tapu
1. (stative) be sacred, prohibited, restricted, set apart, forbidden, under atua protection - see definition 4 for further explanations.
I taua wā ko Te Riri anake te tangata o Ngāti Hine e kaha ana ki te noho i aua whenua. Ko te mea hoki e tapu katoa ana te whaitua nei, pokapoka katoa ana ngā hiwi i ngā rua tūpāpaku (TTR 1998:82). / At that time Te Riri was the only person of Ngāti Hine who wanted to live on the property, because the area was tapu and the surrounding hills were riddled with burial caves.
Synonyms: whakaihi, rohe, kura, whakatapu, puaroa, taparere, apiapi, rāhui, kōpiri, ārikarika
2. (modifier) sacred, prohibited, restricted, set apart, forbidden, under atua protection - see definition 4 for further explanations.
Kei te maumahara tonu ngā uri o Te Whiti ki te tūruapō, arā, te maunga tapu kei te tonga, kei tōna ātārangi he rākau, e pae rua ake ana i tōna peka ngā manu mōhio a Mumuhau rāua ko Takeretō (TTR 1994:172). / It is remembered by Te Whiti's descendants, namely that there is a sacred mountain to the south and in its shadow there is a tree with a branch and on this branch are two birds of knowledge, Mumuhau and Takaretō.
3. (modifier) holy - an adaptation of the original meaning for the Christian concept of holiness and sanctity.
Otiia hei minita anō rātou i roto i tōku wāhi tapu, hei tiaki i ngā kūwaha o te whare, hei minita ki te whare (PT Ehekiera 44:11). / Yet they shall be ministers in my sanctuary, having charge at the gates of the house, and ministering to the house.
4. (noun) restriction, prohibition - a supernatural condition. A person, place or thing is dedicated to an atua and is thus removed from the sphere of the profane and put into the sphere of the sacred. It is untouchable, no longer to be put to common use. The violation of tapu would result in retribution, sometimes including the death of the violator and others involved directly or indirectly. Appropriate karakia and ceremonies could mitigate these effects. Tapu was used as a way to control how people behaved towards each other and the environment, placing restrictions upon society to ensure that society flourished. Making an object tapu was achieved through rangatira or tohunga acting as channels for the atua in applying the tapu. Members of a community would not violate the tapu for fear of sickness or catastrophe as a result of the anger of the atua. Intrinsic, or primary, tapu are those things which are tapu in themselves. The extensions of tapu are the restrictions resulting from contact with something that is intrinsically tapu. This can be removed with water, or food and karakia. A person is imbued with mana and tapu by reason of his or her birth. High-ranking families whose genealogy could be traced through the senior line from the atua were thought to be under their special care. It was a priority for those of ariki descent to maintain mana and tapu and to keep the strength of the mana and tapu associated with the atua as pure as possible. People are tapu and it is each person's responsibility to preserve their own tapu and respect the tapu of others and of places. Under certain situations people become more tapu, including women giving birth, warriors travelling to battle, men carving (and their materials) and people when they die. Because resources from the environment originate from one of the atua, they need to be appeased with karakia before and after harvesting. When tapu is removed, things become noa, the process being called whakanoa. Interestingly, tapu can be used as a noun or verb and as a noun is sometimes used in the plural. Noa, on the other hand, can not be used as a noun.
(Te Kōhure Textbook (Ed. 2): 237-240; Te Kōhure Video Tapes (Ed. 1): 6;)
Kāore he kai maoa o runga i tēnei waka, i a Tākitimu, nā te tapu. He kai mata anake (HP 1991:9). / There was no cooked food on this canoe, on Tākitimu, because it was tapu. There was only raw food.
Ko tēnei i muri nei he karakia whakahorohoro i ngā tapu o ngā tāngata (TWMNT 3/4/1872:58). / The following is a ritual chant to remove the tapu of people.
See also rāhui
Synonyms: poropeihana, apiapi, aukatinga, here, kōpiri, rāhui
wāhi tapu
1. (noun) sacred place, sacred site - a place subject to long-term ritual restrictions on access or use, e.g. a burial ground, a battle site or a place where tapu objects were placed.
Kua tae mai te pitihana a Meiha Te Wheoro ki te Pāremata nei, e tono ana taua pitihana, kia whakapeaua kētia te ara mō te rerewei, i te wāhi tapu i Taupiri, i Waikato (TW 4/11/1876:401). / Major Te Wheoro's petition has reached this Parliament requesting that the route for the railway be diverted away from the sacred place at Taupiri, in Waikato.
Synonyms: ahumairangi
whenua tapu
1. (noun) sacred land.
Ka tohe anō a Heke kia mau tonu ngā tika o te iwi me te mana Māori. "Nā te Atua i hanga tēnei whenua mō mātou. E kore e taea te tapatapahi; mehemea he tohorā, kua tapatapahia. Hoki atu koutou ki tō koutou nei whenua, ki te whenua i hangaia mai e te Atua mō koutou. Nā te Atua tēnei mō mātou, ehara mā te tangata tauhou, ehara mā tauiwi hei rahurahu tō mātou whenua tapu.' (TTR 1990:7). / Heke argued that the rights of the people and Māori authority be respected. "God made this country for us. It cannot be sliced up; if it were a whale it might be cut up. Return to your own country, to the land that was made by God for you. God made this land for us; it is not for any stranger or foreign nation to meddle with our sacred country."
2. (noun) dead ball area (rugby).
waewae tapu
1. (noun) newcomer, rare visitor - a person who has not been to a particular marae or place before.
Tohaina atu rā ēnei maioha, ēnei kupu whakamihi āku, a Te Taiti Te Tomo, ki ngā iwi o Te Tai Rāwhiti, arā, ki a Porourangi rāua ko Te Poho o Rāwiri mō ngā manaaki maha i uhia nei ki runga i ngā ope waewae tapu ki runga i ōu marae maha (TTT 1/4/1930:2035). / Distribute these affectionate greetings, these words of thanks of mine, of Te Taite Te Tomo, to the peoples of the East Coast, that is to Porourangi and Te Poho o Rāwiri, for the hospitality bestowed on the groups of newcomers onto your many marae.
Synonyms: waetapu, kōtuku rerenga tahi
noho tapu
1. (verb) be confidential, prohibited access, embargoed, keep holy.
Ka mahingia e ngā kaumātua, e ngā kuia hoki ā rātou mahi katoa, tae atu ki te tunu kai, i ngā rā o te wiki, mutu atu ana i te Hātarei, kia noho tapu ai te Rātapu (TAH 26:54). / The elders did all their work, including cooking food, during the week, ending on Saturdays in order that Sundays could be kept holy.
pae tapu
1. (noun) male orators welcoming visitors on to the marae, place where the orators of the tangata whenua sit.
Ka tīmata ake te ringaringa ki te pae tapu o te tangata whenua. Ko te pae tapu te wāhi noho a ngā kaikōrero, me ngā kaiwaiata a te tangata whenua (TWK 46). / The handshakes began with the male orators of the local people. The 'pae tapu' is the place where the orators and the singers of the local people sit.
tiki
1. (noun) carved figure, image, a neck ornament usually made of greenstone and carved in an abstract form of a human.
Ko te tiki te hei rongonui rawa, ka rite tōna āhua ki tētahi tangata e noho ana me ōna waewae whiri (Te Ara 2013). / The most well-known neck pendant is the tiki, which is shaped like a figure sitting cross-legged.
2. (noun) post to mark a tapu place.
ahi taitai
1. (noun) ceremony to remove tapu, sacred fire associated with the tapu removal ritual.
I te huakina o te tau tāhere manu ka whakahaerehia te kawa kīia ai ko te ahi taitai. Ko tēnei mea te ahi taitai kia ora ai ngā kai, ngā kākano, ngā manu. Ka tunu, ka tāpae ngā manu tuatahi mā ngā atua (Te Ara 2013). / The fowling season was opened with the ritual called the ahi taitai ceremony. The ahi taitai ceremony was so that the various foods, seeds and birds would flourish. The first birds caught were cooked and offered to the gods.
See also taitai
whakanoa
1. (verb) (-ia,-tia) to remove tapu - to free things that have the extensions of tapu, but it does not affect intrinsic tapu.
Kāore ō tātau mātua i tahuri ki te horohoro i a rātau, i a tātau hoki i ō rātau uri (arā ki te whakanoa), kuhu atu ana ō tātau mātua me tātau hoki me ā rātau tamariki ki roto i ngā whakahaere o ngā atua hōu, me ō rātau nei tikanga, tikanga noa (TPH 15/12/1900:1). / Our parents did not set about removing the tapu restrictions from them, and from us, and their descendants (that is to make us free from tapu). Our parents, us and their children entered into the procedures of the new gods and their customs which are free from tapu.
Synonyms: pure
2. (verb) (-tia) to invalidate, extinguish - used particularly in referring to land titles.
Ko ngā Karauna Karāti katoa e whakaputaina ana i runga i te mana o tēnei Ture, e kore e taea te whakanoa e te Kuīni, e tētahi atu tangata rānei (RT 2013:111). / All Crown Grants issued on the authority of this Law can not be invalidated by the Queen or anybody else.
3. (modifier) tapu removing.
I puta anō ōna rongo poropiti; i a ia hoki ngā karakia whakanoa i ngā taonga me ngā wāhi tapu (TTR 1990:228). / He gained a reputation as a prophet, and he carried out tapu removing ceremonies from objects and tapu places.
4. (noun) removal of tapu.
Ko tēnei mea, ko te waiata ki a mātou, ehara i te kīnaki. Kāore! He mahi nui tōna. Ko taua mahi rā, ko te whakanoa atu i te tapu o te kaikōrero (TWK 46:17). / To us the song is not a relish. No! It has an important function. Its purpose is the removal of the tapu of the speaker.
hara
1. (verb) to be in violation of a tapu, transgress, commit a sin, violate the law, offend - in traditional society the word was used primarily for an offence from the violation of tapu. With the introduction of Christianity, the meaning widened to include sin and deliberate offending, and then offending in violation of rules, regulations and the law.
I mea a Pārao kua hara ia (TP 1/7/1900:4) / Pharaoh said that he had transgressed.
Synonyms: muheni, muhani, tunuhuruhuru
2. (modifier) offending, criminal.
Tēnei hoki tētahi take whawhai, ko te kaiponu i te tangata hara (TMT 15/7/1861:12). / This is also a reason for war, the refusal to give up a criminal.
Synonyms: tutū
3. (noun) sin, foul, crime, offence, transgression, wrongdoing, gaffe, infringement, fault, problem.
I te 17 o Hune nei, i whakawākia rāua i te Kōti Matua mō te hara tuhituhi poka noa i ngā ingoa tāngata kē ki ngā tieki tono moni i ngā pēke, ā whakataua ana e te kōti kia kotahi tau mō tētahi, mō tētahi ki te whare herehere (TWMA 20/6/1884:3). / On 17th June they went on trial in the Supreme Court for writing fraudulent cheques and were each sentenced by the court to one year in prison.
Synonyms: kino, kinonga, pōraruraru, uaua, whakararuraru, whakararu, māniania, rararu, raruraru, raru, mate, kūrakuraku, pōrahurahu
pure
1. (verb) (-a,-tia) to ritually remove tapu.
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.
Synonyms: whakanoa
2. (noun) ceremony to remove tapu.
Nō te taenga mai ki konei kātahi ka karangatia te hui, arā te hākari, te pure mō taua hahunga mai (TWMNT 19/6/1872:85). / On arriving here the meeting was called, that is the feast and the ceremony for the uplifting of the bones.
3. (noun) oven in which food was cooked as part of the pure ceremony.
Ka whakaritea e te tohunga he tūmau hei tahu he umu te ingoa he 'pure' (TP 8/1903:6). / The tohunga arranged for a cook to light an oven, which was called a 'pure'.
4. (noun) rites to lift the tapu at the Ringatū harvest to ensure a plentiful crop, religious purification rites - designed to neutralise tapu, using water and karakia, or to propitiate the atua, using cooked food.
E rua anō ngā rā nui o te tau o te Ringatū i hiwaia e ia, arā, ko te huamata i te tahi o Hune me te pure i te tahi o Noema; he whakatō kai te tikanga o te huamata, ā, kia nui ai te hua o te kai i meinga ai te pure (TTR 1998:27). / There are two important days of the Ringatū faith that he focused on, namely the huamata on the first of June and the pure on the first of November; the huamata is when the planting rites are held, and the pure is so that the harvest is plentiful.
