Rākaunui
1. (modifier) full moon.
Kei ngā pō atarau, kei ngā pō rākaunui o te marama, e kitea atu ana a Rona, me tana tahā, me te rākau ngaio e tū ana i tana taha (TWK 2:13). / On moonlit nights, on nights when the moon is full, Rona can be seen with her calabash and the ngaio tree standing at her side.
2. (personal noun) full moon on the fifteenth night (sometimes the seventeenth or eighteenth night) - for some tribes (e.g. Te Whānau-ā-Apanui) this night marks the start of the month. A good day for fishing and planting.
Ko Rākaunui te rā ka taka mai i muri i te pō o te raununui o te marama (Wh3 2003:106). / Rākaunui is the day after the night of the full moon.
Synonyms: Takirau
3. (noun) full moon.
Kia pā te rā ki te pae, kia whakatātare mai te marama i runga i ngā pae maunga, kia kī mai te tai i te ahiahi, koia nā te marama tūturu. Koia nā te Rākaunui (WT 2013:17). / When the sun touches the horizon in the evening; when the moon peers over the hills and the tide is at its fullest, that is the fullest of the full moons. That is Rākaunui (WT 2013:17).
