ahi teretere
1. (stative) flickering fire, unstable fire - a term used when members of a whānau have not returned to their tribal lands to 'keep the fires burning' for three or four generations and their rights have almost been extinguished.
Ko te kaupapa o te kōrero, kia kore ai e ahi teretere, kia kore ai rānei e ahi mātao...Me hokihoki tonu koe ki tōu ake kāinga kia kā tonu ai ngā ahi, me tuku rānei e koe ō tamariki kia hokihoki ki tērā o ngā kāinga kia noho mahana tonu ai ō ahi (Tikanga 1997:70). / The purpose of the story is so that fire does not flicker or grow cold...You must continually return to your real home so that the fires continue to burn, or you should request that your children return often to that home so that your fires stay warm.
See also ahi tere, ahi tahutahu
Synonyms: ahi tere
