parawhenua
1. (noun) flood, avalanche, tsunami - destructive action caused by a natural event such as an earthquake.
E rua rau tāngata i mate rawa i te parawhenua o te hukarere i heke mai i ngā maunga (KO 16/3/1888:9). / Two hundred people were killed by the avalanche that descended from the mountains.
See also tai āniwhaniwha, parawhenua mea
2. (personal name) personification of floods, avalanches and tsunamis - destructive action caused by natural events such as earthquakes and floods. Often as Parawhenua mea, said to be the wife of Kiwa.
Kia mau te taura o tēnei o ō tātau waka, koi motu ka haria e Parawhenua mea ki runga ki te tūāhu o tāna tama (TJ 10/5/1898:7). / Hold on to the rope of our canoe lest it is severed and taken by Tsunami onto the sacred place of rituals of her son.
See also parawhenua mea
