mihimihi
1. (verb) (-a) to greet, pay tribute, thank.
Kua kuhu ki roto i a Rongo ehara tērā i te whaikōrero, kua mihimihi tērā (Rewi 2005:82). / When they go inside into the realm of Rongo that is not a whaikōrero, that's giving a mihimihi.
Synonyms: mihi
2. (modifier) greeting.
Ko ngā kōrero ‘whakatau’ ki tōku nei mōhio he kōrero mihimihi ki te hunga kua tae mai, he whakamārama i te kaupapa i tae mai ai rātou, he kōrero whakarata noa i te manuhiri (Rewi 2005:67). / I understand, the speech of 'whakatau' to be a speech of greeting to the people who have arrived, an elucidation of the purpose that they have come for, a speech to placate the visitors.
3. (noun) speech of greeting, tribute - introductory speeches at the beginning of a gathering after the more formal pōhiri. Often take place in the evening after karakia in the meeting house. The focus of mihimihi is on the living and peaceful interrelationships.
Ki ētahi e kīia ana ngā kōrero i roto i te whare he mihimihi, he whakatau rānei (Rewi 2005:67). / According to some, the speeches in the house are called mihimihi (speech of greeting) or whakatau (formal greeting).
mihimihi
1. (noun) toru, Toronia toru - an erect, many-branched small tree with branches directed upwards. Alternate leaves long, narrow, thick, leathery and smooth on both sides. Flowers are small and yellowish. Found in the northern North Island.
See also toru
pō mihimihi
1. (noun) final night at a tangihanga when informal farewells to the deceased are made.
I te pō i mua o te tanumanga o te tūpāpaku, ka hui ngā tāngata katoa ki mua i te wharemate whakangahau ai i te whānau pani, ā, ki te whakanui i te tūpāpaku. E kīia ana ko te pō mihimihi tēnei. / On the night before the burial of the deceased, everybody gathers in front of the wharemate to entertain the breaved family and to honour the deceased. This is called the pō mihimihi (night of greetings).
See also tangihanga
tangihanga
1. (noun) weeping, crying, funeral, rites for the dead, obsequies - one of the most important institutions in Māori society, with strong cultural imperatives and protocols. Most tangihanga are held on marae. The body is brought onto the marae by the whānau of the deceased and lies in state in an open coffin for about three days in a wharemate. During that time groups of visitors come onto the marae to farewell the deceased with speech making and song. Greenery is the traditional symbol of death, so the women and chief mourners often wear pare kawakawa on their heads. On the night before the burial visitors and locals gather to have a pō mihimihi to celebrate the person's life with informal speeches and song. In modern times, on the final day the coffin is closed and a church service is held before the body is taken to the cemetery for burial. A takahi whare ritual is held at the decease's home and a hākari concludes the tangihanga.
(Te Pihinga Study Guide (Ed. 1): 80-82; Te Māhuri Study Guide (Ed. 1): 56-57; Te Pihinga Textbook (Ed. 2): 109-112;)
Ka mōhio ana te iwi kāinga he tūpāpaku tō rātau, ka haere katoa mai rātau ki te marae ki te tangi. Ka mutu ana tā rātau nei tangi, kua wātea rātau ki te whakapai i ngā moenga o roto i te wharenui mō ngā ope whakaeke, ā, ki te taka kai anō hoki mā aua ope. Ko tēnei te mahi a te iwi kāinga - he mahi i ngā mahi e pā ana ki tēnei mea ki te manaaki tangata. Ko te mahi a ngā koroua he whaikōrero, he mihi ki ngā ope whakaeke. Ko te mahi a ngā kuia he karanga i ngā ope whakaeke, ā, he tangi. Kāore kē he āwangawanga o te whānau pani ki te manaaki i te manuhiri. Ko tā rātau mahi he noho i te taha o te tūpāpaku tae noa ki te rā e ngaro ai te tūpāpaku ki te kōpū o Papatūānuku...Ka hemo ana te tangata ka uhia ia ki te tapu...Ka haria ake ana te tūpāpaku ki te marae, ka whakatakotoria ki roto i te wharemate...Kātahi ka tīmata te whakaeke mai o ngā manuhiri o ētahi atu wāhi ki te tangi, ki te mihi, ki te poroporoaki ki te tūpāpaku. (RR 1974:20-21). / When the home people know that they have a body of a deceased person they all come to the marae to mourn. When their weeping is finished they are free to prepare the beds in the meeting house for the visiting parties and to prepare food for those groups. This is the task of the home people - carrying out the tasks of providing hospitality. The job of the elderly men is making speeches and greeting the groups coming on. The task of the elderly women is calling on the visiting groups, and weeping. The bereaved family do not have to worry about hosting the visitors. Their task is to sit beside the body right up until the deceased disappears into the womb of Papatūānuku...When a person dies he/she becomes tapu...When the body is taken to the marae it is laid out in a wharemate...Then the visitors of other places begin to arrive to weep, greet and make farewell speeches to the deceased.
See also wharemate, kirimate, whānau pani, pō mihimihi, poroporoaki, pare kawakawa, takahi whare
Synonyms: tangi
2. (noun) sound, playing.
I runga i tana kōhatu a Hinemoa e noho ana i te tangihanga mai o te kōauau a Tūtānekai i Mokoia (TTT 1/6/1927:599). / Hinemoa was sitting on her rock when Tūtānekai played his flute on Mokoia Island.
Synonyms: pureitanga
2. (noun) a ceremony to remove tapu from a new house or canoe.
(Te Pihinga Textbook (Ed. 2): 170-171;)
Ko te tikanga o tēnei mea, o te kawa, e pure ana i te kawa tapu o Tāne kia noa (TTT 1/5/1930:2055). / The purpose of the kawa ceremony is to ritually remove the tapu of Tāne so that it becomes free of tapu.
See also tānga o te kawa
3. (noun) karakia (ritual chants) and customs for the opening of new houses, canoes and other events.
Nā ngā kaumātua o Te Arawa i wewete ngā tapu o ōna whakairo, i karakia te karakia o te waere, te kawa, te toki, te takapou (TTT 1/10/1922:8). / The elders of Te Arawa removed the tapu from its carvings, recited the incantations of the waere (clearing the tapu of the building), of the kawa (calling on the powers to ruruku, or bind together, the uprights and rafters of the building), the toki (incantation addressed to the tree from which the carvings were made using the toki, or axe) and the takapou (incantation lifting the tapu to enable the entry of women into the house and spreading the mat of occupation and use).
4. (noun) marae protocol - customs of the marae and wharenui, particularly those related to formal activities such as pōhiri, speeches and mihimihi. This seems to be a modern extension of the word.
Kāti, nō te taenga mai o Kuīni Irihāpeti Te Tuarua ki Rotorua i te 2 o Hānuere 1954, takahia ana e Heke te kawa, he ruarua nei ngā miniti e hauoraora ake ana tana kōrero ki te Kuīni mō te takoha roera, arā, mō te tokotoko hiriwa (TTR 2000:27). / Well, when Queen Elizabeth II arrived at Rotorua on 2 January 1954, Heke broke protocol by speaking animately to the Queen for several minutes about the royal gift of the silver cane.
Synonyms: tikanga o te marae, tikanga
