whakauruwhenua
1. (verb) to perform karakia to preserve title to land, before entering a tribal territory, or for acquiring land title - often also involves leaving leaves and sprigs of greenery at particular landmarks.
Ehara i te tino noho tupu; he haere nō mātou ki reira, ki ērā whenua o mātou, whakauruwhenua ai, i te mea hoki, he tikanga tēnei nō ō mātou tūpuna iho, arā, ka noho mātou i tētahi wāhi o ō mātou whenua, ā, ka heke te iwi ki tētahi wāhi noho ai, ngaki ai, kia mau ai te mana o ō mātou whenua i a mātou, kia kā tonu ai ā mātou ahi i te nuku o ō mātou whenua, kei riro aua whenua i ētahi iwi kē (TAH 52:43). / It was not our permanent residence; we went there, to those lands of ours, to preserve our title to the land, because this was a custom of our ancestors, that is, we stayed for a while in one part of our territory and then the tribe shifted to another place, living there and cultivating our gardens so that the mana of our land would be retained by us, so that our fires would stay alight throughout our lands to prevent them being taken by other tribes.
