2. (stative) main, chief, important, primary.
Whai muri i te hainatanga o te Tiriti o Waitangi, ka whakatūria e Kāwana Hopihana tana kāwanatanga ki Okiato, ka tapaina e ia te tāone matua hōu, ko Russell (Te Ara 2011). / After the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, Governor Hobson established his seat of government at Okiato. He named the new capital Russell.
3. (noun) father, parent, uncle.
Kei te tino hari tōku ngākau kua tū nei koe i te tūranga o tō matua, o Te Wiremu (TTT 1/10/1929:1078). / I am overjoyed that you have taken up the position of your father, the Rev. Williams.
See also pāpā
Synonyms: hākorokoro, hākoro, heinga
4. (noun) division (of an army), company, contingent, the body of the kapa haka.
E kīia ana i te wā e haka ana tētahi o aua matua, ngarue ana te whenua (TKO 30/6/1920:5). / It is said that at the time that one of those groups was performing the haka, the ground shook.
See also mātua
mātua
1. (modifier) first, important, large, must, before others - stands before verbs to indicate that the activity is/was/should be carried out first, before some other stated or implied action.
(Te Kōhure Textbook (Ed. 2): 47-48;)
Me mātua hopu koe i te heihei, ka patu ai. / First, you should catch the chook, then kill it.
Synonyms: hōpurupuru, rawa, me, katete, korahi, tetere, matararahi, nunui, whakahara, mokorahi, pūhetī, kaitā, mātuatua, kūpara, rahi, pūwharu, whakatikotiko, pūharu, pūwheti, tuangea, ruarangi, nui, hira, mokorarahi, matarahi, rarahi
2. (modifier) firstly, first and foremost, primarily - placed before verbs to indicate what comes first as a priority. This usage is associated with a command.
I runga i te retinga ki ngā Pākehā, me mātua whakapai e aua Pākehā te whenua, arā me turaki ngā rākau, ka tahu ki te ahi, ka rū ki te karaihe, ko tōna tikanga whakapai tēnā (TJ 23/2/1899:2). / With regard to leasing to the Pākehā, firstly they should improve the land, that is, they should clear the trees, burn them and sow with grass; that's what improve means.
Aho Matua
1. The philosophical base for Kura Kaupapa Māori education for the teaching and learning of children. Te Aho Matua is presented in six parts, each part having a special focus on what, from a Māori point of view, is crucial in the education of children: 1. Te ira tangata – the physical and spiritual endowment of children and the importance of nurturing both in their education; 2. Te reo – principles by which this bilingual competence will be achieved; 3. Ngā iwi – principles important in the socialisation of children; 4. Te ao – those aspects of the world that impact on the learning of children; 5. Āhuatanga ako – the principles of teaching practice that are of vital importance in the education of children; 6. Te tino uaratanga – the characteristics aiming to be developed in children.
matua whāngai
1. (noun) foster parent, foster father.
Ka mate te matua whāngai, e riro rānei te whenua o te tūpāpaku i te tamaiti whāngai?...E kī ana ahau ehara rawa i te tikanga Māori te whakawhiti kē i ngā pānga o te matua whāngai, ki te tamaiti whāngai...Ko ngā pānga o te matua whāngai, ka heke anō ki ōna uri tipu, ki ōna whanaunga rānei, mō ngā mahinga kai, me ngā taonga hapahapai (TPH 30/8/1902:2). / When the foster parent dies, is the land of the deceased inherited by the foster child?...I am saying that it is not Māori custom for the foster parent's land shares to be transferred to a foster child...The land interests of the foster parent for cultivations and property pass on to his true descendants, or to his relatives. (Statements by Īhāia Hūtana of Ngāti Kahungunu.)
See also whāngai, tamaiti whāngai, mātua whāngai
matua takakau
1. (noun) single parent.
Riro ana ia hai tamaiti whāngai mā tana matua kēkē, matua takakau, he kōingo nōna ki tētahi tamaiti hai whāngai māna ki ana kōrero tuku iho (TTR 1998:185). / He was taken as a foster child by his uncle, a single parent, because he wanted a child to pass on his traditional knowledge.
