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māreikura

1. (verb) nobly born female.

Ko Rīpeka Pōmare tana wahine tuarua, he māreikura nō Te Māhia (TTR 1994:204). / Rīpeka Pōmare, his second wife, was a high-born woman from Māhia.

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2. (noun) an order of female supernatural beings corresponding to the male whatukura.

I whakatapua a runga o taua maunga hai wāhi tapu, hai wāhi karakiatanga i ngā tino karakia tapu ki a Io-matua-te-kore me ngā whatukura, me ngā māreikura, me ngā uruao, me ngā rāhuikura o ngā rangi tūhāhā, me ērā atu apa atua katoa o aua rangi (JPS 1927:350). / The summit of that mountain was placed under tapu as a place for the performing of tapu rites connected with Io the Parentless and the whatukura [messengers, etc., of Io] and mareikura [celestial maids], also the denizens of the upper heavens, and other spirits of those heavens.
Ko te rangi i noho ai te atua, ko Toi-o-ngā-rangi, arā ko Tikitiki-o-rangi. Ko ngā atua e uru atu ana ki reira ko ngā whatukura, he atua tāne. Ko tō rātou whare ko Rangiātea. Ko ngā māreikura, he atua wahine. Ko tō rātou whare ko Te Rauroha (TTT 1/5/1924:38). / The heaven where the atua dwells is Toi-o-ngā-rangi, that is Tikitiki-o-rangi. The atua enter there are the the whatukura, the male atua. Their house is Rangiātea. The māreikura are the female atua.Their house is Te Rauroha.

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3. (noun) esteemed friend, respected friend, treasure, darling - a term of endearment.

See also tuhi māreikura

Synonyms: tuhi māreikura

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