hei aha (atu) mā wai?
1. who cares? - an idiom to suggest that the listener should take no notice of what someone else has said or done because it is of no value.
Ka mea mai ki a au, "Hai aha mā wai? Kia tere tonu tō rere ki roto i te awa." (HP 1991:20). / He said to me, "Who cares? Hurry up and get into the water."
Pare: Kāore au e pīrangi tū ki te kōrero, kei kitea taku kūware. Rangi: Hei aha atu mā wai? Nōu tēnei marae - e tū koe! (HKK 1999:77). / Pare: I don't want to stand to speak, in case my ignorance is seen. Rangi: Who cares? This marae belongs to you - you stand!
See also hei aha (noa iho)
mā
1. (particle) and others, and company, and the rest - a word used after names of people, wai and mea, and terms of address, to indicate the inclusion of others whom it is not necessary to specify. With terms of address it merely indicates the plural. It is incorrect to use it after nouns, except when they are being used as a term of address.
(Te Kākano Textbook (Ed. 2): 2, 13;)
