wāhi tapu
1. (noun) sacred place, sacred site - a place subject to long-term ritual restrictions on access or use, e.g. a burial ground, a battle site or a place where tapu objects were placed.
Kua tae mai te pitihana a Meiha Te Wheoro ki te Pāremata nei, e tono ana taua pitihana, kia whakapeaua kētia te ara mō te rerewei, i te wāhi tapu i Taupiri, i Waikato (TW 4/11/1876:401). / Major Te Wheoro's petition has reached this Parliament requesting that the route for the railway be diverted away from the sacred place at Taupiri, in Waikato.
Synonyms: ahumairangi
