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Idioms

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Loan words

Historical loan words

kapokapowai

1. (verb) (-tia) to preserve by parboiling and drying (a human head).

Ka kotia te upoko o te tūpāpaku rā, ā, nehua ana te tinana, ā, kapokapowaitia ana te upoko hei mau ki te kāinga (W 1971:97). / The head of the deceased was cut off and the body buried, while the head was preserved by parboiling and drying as a way to take it home.

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Synonyms: whakakapowai

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