2. (adjective) optical.
whatu
1. (noun) eye, pupil of the eye, anchor, kernel (of fruit).
Ina rā, te pūhutihuti me te mā o ngā makawe, te kikorangi o ngā whatu, te tāroaroa o te hanga, te paipa i te waha, he pāhau te kanohi, me tana kāmeta mau haere tonu e pūhia ana e te hau kaha o Pōneke (TTR 1996:188). / Tall, bearded, with a shock of white hair and blue eyes, pipe in mouth, ever-present scarf flicking about in Wellington's stiffer breezes, he was instantly recognisable (DNZB 1996:493).
Synonyms: kau o te kanohi
2. (noun) hailstone, hail.
Nō te 10 o ngā rā o te marama nei i te rua o ngā hāora o te awatea, ka ua tētahi ua, 10 meneti i ua ai. Kātahi ka rere he whatu (he nganga ki ētahi reo) (TKO 1/11/1917:9). / On the 10th of this month at 2 pm, it rained for 10 minutes. Then some hail fell.
3. (noun) initiation stone - a stone swallowed by the pupil (tauira) during his initiation as a tohunga.
Ko te whatu he kōhatu, ko te kōhatu, arā ko te hira o te hua rākau, o te karaka, etc. Ko te whatu e whāngaitia ana ki te tauira ako i te mahi tohunga; ka waiho hei ingoa mō te tauira (M 2006:198). / The 'whatu' is a stone and 'kōhatu' is the used for the abundance of fruit, of the karaka tree, etc. A stone (whatu) was fed to the scholar in priestly activities; and as a result it was used as a name for the scholar.
4. (noun) stone.
Ko te whatu i te pou tuarongo te wāhi tapu, ko te Kura a Tangaroa, he kōwhatu āhua pūwhero nei, he kōwhatu nō te kei o 'Kurahaupō' (JPS 1925:307). / The stone deposited at the rear post of the house marked the tapu spot and it was the Kura a Tangaroa. It was a reddish stone, being a stone belonging to the stern of 'Kurahaupō'.
5. (noun) rāhui stone - a stone invested by the tohunga with powers for rendering a rāhui effective. Karakia are recited and the whatu is hidden away from the pou rāhui.
whatu
1. (verb) (-a) to weave (garments, baskets, etc.), knit.
Whatua mai te aho kia kāwitiwiti, kia kātoatoa mō te oti wawe, e hine! (TTT 1/4/1929:s178) / For an earlier completion, weave the cross threads so that they taper and contract, girl!
Synonyms: nitiniti
2. (noun) finger-weaving, fibre-weaving.
Nā te mate haere o ana kanohi, pāngia ake hoki e te kaikōiwi, ka uaua tana whakaoti i te whatu manganga (TTR 2000:76). / Failing eyesight and arthritis made it difficult for her to complete intricate weaving.
āpōpō ka tīkaro ō whatu ki Mahurangi
1. eat up for there may be no food tomorrow - an idiom said to a child who hasn't eaten her/his food. It suggests that there may be no food tomorrow in the hope that the child realises he/she must eat.
Pare: Ka rua rā pea tāua e haere ana, kātahi anō ka tae. Anei tā tāua parāoa hei ō haere mā tāua. Rangi: Hei aha māku tō parāoa maroke nā. Whāngaihia atu ki tō hōiho. Pare: E kī! Āpōpō ka tīkoro ō whatu ki Mahurangi (HKK 1999:158). / Pare: We will be travelling for about two days before we arrive. Here is our bread as our food for the journey. Rangi: Your dry bread is not for me. Feed it to your horse. Pare: You don't say! You'd better eat up for there may be no food tomorrow.
whatukura
1. (noun) an order of male supernatural beings corresponding to the female māreikura.
Ko te rangi i noho ai te atua, ko Toi-o-ngā-rangi, arā ko Tikitiki-o-rangi. Ko ngā atua e uru atu ana ki reira ko ngā whatukura, he atua tāne. Ko tō rātou whare ko Rangiātea (TTT 1/5/1924:38). / The heaven where the atua dwells is Toi-o-ngā-rangi, that is Tikitiki-o-rangi. The atua that enter there are the the whatukura, the male atua. Their house is Rangiātea.
2. (noun) stones of knowledge in the whare wānanga.
Kei roto te whatukura a Tāne, a Tangaroa e takoto ana (JPS 1927:354). / Within were lying the sacred stones of Tāne and Tangaroa.
