Uenuku
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.
Synonyms: kahukura, Tūāwhiorangi, āniwaniwa, kōpere, Ōuenuku, tāwhana, tāwhanawhana, āheahea, atuapiko
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
