2. (noun) Polynesian rat, Rattus exulans - originated in Southeast Asia but spread throughout Polynesia and Fiji. Eats seeds, fruit, leaves, bark, insects, earthworms, spiders, lizards, and avian eggs and hatchlings.
Ko ētahi o ngā ingoa Māori mō ēnei kiore ko te pou-o-Hawaiki, ko muritai (Te Ara 2011). / Some of the Māori names for these rats are pou-o-Hawaiki and muritai.
3. (noun) pilferer.
He muritai kai roto i tēnei karaehe (Ng 1993:339). / There is a pilferer in this class (Ng 1993:339).
Māui-tikitiki-a-Taranga
1. (personal name) well-known Polynesian character of narratives. He performed a number of amazing feats. Also known as Māui-tikitiki-o-Taranga and Māui-pōtiki.
(Te Māhuri Study Guide (Ed. 1): 62-63, 73, 82-85, 86-87;)
Kātahi ka kī atu a Māui ki ōna taokete, 'Kaua koutou e kata ki a au ina tomo au ki roto ki a Hine-nui-te-pō.' (TPH 30/11/1911:9) / Then Māui said to his brothers-in-law, 'You must not laugh at me when I go into Hine-nui-te-pō.'
See also Māui-tikitiki-o-Taranga, Māui-pōtiki, atua
tekau
1. (numeral) ten, 10 - originally it meant 20 as it, or its cognate forms, do in other eastern Polynesian languages. Tekau combines with other words to form the numbers from 11 to 99.
(Te Kākano Textbook (Ed. 2): 5; Te Māhuri Study Guide (Ed. 1): 12;)
Kotahi rau e toru tekau mātau i te kura (HP 1991:32). / There were one hundred and thirty of us in the school.
2. (numeral) tenth - when used with this meaning it is preceded by te and followed by o.
(Te Kākano Textbook (Ed. 2): 5; Te Māhuri Study Guide (Ed. 1): 12;)
Nō te tekau o Ākuhata ka haere mātou. / On the tenth of August we departed.
Kāwharu, Ian Hugh
1. (personal name) ONZ, FRSNZ (1927-2006) Ngāti Whātua; academic and ariki. Educated at Auckland Grammar School, University of Auckland (BSc), Cambridge (MA) and Oxford (MLitt, DPhil) Universities. Became the foundation professor of Social Anthropology and Māori Studies at Massey University in 1970. Professor of Māori Studies and head of the Department of Anthropology at the University of Auckland (1985-1993). Chair of Ngāti Whātua o Ōrākei Māori Trust Board (1978-2006). Served on the Royal Commission of the Courts (1976-1978), the New Zealand Māori Council, the Board of Māori affairs (1987-1990) and the Waitangi Tribunal (1986-1996). He was a Aotearoa/New Zealand delegate to UNESCO and a consultant to the United Nations economic and Social Council and the Food and Agriculture Organization. He was also President of the Polynesian Society. Knighted in 1989 and appointed a member of the Order of New Zealand in 2002.
Māui-tikitiki-o-Taranga
1. (personal name) full name of Māui, well-known Polynesian character of narratives. He performed a number of amazing feats. Also known as Māui-tikitiki-a-Taranga and Māui-pōtiki.
Ko te whakamaharatanga tēnei ki te āhua o te whenua i hangā houtia nei e te kāpura a Mahuika, i māmingatia nei e tana mokopuna e Māui-tikitiki-o-Taranga (KO 24/8/1886:7). / This is a memorial to the landscape reconstructed by the fire of Mahuika who was tricked by Māui-tikitiki-o-Taranga.
niu
1. (noun) coco, coconut palm, Cocos nucifera - a tall tropical tree. A term recently adopted from other Polynesian languages.
Kīhai te pōporohua, te niu me te panana i tipu ki Aotearoa nei – he tipu ēnei i mauria haere e ngā tīpuna Māori i ō rātou torotoronga i Te Moananui-a-Kiwa (Te Ara 2011). / Breadfruit, coconut palms and bananas did not grow in New Zealand – these were plants Māori ancestors carried throughout the Pacific in their explorations.
Io
1. (personal name) supreme being - some tribes have a tradition of a supreme being, which may be a response to Christianity. However, Io occurs in a number of traditions from Polynesian islands, including Hawai‘i, the Society Islands and the Cook Islands. This suggests a more ancient tradition.
(Te Māhuri Study Guide (Ed. 1): 40-42;)
Kua whāiti te atuatanga ki a Io anake; koia i riro ai Te Toi-o-ngā-rangi hei tapu. I te mea kei a Io-mata-ngaro anake te mana o ngā atua katoa, koia i kīia ai ēnei ingoa ki a ia: Io-nui, Io-wānanga o ngā rangi, Io-te-waiora o ngā mea katoa, Io-taketake o ngā mea katoa, Io-matua o ngā mea katoa (JPS 1923:2). / All atua-like functions centred on Io alone; thus it is that Te Toi-o-ngā-rangi [the uppermost heaven] is so tapu. In consequence of the powers of all the atua being vested in Io-mata-ngaro [the supreme being] alone, he is called by these names: Io-nui [Great Io], Io-wānanga-o-ngā-rangi [Io instructor of the heavens], Io-te-waiora-o-ngā-mea-katoa [Io the health of all things], Io-taketake-o-ngā-mea-katoa [Io the origin of all things], Io-matua-o-ngā-mea-katoa [Io the parent of everything].
See also Io-matua-te-kore, Io-matua-kore
taonga
1. (noun) property, goods, possession, effects, object.
I āhua kōrekoreko ngā kanohi o te Māori i te kitenga i ngā taonga whakamīharo a te Pākehā, mahue ana ngā taonga Māori, whiua ana ki tahaki (TTT 1/5/1923:4). / Māori eyes were a bit dazzled when they saw the marvelous equipment of the Pākehā, Māori tools were abandoned and tossed aside.
Synonyms: rirohanga, kame, utauta, āhuatanga, hautaonga, hanga, whakakāhore, ahanoa, takunetanga, whakatoitoi, mea, tarawene, tohe, tohetohe, rawa
2. (noun) treasure, anything prized - applied to anything considered to be of value including socially or culturally valuable objects, resources, phenomenon, ideas and techniques. Examples of the word's use in early texts show that this broad range of meanings is not recent, while a similar range of meanings from some other Eastern Polynesian languages support this (e.g. Tuamotuan). The first example sentence below was first published in a narrative in 1854 by Sir George Grey, but was probably written in 1849 or earlier.
E tū ana te haka, ko tō te tangata māori taonga nui tēnei mō te manuhiri (NM 1928:122). / Haka were performed as this was a great treasure of human beings for guests.
Kei ētahi whenua he taonga nui anō te puna wai (TKP 28/6/1858:3). / In some countries a spring of water is a highly valued treasure.
I ētahi wā ka whakatakotoria he mere, he patu pounamu, parāoa rānei ki runga i te tūpāpaku. Ki te pīrangi te iwi kia whakahokia mai aua taonga, ka huria ngā kakau ki te iwi. Ki te huria ngā kakau ki te tūpāpaku, ko te tohu me ngaro atu aua taonga ki tōna taha (RR 1974:21). / Sometimes a mere, or a greenstone or whalebone short weapon was laid down on the body of the deceased. If the people wanted those treasures to be returned, the handles were turned to the people, but if the handles were turned to the body that was a sign that those treasures should go with him/her.
