taonga
1. (noun) property, goods, possession, effects, object.
I āhua kōrekoreko ngā kanohi o te Māori i te kitenga i ngā taonga whakamīharo a te Pākehā, mahue ana ngā taonga Māori, whiua ana ki tahaki (TTT 1/5/1923:4). / Māori eyes were a bit dazzled when they saw the marvelous equipment of the Pākehā, Māori tools were abandoned and tossed aside.
Synonyms: rirohanga, kame, utauta, āhuatanga, hautaonga, hanga, whakakāhore, ahanoa, takunetanga, whakatoitoi, mea, tarawene, tohe, tohetohe, rawa
2. (noun) treasure, anything prized - applied to anything considered to be of value including socially or culturally valuable objects, resources, phenomenon, ideas and techniques. Examples of the word's use in early texts show that this broad range of meanings is not recent, while a similar range of meanings from some other Eastern Polynesian languages support this (e.g. Tuamotuan). The first example sentence below was first published in a narrative in 1854 by Sir George Grey, but was probably written in 1849 or earlier.
E tū ana te haka, ko tō te tangata māori taonga nui tēnei mō te manuhiri (NM 1928:122). / Haka were performed as this was a great treasure of human beings for guests.
Kei ētahi whenua he taonga nui anō te puna wai (TKP 28/6/1858:3). / In some countries a spring of water is a highly valued treasure.
I ētahi wā ka whakatakotoria he mere, he patu pounamu, parāoa rānei ki runga i te tūpāpaku. Ki te pīrangi te iwi kia whakahokia mai aua taonga, ka huria ngā kakau ki te iwi. Ki te huria ngā kakau ki te tūpāpaku, ko te tohu me ngaro atu aua taonga ki tōna taha (RR 1974:21). / Sometimes a mere, or a greenstone or whalebone short weapon was laid down on the body of the deceased. If the people wanted those treasures to be returned, the handles were turned to the people, but if the handles were turned to the body that was a sign that those treasures should go with him/her.
