ngaunga
1. (noun) biting, gnawing, chomping, masticating.
Nō te ehunga a ngā tāngata nei i te tinana, ka kite iho rātau, ko te tangata nei, he mea i nehua oratia, inā hoki, nō tā rātau huakanga i te taupoki o te kāwhena, ka kite rātau ko te karaihe o mua o te kāwhena kua pakaru, me ngā ngaunga o ngā niho o te tangata nei i te taha o te kāwhena, ko te tinana hoki kua huri, ko te aroaro ki raro (TPH 15/4/1899:5). / When these people exhumed the body they saw that this man had been buried alive because when they removed the lid of the coffin they saw that the glass in front had been broken, there were teeth marks of the man on the side of the coffin and the body had turned so that it faced down.
2. (noun) attack, assault, onslaught, aggression.
Ko ia anake i toa ki te whawhai, ko ōna tuākana i pāpā noa i te ngaunga a Tāwhiri rātou ko ana tama (NM 1928:3). / He was the only one brave enough to fight, but his older brothers were easily overcome by the attack of Tāwhiri and his sons.
Synonyms: tukituki
