atua
1. (noun) ancestor with continuing influence, god, demon, supernatural being, deity, ghost, object of superstitious regard, strange being - although often translated as 'god' and now also used for the Christian God, this is a misconception of the real meaning. Many Māori trace their ancestry from atua in their whakapapa and they are regarded as ancestors with influence over particular domains. These atua also were a way of rationalising and perceiving the world. Normally invisible, atua may have visible representations.
Ko te atua o te pakanga, ko Tū-mata-uenga. He maha ōna ingoa: Tū-kā-riri, Tū-te-ngaehe, Tū-mata-uenga, Tū-tawake, Tū-whakamoana-ariki, Tū-kai-taua, Tū-kai-tangata (M 2006:122). / The atua of war, Tū-mata-uenga. He has several names: Tū-kā-riri (Tū-the angry-one), Tū-te-ngaehe (Tū-who-tears-apart), Tū-mata-uenga (Tū-who-incites), Tū-tawake (Tū-who-hastens), Tū-whakamoana-ariki (Tū-who-enriches-the-sea), Tū-kai-taua (Tū-who-destroys-war-parties), Tū-kai-tangata (Tū-who-destroys-mankind) (M 2006:123).
2. (noun) God.
E tino maumahara ana au ki taua pō e inoi ana tō mātau koroua ki Te Atua kia tohungia mātau (HP 1991:14). / I well remember that night when our grandfather was praying to God that we be spared.
waiū atua
1. (noun) shore spurge, Euphorbia glauca - a native groundcover plant with milky sap. Generally forms clumps but has a creeping rhizome from which red stems bear narrow oblong blue-green leaves.
See also waiū o Kahukura
Synonyms: waiū o Kahukura
2. (noun) New Zealand gloxinia, Rhabdothamnus solandri - a small tangled native shrub with hairy leaves with rounded teeth and dark main veins. Found in shady lowland areas of the North Island. The bell-like flowers are yellow to orange with red stripes and occur throughout the year.
See also taurepo
Synonyms: mātātā, taurepo, kaikaiatua
atua whiowhio
1. (noun) railway train, steam engine, locomotive, train.
Nā ka kite anō iho aku kanohi i muri i a au e makenu ana te pāwhatitanga o te huarahi o te atua whiowhio haere o te Pākehā (Redemption Songs 1995:277). / My eyes will see after you traces of the broken branches on the pathway of the travelling railway train of the Pākehā.
Synonyms: tima rerewē
2. (noun) whistling atua.
Ko ngā whakamārama a te Pākehā mō ngā atua whiowhio, mō ngā atua kōrero o te Māori, ko te mahi a te Pākehā e huri nei, e panga nei i te reo, arā he 'ventriloquism' (TKO 12/5/1918:8). / The Pākehā explanation for the 'atua whiowhio', the speaking atua of the Māori, is the practice of the Pākehā to transform, to throw one's voice, which is called ventriloquism.
tūtae atua
1. (noun) puffball, Lycoperdon perlatum - ball-shaped fungi which, though solid when young, are full of dust-like spores when mature. Found mostly in pastures and along the edge of native bush in summer and autumn.
See also tūtae
2. (noun) moon thirty days after the full moon.
Kua wātea atu ngā mahi tumatuma, tūātea a ngā kaitiaki o te maramataka mai i Ariroa ki te Atua Whakahaehae (WT 2013:71). / The quarrelsome and blustery activities of the sentinels of the maramataka from Ariroa to Atua Whakahaehae have finished.
awa o te atua
1. (noun) menstrual cycle.
Synonyms: mate wahine, mate marama
Tāne-mahuta
1. (personal name) atua of the forests and birds and one of the children of Rangi-nui and Papa-tū-ā-nuku.
Ko te māoritanga o ngā ingoa o ēnei tamariki a Rangi rāua ko Papa: Ko Tangaroa, he ika; ko Rongo-mā-tāne, ko te kūmara; ko Haumia-tiketike, ko te aruhe; ko Tāne-mahuta, ko te rākau, ko te manu; ko Tāwhiri-mātea, ko te hau; ko Tū-matau-enga, ko te tangata (KO 16/9/1886:6). / The explanation of the names of these children of Rangi and Papa is: Tangaroa is fish; Rongo-mā-tāne is kūmara; Haumia-tiketike is fernroot; Tāne-mahuta is trees and birds; Tāwhiri-mātea is wind; Tū-matau-enga is humans.
See also atua
Tangaroa
1. (personal name) atua of the sea and fish, he was one of the offspring of Rangi-nui and Papa-tū-ā-nuku and fled to the sea when his parents were separated. Sometimes known as Tangaroa-whaiariki.
(Te Māhuri Study Guide (Ed. 1): 40-42;)
Ko te māoritanga o ngā ingoa o ēnei tamariki a Rangi rāua ko Papa: Ko Tangaroa, he ika; ko Rongo-mā-tāne, ko te kūmara; ko Haumia-tiketike, ko te aruhe; ko Tāne-mahuta, ko te rākau, ko te manu; ko Tāwhiri-mātea, ko te hau; ko Tū-mata-uenga, ko te tangata (KO 16/9/1886:6). / The explanation of the names of these children of Rangi and Papa is: Tangaroa is fish; Rongo-mā-tāne is kūmara; Haumia-tiketike is fernroot; Tāne-mahuta is trees and birds; Tāwhiri-mātea is wind; Tū-mata-uenga is humans.
See also atua
2. (noun) general name for the seven nights of the lunar month from the eighth to the fourteenth nights after the full moon - these are generally good days for planting fishing and eeling.
Ko te kōrero whakamutunga anō mō te tino āhua o ngā Tangaroa nei, tae noa ki te Ōmutu, ko tēnei te wā mōmona o te maramataka, e whitu rā te roa (WT 2013:32). / The final statement about the real nature of these Tangaroa nights, right until Ōmutu (the fourteenth night after the full moon), is that this is the productive time of the lunar calendar, and it is seven days long.
Tāwhiri-mātea
1. (personal name) atua of the winds, clouds, rain, hail, snow and storms, he was also known as Tāwhiri-rangi and Tāwhiri-mate-a-Rangi and was one of the offspring of Rangi-nui and Papa-tū-ā-nuku who did not want his parents separated.
(Te Māhuri Study Guide (Ed. 1): 40-42;)
Ko te māoritanga o ngā ingoa o ēnei tamariki a Rangi rāua ko Papa: Ko Tangaroa, he ika; ko Rongo-mā-tāne, ko te kūmara; ko Haumia-tiketike, ko te aruhe; ko Tāne-mahuta, ko te rākau, ko te manu; ko Tāwhiri-mātea, ko te hau; ko Tū-mata-uenga, ko te tangata (KO 16/9/1886:6). / The explanation of the names of these children of Rangi and Papa is: Tangaroa is fish; Rongo-mā-tāne is kūmara; Haumia-tiketike is fernroot; Tāne-mahuta is trees and birds; Tāwhiri-mātea is wind; Tū-mata-uenga is humans.
See also atua, Tāwhiri-rangi
