
2. (modifier) adept, skilled, wise, experienced.
He tohunga a Te Iki-o-te-rangi Pouwhare ki ngā kōrero tuku iho me ngā tikanga a Tūhoe, ā, ka nui kē te whakanui i a ia, te rangatira tautōhito, te manukura hūmārie (TTR 1998:145). / Te Iki-o-te-rangi Pouwhare, regarded as a paramount chief in later life, was an authority on Tūhoe history and traditions, and widely respected as a wise and kindly leader.
3. (noun) skill, experience.
Nā tōna tautōhito ki te reo Māori, i karangatia a ia ki te komiti whakahou i te pukapuka kupu Māori a Te Hāpata, arā, te 'Dictionary of the Maori language' (TTR 1998:169). / Because of his skill in the Māori language, he was invited to join the committee to revise and edit H. W. Williams’s 'Dictionary of the Maori language'.
4. (noun) person of experience, expert.
Ko ngā tāngata hei Minita mō te Kāwanatanga hei ngā pūkenga, tautōhito, o tēnei momo mahi (TTT 1/12/1931:80). / The people to be Ministers for the Government should be the specialists, people of experience, in this type of work.
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.
2. (noun) trial of skills in a game or a sport.
He rawe a Kurawhā mehemea ka tū ki te para whakawai (W 1971:262). / Kurawhā is excellent if trials of skill in games are held.
Kei a ... mō te ...
1. accomplished, adept, expert, gifted, masterly, skilful, skilled, talented, proficient - an idiom to indicate that someone is accomplished at something.
Kei a ia mō te whakatangitangi i te pūtōrino. / She's great at playing the flute.
Synonyms: kaiaka, tohunga, matatau, toa, ringa rehe, waewae kai pakiaka, taea, riwha, tareka, kei a [koe] mō te ...
kaiaka
1. (adjective) be adept, proficient, skilled, able, accomplished, expert, masterful, practised, skilful.
He tamaiti ātaahua a Arapata, he mōhio ki te mau patu, he kaiaka ki te patu kurī mohoao (TW 6/7/1878:337). / Albert was a handsome boy who knew how to wield weapons and was adept at killing wild animals.
Synonyms: te kino kē hoki, tohunga, ringa rehe, Kei a ... mō te ..., matatau
2. (noun) athletics, athletic pursuits.
Nā te taka i te motupaika i a ia e whakataetae ana, ka whara, ka mutu te kaiaka (TTR 1998:171). / He fell off his motor-cycle and was injured, which ended his athletic pursuits.
3. (noun) athlete.
Kotahi te kaiaka o Aotearoa i toa i āna mahi kaipara, e rua atu i tuatoru (HJ 2015:160). / One athlete won her athletic competition, two were third.
2. (verb) to lie in a heap.
Ka pū te ruha, ka hao te rangatahi (W 1971:300). / When the worn-out net lies in a heap the new net goes fishing.
Synonyms: kāuki, kāike, pūhangaiti, kāika, tihi, putu, whakaputu, pūkei, pūranga, haupū, pūkai, haipū, pīhangaiti, tāwhetawheta, tāwheta
3. (modifier) double, twice.
Tae rawa atu ahau ki Manaia kua hihinga kē ngā tāngata i taua taru; hokotahi mā rua ngā tāngata i ngaro rawa atu i taua mate, i te karawaka, ā, tokorima pū ngā tāngata i rokohanga atu e takoto ana (TPM 2/2/1863:4). / When I finally reached Manaia people had already been smitten by that disease; twelve people were dead from that illness, typhus fever, and I came upon ten people lying there.
4. (noun) bunch, bundle, clump, tuft, anything growing in a bunch, skilled person, wise person.
Ka tango ki te pū wīwī, ka rere iho taua wahine nei ki roto ki te kōruarua, ākina iho hoki taua pū wīwī nei (NM 1928:9). / The woman removed the clump of rushes and fled down into the hole and replaced the clump of rushes.
5. (noun) heap, stack.
Ka titiro hoki ki te whata o te aruhe, o te mātaitai, ki te pū o te kupenga (NM 1928:68). / And he looked at the platform, on which there was fern root and seafood, and at the heap of fishing net.
6. (noun) exponent, indice, power.
Hei tohu te pū i te whakareatanga tāruarua o te tētahi tau. Ka whakanōhia te pū ki te koko whakarunga i te taha matau o te tau, ā, ko tāna, he tohu i te maha o taua tau e whakareatia ana (TRP 2010:208). / The exponent/indice/power is a symbol for the repeated multiplication of a number. The power is shown at the top right hand corner of the number, and indicates how many of that number are being multiplied together.
Synonyms: kōmārohi, kaha, tino rangatiratanga, marohi, mārohirohi, mana, maru, awe, hiko, ihi, awenga, mana whakahaere
mākohakoha
1. (verb) to be relaxed, tranquil.
Ko te mea tuatahi mā te tangata mārena, mā te tangata rānei e tata ana te mārena, ko te hanga whare kia wehe kē, kia mākohakoha ai tā rāua nā noho ko tōna hoa, kia pihangaiti ai ā rāua taonga (TP 12/1909:2). / The first thing for the married man, or the man about to be married, is to build a separate house so that he and his partner can like in tranquility, and so that their possessions can be gathered together.
2. (adjective) be open-minded, expert.
3. (modifier) expert, deft, skilful.
Kei tō pāpā te ringa mākohakoha (W 1971:170). / Your father is skilful with his hands.
4. (modifier) relaxed, tranquil.
Ki tāna, he hua nui kei roto i te taha mākohakoha, whakahoahoa hoki o te Māori i tana noho, tāpiri atu hoki ki ana pūkenga auaha me tana manaaki i te tangata, he painga mō te motu kei te katoa o ēnei āhuatanga (TTR 2000:71). / In his opinion, there was great value in the relaxed and friendly nature of the Māori lifestyle in addition to their creative skills and hospitality for the benefit of the country as a whole.
Synonyms: mauri tau, parohe, aumoe, pārore, pāroherohe
5. (noun) expertise, skill.
Ohaoha ana te whakamahi mai a Mōnita i ōna mātauranga me ana mākohakoha hei āwhina i ngā kaihautū tamariki Māori e pihi ake ana (TTR 2000:54). / Mōnita was generous in using his knowledge and expertise to help young Māori leaders.
6. (noun) generosity, magnanimity.
He mea whakatakoto ngā kai ki runga i ngā amohanga hei whakaatu i te mākohakoha o te hau kāinga (Te Ara 2016). / Food was laid out on these stages to illustrate the generosity of the hosts.
mātanga
1. (modifier) sophisticated, experienced, skilled.
Tāpiri atu ēnei painga ki te purotu o tōna āhua, te pakari o te tinana, me te tohunga ki ngā mahi tākaro, kātahi ai te tangata whakahoahoa, tangata mātanga ko tēnei, ko Hēmi (TTR 1998:63). / These good qualities, coupled with his handsome appearance, physical prowess and sporting ability, shaped Hēmi into a charming and sophisticated man.
2. (noun) experienced person, expert, specialist, consultant, professional, practitioner, old hand, analyst.
Kaua pea ko ngā kupu rīraparapa katoa a ngā mātanga wetewete reo, engari ia ko ngā kupu e hāngai ana ki te hōhonutanga o te punareo kei reira nei ngā tamariki e rukuruku haere ana (HM 1/1993). / Perhaps don't use the flash words of grammarians, but the words relevant to the language level that the children are at.
Synonyms: ika a Whiro, kaiwhakamahereora, ringa ngaio, ringa rehe, ringa whaiutu, ngaio
mātauranga
1. (noun) knowledge, wisdom, understanding, skill - sometimes used in the plural.
Ko ngā kaumātua e kaiponu ana i ngā kōrero e tika ana kia hāmenetia e mātou, e ngā tamariki, nō te mea he kōhuru tēnei i a mātou. Homai ngā kōrero me ngā mātauranga o mua hei taiaha mā mātou ki te patu i ngā Pākehā e kī nei he iwi kūare te Māori. Kaua e waiho mā ngā Pākehā e kōrero ngā tikanga Māori i roto i ngā nūpepa Pākehā, engari mā tātou, mā ngā Māori, e kōrero i roto i tā tātou nūpepa Māori, i 'Te Pipiwharauroa' (TP 10/1907:9). / It is right that the elders who are withholding information be censured by us, the children, because this is a treacherous abuse of custom against us. Provide us with the stories and the knowledge of the past as a weapon for us to combat the Pākehā who say that the Māori are an ignorant people. Don't leave it for the Pākehā to talk about Māori customs in English newspapers, but it's for us, the Māori, to talk about them in our Māori newspaper, 'Te Pipiwharauroa'. (From an article in Māori by Te Rangi Hīroa.)
Synonyms: mōhio, mātau, mōhiotanga
2. (noun) education - an extension of the original meaning and commonly used in modern Māori with this meaning.
I te wā e tamariki ana koinā te mahurutanga o te tangata. Ko tēnā te wā hei whāwhātanga ki te mātauranga (TTT 1/2/1925:179). / During the time of childhood a person is untroubled. That's the time to tackle education.
te kino kē hoki
1. excellent, really skilled, masterful, first-rate, top-notch, outstanding, superb, exceptional - an idiom to express praise for someone, an action or some other aspect. Both or either te and hoki may be omitted, while te may be replaced by ka or he.
(Te Kōhure Textbook (Ed. 2): 77;)
Te kino kē hoki o te tangata rā ki te whakaangi manu aute (HKK 1999:27). / That man is excellent at flying kites.
Kino kē kōrua, e hoa mā! / You two are good alright, my friends!
Ka kino kē hoki te tāhae rā ki te purei tēnehi. / That fellow is top-notch at playing tennis.
He kino kē te kuia rā ki te whatu kākahu. / That elderly lady is first-rate at weaving cloaks.
Synonyms: kaiaka, ka mahi ..., taiea, taumata rau, tapatapahi ana, kōhure, whakaharahara, ahurei, kātuarehe
matatau
1. (modifier) learned, experienced, well-informed, knowledgeable, competent, fluent, skilled.
He tangata matatau tana matua, ā, nāna i tohutohu a Te Rangi Hīroa kia aroha ki te reo me te whiti waiata (TTR 1996:10). / His father was a learned man who gave Peter Buck a love of language and poetry.
2. (verb) (-hia,-ria) to know, know well, be proficient, expert at, competent, fluent.
Ahakoa kāore i matatau rawa ia ki te kōrero Māori ā-kīwaha, i tua atu i te reo ā-tuhi, i kaha pū tonu a Pat ki te whakaū i te reo ā-waha, me ngā tikanga Māori anō hoki (TTR 2000:81). / Although she was not very fluent in colloquial Māori, Pat placed strong emphasis on the spoken as well as the written language and on cultural practices.
Synonyms: mōhio, mahara, hua, mātau, pūrangiaho, kaiaka, tohunga, ringa rehe, Kei a ... mō te ...
3. (noun) proficiency, competence, facility, mastery.
Ki tōna reanga, kāore i ārikarika te matatau o Taiaroa ki te mahi tōrangapū (TTR 1994:104). / To his contemporaries Taiaroa's proficiency in politics was outstanding.
Synonyms: tohungatanga, matatauranga
