whakataputapu
1. (verb) (-ria,-hia,-a) to place a tapu on something, make inaccessible, sanctify, consecrate.
Synonyms: whakatapu
2. (modifier) superstitious.
He wāhi tapu a runga o taua maunga, hei reira ngā wheua o ngā whakatupuranga maha e takoto ana. Kāhore anō te waewae Pākehā kia eke noa ki runga i taua maunga, nō te mea kua rongo i ngā kupu whakataputapu a ngā Māori, ki te haere te tangata ki runga ka puta he marangai nui whakaharahara (KO 24/8/1886:4). / The top of that mountain is a sacred place, where the bones of many generations lie. No Pākehā foot has yet climbed onto the mountain because they've heard about the superstitions of the Māori that if a person goes onto it a great storm will occur.
3. (noun) superstition.
Ko tētahi hoki o ōna whakaaro ko te whakawātea i te marae i te tapu. I wehi ia ki tērā mea, ki te whakataputapu, i whānau mai hoki i roto i tērā āhuatanga me tōna kite i ōna taumahatanga (EM 2002:207). / Another one of his ideas was to free the marae of tapu. He was afraid of superstition as he had been born into that belief and seen its disadvantages.
