taumaha
1. (verb) to be heavy, very ill, serious (illness), ailing, severe, harsh, onerous.
Me te kī atu anō a te kaiwhakawā, "Kia mōhio anō koe, ki te mahi tohunga anō koe i muri atu i tēnei, ka tae mai ai ki te aroaro o te Kōti, kātahi ka taumaha atu te whiu mōu." (TPH 9/11/1904:8). / And the judge also said, "You should know that if you practise tohungaism again after this, when you arrive before the Court then your punishment will be much more severe."
2. (verb) (-tia) to recite the taumaha ritual chant over food, etc.
Ka taumahatia, ka karakiatia, kia noho ai te wairua tohunga ki roto i a ia (W 1971:399). / The taumaha ritual chant was recited so that the tohunga spirit would remain inside him.
3. (modifier) heavy, very ill, serious (illness), ailing.
E whakawhetai ana te komiti ki te kaha o Mohi Tūrei ki te tuhi mai i ēnei kōrero i runga i tōna tuarā, i roto i ōna māuiuitanga taumaha (TP 9/1908:3). / The committee is grateful for Mohi Tūrei's energy in writing these accounts while on his back with his serious illnesses.
See also taimaha
Synonyms: toimaha
4. (noun) weight, heaviness, burden, seriousness (illness).
Ka tae ki reira, kua hikitia e te mīhini kua riringitia ngā waiū ki roto i tētahi taika kaitā, kua tirohia te taumaha, kua tuhia ki roto i taku pukapuka (HP 1991:25). / When I arrived there, they were lifted by the machine and the milk was poured into a large tank, the weight was checked and written into my book.
5. (noun) incantation recited over food - when offered to the atua or for rendering food free from tapu.
Karakia taumaha mō kā umu tapu (MT 2011:83). / Ritual chants for sacred ovens.
