Uenuku Play
1. (noun) rainbow.
Arā anō ngā kōrero tuku iho mō te hau, te whatitiri, te uenuku me te nui kē atu o ngā tūmomo tohu taiao (Te Ara 2013). / There were also traditional stories to explain wind, thunder, rainbows and many other natural events.
2. (personal name) name of an atua often associated particularly with the rainbow. Also the name of a prominent Māori ancestor who lived in Hawaiki.
Uenuku: he atua Māori, tōna kāinga kei ngā kapua pākurakura o te rangi i te marangai i te uru; he mea anō kei roto kei te āniwaniwa (TKM.MM 3-4/1855:32). / Uenuku: a Māori ancestor of significance, whose residence is in the red clouds of the eastern and western sky; and is also in the rainbow.
See also Kahukura, Haere, Tūāwhiorangi
