ahi tere
1. (noun) 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.
Ki te whakarērea te whenua ka mātao te ahi, ka ngaro ngā tika ki te whenua. Hei te tīmatanga ka iti te ahi, kīia ai he ahi tere. Ka tae ana ki te wā ka weto te ahi, ko te ahi mātaotao tērā (Te Ara 2013). / The legitimacy of any claim diminished over time if the land was abandoned and the fire allowed to die out. Initially, the right started to wane and became ahi tere (unstable fire). Eventually the fire was extinguished which was ahi mātaotao (cold fire).
See also ahi tahutahu
Synonyms: ahi teretere
