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Historical loan words

whakaau

1. (noun) token of the wairua - left at Te Rerenga-wairua as the wairua travels to Te Reinga.

Ka tae mai te wairua o te tangata, ka waiho tana whakaau i Te Ārai, he rae tēnei e kōkiri ana ki te moana whaka-te-hauāuru. Ka haere ka piki i te puke ki Haumu, ko te whakaau mutunga tēnei. Ka kitea i konei, mehemea he kota he pīngao rānei te whakaau nō te taha moana tēnei tangata. Mehemea he rau rākau tana whakaau, nō te ngahere tēnei tangata (TTT 1/7/1922:13). / When the person's spirit arrives it leaves its token at Te Ārai, a headland jutting out into the sea to the west. It goes on and climbs the hill at Haumu, where the final token is left. When these are seen here, if the token is a shell or a piece of pīngao, this person is from a coastal place. If its token is tree leaves, then this person is from the forest.

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