kākahi
1. (noun) freshwater mussel, Hyridella menziesi - a bivalve mollusc which lives in fine mud or sand in freshwater lakes, ponds, streams and rivers. Has a dark, olive-brown coated shell and the inside is grayish-white.
Tōna maunga ko Ngongotahā, te moana ko Rotorua, ngā ika o roto he kōura, he kākahi, he īnanga (H 1992:50). / His mountain is Ngongotahā, the lake is Rotorua and the fish in it are crayfish, freshwater mussels and whitebait.
2. (noun) whale, orca, killer whale, Orcinus orca - a large, black-and-white dolphin with a tall, vertical, sharply triangular dorsal fin in the male and shorter, slightly hooked fin in the female. Because of the orca's sophisticated hunting techniques and intelligence, chiefs were sometimes likened to kākahi, as in the second example below.
Ko te kākahi i te waiata nei mō te tohorā (M 2004:232). / The term 'kākahi' in this song refers to the whale.
Te kākahi whakairoiro o te moana (W 1971:80). / The mottled orca of the sea.
See also maki
3. (noun) mist, haze.
Ki a Te Ātiawa ko te kākahi, ko te kōrehurehu i runga i te moana āio; hei te rangi ātaahua ka āhua auahi mai i runga o te moana (M 2004:232). / To Te Ātiawa the 'kākahi' is the haze on the calm sea which is seen on fine days and looks a little like smoke on the sea.
Synonyms: kōnenehu, haumāringiringi, tuarehu, waikohu, tūkōrehu, pūnehu, kōnehunehu, pūnehunehu, pūkohu, pūnenehu, kōnenehu, tārehu, tuarehu, waikohu, pūrehu, kohu, rehu, haumaringi, au, tākohu
