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.
2. (noun) God.
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.
Synonyms: tima rerewē
2. (noun) whistling atua.
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.
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.
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;)
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.
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;)
See also atua, Tāwhiri-rangi
