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.
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
mōhio
1. (experience verb) (-hia,-tia) to know, understand, realise, comprehend, recognise.
Ko tēnei taru, ko te parakipere e mōhio ana ngā Māori, kei ngā wāhi katoa e tupu ana (TJ 2/8/1898:3). / Māori know that this plant, the blackberry, grows everywhere.
Synonyms: whakatinana, huatau, āhukahuka, āhukahuka, kite, mōhiohio, matatau, pūrangiaho, hua, mahara, mātau
2. (modifier) be accustomed, known, skilful, wise, intelligent, clever, bright.
Ko ngā moni kua kohia me whakaputu ki te pēke, ā ko te itarete kia £20 pea hei kawe i te tamaiti mōhio ki Te Aute (TP 8/1900:3). / The money that has been collected should be deposited in the bank, and the interest, perhaps £20, should be used to send an intelligent child to Te Aute.
3. (noun) knowledge, wisdom, clever person, knowledgeable person, expert.
Kāwhakina a Ngātoro rāua ko tana wahine hei mōhio mō te waka nei (NM 1928:99). / Ngātoro and his wife were abducted as experts for this canoe.
Synonyms: mōhiotanga, mātau, mātauranga
2. (verb) to be stunted, puny, undersized.
Ka rehe te tamaiti, ā, ka pūkiki (JPS 1906:21). / The child will be puny and stunted.
Synonyms: kaurehe
3. (noun) wrinkle, fold in the skin.
4. (noun) expert, deft hand, virtuoso.
He tangata te hautipua he nui ōna pūmanawa ki āna mahi toi, arā, he tohunga ki āna mahi, he rehe. Kāore i nui te kitea o tēnei momo (RTP 2015:55). / A prodigy is a person with immense talent in their artistic field, an expert at what they do. Such people are few and far between (RTP 2015:55).
See also ringa rehe
5. (noun) moko marks over the eyebrows.
2. (adjective) be brave, bold, victorious, experienced, accomplished, adept, competent, skilful, capable.
He toa kē ake au i a rātau ki te hī ika (HP 1991:16). / I was more skilful than them at line fishing.
Synonyms: waewae kai pakiaka, tareka, kei a [koe] mō te ..., ringa rehe, Kei a ... mō te ..., riwha, taea
3. (noun) courage, bravery, champion, winner, expert.
See also tiamupiana
4. (noun) warrior, brave man.
Nā reira ka āta whakatahi te iwi me i kore te hoariri e whai atu ki te ururua o te ngahere i tua atu o te pā, kia haupapatia ai e Heke me ana toa (TTR 1990:7). / And so the people deliberately withdrew in the hope that the enemy might follow into the undergrowth of the bush on the other side of the pā, so that they could be ambushed by Heke and his warriors.
5. (noun) male (of animals, birds, insects and plants).
He manu te kōmako; ka tangi ana i te awatea, ka tangi tētahi i konei, ka tangi tētahi i korā; nā, i te pō ka tangi ko tētahi anake, ka kīia ko tērā te toa (JPS 1956:201). / The bellbird is a bird which, when it sings in the daytime one will sing here another from somewhere else; and, when one sings alone in the night, that is said to be the male bird.
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.
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.
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.
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
kanoi
1. (verb) to twist (as in making a rope or cord), twine.
Ko te mironga o te whītau hei aho miro ai ki runga i te turi, whakamākūkū ai a roto o te ringa ki te hūare, kia huri ai te kanoi o te whītau, ka miro (M 2006:114). / The twisting of the fibre into a thread was done on the knee, the palm of the hand being moistened with saliva so that the strand of the flax fibre twisted.
2. (verb) to weave the aho tāhuhu (first weft) of a garment.
Mā te tohunga e kanoi te kahu (W 1971:94). / The expert will weave the cloak's first weft.
3. (verb) to trace one's descent, have authority.
Kāhore he tangata, arā he tupuna i kanoi ki te rangatiratanga hei pēhi i te kino, hei hāpai i te tika mō ngā tāngata o tēnei motu, kia noho pai ai rātou (TP 2/1909:6). / There was nobody, that is an ancestor, who had the authority and status to suppress evil and maintain justice for the people of this country, so that they lived in harmony.
4. (noun) strand (of a cord or rope).
5. (noun) authority, expert.
Kāore he kanoi i kō atu i a Tiramōrehu mō ngā kōrero tīpuna Māori o Te Waipounamu (TTR 1990:350). / There was no authority on the Māori traditions of the South Island better than Tiramōrehu.
tohunga whakaatu
1. (noun) expert witness.
He wā kua puta ake ia hei tohunga whakaatu mō ngā tono whenua, i kōkiritia ai ngā tikanga me ngā herenga a te Māori i raro i te Tiriti (TTR 1996:115). / Occasionally, he appeared as an expert witness on land claims, and invoked Māori rights and obligations under the Treaty.
2. (modifier) expert, clever, professional.
Ko te whai a taua kāreti he whakatakatū i ngā taitama Māori mō ngā mahi ngaio (TTR 1996:277). / That college aimed to prepare Māori youths for professional careers.
Synonyms: ringa ngaio, ringa rehe, ringa whaiutu, mātanga
3. (noun) professional, academic.
Heoi he torutoru noa ngā ngaio Māori i roto i te rautau 1900, ā, ko te nuinga he kaiako kura, he tāpuhi, minita hoki (Te Ara 2016). / However, through the 20th century there were few Māori professionals, and the majority were teachers, nurses and the ministers.
Synonyms: mātauranga
4. (noun) ngaio, Myoporum laetum - a small tree with poisonous leaves and fruit. The leaves have pale, dot-like oil glands which are visible when held up to the light. The timber is white. The small white flowers have purple markings. Found throughout coastal areas of the North and South Islands, except for Southland.
Titiro ki taku pā ngaio ki runga o Moe-atoa (JPS 1908:119). / Look at my grove of ngaio trees on Moe-atoa.
5. (noun) horsehair worm, Gordius spp. - a parasitic worm found throughout the world. In Aotearoa/New Zealand it infests kākā, kōkopu, inanga and wētā. The adult worm is a free-living animal. It is hairlike, very long and very thin.
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
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.
wānanga
1. (verb) (-hia,-tia) to meet and discuss, deliberate, consider.
Nā te rūnanga i Pēria i whakahaere te kāwanatanga o te rohe, me te whakawā ina te wānangatia ki roto i te whare rūnanga (TTR 1990:321). / The council at Pēria provided local government and also dispensed justice, after discussion in the meeting house.
2. (noun) seminar, conference, forum, educational seminar.
Ka whakawāteatia atu e ia tōna marae mō ngā wānanga me ngā huihuinga mātauranga (TTR 2000:118). / He offered his marae for educational seminars and gatherings.
Synonyms: hui
3. (noun) tribal knowledge, lore, learning - important traditional cultural, religious, historical, genealogical and philosophical knowledge.
Kete tuauri, kete tuatea, kete aronui: Ko ngā kete o te wānanga i tīkina e Tāne i a Io-matua (M 2006:12). / Kit of sacred knowledge, kit of ancestral knowledge, kit of life's knowledge. These are the kits of knowledge that Tāne fetched from Io the-parent (M 2006:15).
Synonyms: akoranga, tikanga tuku iho, tikanga
4. (noun) instructor, wise person, sage, authority, expert, guru, philosopher, savant.
Kīhai i tae ki ngā pūkenga, ki ngā wānanga, ki ngā tauira (W 1971:479). / It did not reach the repositories of knowledge, the wise people and the skilled people.
Synonyms: ruānuku, whakatuatea, hīnātore, mātauranga
5. (noun) tertiary institution that caters for Māori learning needs - established under the Education Act 1990.
Ko te Wānanga o Raukawa kua tū hei whare wānanga mō te rangatahi Māori (Te Ara 2013). / Te Wānanga o Raukawa which has been established as a tribal centre of higher learning for young Māori.
tawhito
1. (verb) to be old, ancient, primeval, out of date - not used for people in classical Māori.
Kotahi te whare rākau e tū ana i reira, engari kua tawhito, e rua tekau ngā tau e tū tangata kore ana (TWMNT 30/7/1873:86). / There was one house standing there, but it was old having been vacant for twenty years.
Synonyms: tahito
2. (modifier) old, ancient, primeval - not used to describe people in classical Māori.
Ka haupū te kupenga tawhito ki uta, ki ngā parenga o ngā wai tauraki ai ki te rā, ka maroke, ka pakapaka (TP 1/1/1901:6). / The old net lies in a heap on the shore and on the banks of streams to dry in the sun. It dries out and is baked.
Synonyms: tuaukiuki, koroua, mātāpuputu, waikauere, korokoroua, pūkeko, tahito, tūpakeke, kaumātua, tūārangi, aweko, ahungarua
3. (noun) wise person, expert, experienced person, authority.
4. (noun) age, antiquity, ancientness, oldness.
I te kaha anō o te tawhito o tō māua whare i Taumarunui, ka uru mai te mahi a te kiore ki roto i te rūma o aku pukapuka (HP 1991:267). / Because of the age of our house in Taumarunui, lots of mice had infested the room where my books were.
Synonyms: tahito
