Puanga
1. (personal name) Rigel - the seventh brightest star in the sky and seen above Tautoru (Orion's Belt) in the eastern sky in early morning. With some iwi Puanga heralded the beginning of the Māori year.
Tākina mai rā ngā huihui o Matariki, Puanga, Tautoru, ka ngaro Atutahi māna e whakarewa te tini whetū riki ka rewa kei runga (TJ 11/5/1899:4). / The constellations of the Pleiades, Rigel, Orion rise and Canopus disappears and elevates the many small stars suspended above.
Synonyms: Puaka
