Ko te mate Māori ko te mea i mate i te kēhua i runga i te mākutu a te tohunga. Ka taka ki roto ki tēnei whakaupoko te mate kohi i roto i te whānau, arā: —(1) Whakanoa i ngā mea tapu a te whānau; (2) takahi i ngā tohutohu a te tohunga; (3) takahi i ngā wāhi tapu e mōhiotia ana he tapu nō mua iho; (4) te turaki i ētahi rākau tapu. Ko tētahi mate ngāwari nei nā te kōrero a ētahi i whakanui, tau mai hoki te whakaae a te tohunga ka kīia he mate Māori (TP 4/1907:9). / Mate Māori was when someone became mysteriously sick as a result of a tohunga's witchcraft. Tuberculosis within a family falls into this category, caused by: (1) Treating the tapu things of the family as normal; (2) ignoring the advice of the tohunga; (3) walking on tapu places known to be tapu in the past; (4) and the felling of tapu trees. With the agreement of the tohunga, any simple illness can be said to be serious and called a mate Māori. (Part of a description of mate Māori by Tūtere Wī Repa.)
Ahakoa tonu te tini, te momo hoki o ōna rongoā, hei whakaora noa ēnei i ngā mate Māori (TTR 1998:170). / Although her healing remedies were many and varied, they were for healing Māori illnesses.

Show example

Hide example