tūnui
1. (noun) used in expressions referring to a comet or meteor regarded as the visible representation of an atua, e.g. tūnui a te ika, tūnui ki te pō, tūnui me te pō and tūnui a rangi.
Ko ngā kōrero o mua he whakakitenga nā ngā atua te auahiroa, te unahiroa a Tūnui-i-te-rangi rānei (TTR 1990:99). / Comets and meteors had been interpreted in earlier times as manifestations of atua.
Moe tonu iho kua kite i te tohu o te mate, i a Tūnui‑o-te-ika e haere mai ana ki te kokoti i a ia (TTR 1994:148). / When he fell asleep he saw the harbinger of death, Tūnui-o-te-ika, coming to ambush him.
