takataka
1. (verb) to fall frequently or in numbers, drop, turn or roll from side to side.
Ka rutua te peka kia takataka iho ngā manu. Nā te kino rawa o te makariri ka taka noa ngā manu ki te papa (Te Ara 2013). / The branch would be knocked so that the birds just fell to the ground. The birds were often so cold that they simply fell to the ground.
2. (verb) to move, walk, range.
Ka whiwhi a ia i ngā mōhiotanga o te reo me te manawanui me te tau ōna ki te takataka haere i waenganui i ngā ao e rua, arā, o te Māori me te Pākehā (TTR 1996:120). / She acquired the language skills and confidence to move with aplomb between the two worlds of the Māori and the Pākehā.
Synonyms: takiwātanga, taupae, tau, taka, whānui, ripa, neke, paheke, panuku, whakakorikori, mū, konikoni, hūnuku, tīkape, onioni, oreore, kareu, kaneke, rangaranga, neneke, ngatē, ngeungeu, oraora, pakuku, pīoraora, heke, nuku, ki hori, hiki, whakangāueue, ngatete, kori, tākiri, koni, korikori
3. (noun) head.
He tāne rou kākahi ka moea, he tāne moe i roto i te whare kurua te takataka (TTT 1/10/1922:12). / The husband dexterous at dredging freshwater mussels will be slept with, but the husband who sleeps idly in the house will have his head thumped. (A whakataukī stressing the value of hard work and a wife's appreciation of a good provider.)
