2. (verb) to grunt, snort.
I ōku haerenga ki ētahi kāinga i te mokemoke, i te manuheko noa iho o te āhua, i te nui o te poaka e horuhoru ana i tahi taha, i te kāhui kurī e auau ana i te aroaro, kāore kau he take hei pupuri i te wairua kori o te Māori i te kāinga, nā, ka mōhio au ki te take i ngākaunui ai te tangata ki te haere ki ngā pāparakāuta ki reira noho ai, he ngahau kē hoki i tōna ake kāinga (HKW 1/1/1902:2). / In my travels to some homes that were isolated, I saw that they were quite dirty, with many pigs grunting to one side and packs of dogs barking in front of you. It's pointless holding on to the lively spirit of the Māori at home, and I know the reason that a person was keen to go to the hotel to spend time, because it's more enjoyable than his own home.
3. (noun) vegetable caterpillar, Cordyceps robertsii - actually a type of fungus. When the caterpillar of some moths retreats underground to start to form into a pupa, preparing to develop into a moth, the fungus starts to grow using the caterpillar’s body for food. As the fungus grows, it forms a shell around the caterpillar’s body, and slowly the whole thing dries out. The caterpillar is slowly turned into a mummy and is dried and preserved in the fungal casing. The fungus feeds from the nutrients in the caterpillar’s body. It slowly grows a small stem through the head of the caterpillar, which is the part of the body closest to the forest floor. The stem grows slowly until it pushes through to the forest floor, eventually producing spores.
See also āwhato
