Glossary of Maori Terms Used in This Paper

 

Aotearoa - Long white cloud, the Maori name for New Zealand

Ariki - Head of a hapu or iwi; chief

Atua - The gods

Haere mai - A formal greeting, along the lines of “welcome.”

Haka - A type of dance, generally performed by men, involving stamping and slapping the chest while singing.

Haka peruperu - A haka done with weapons a challenge to one's enemy

Haka taparahi - A special kind of haka done without weapons that can express different emotions depending on the occasion

Hangi - Earthen pits used for cooking

Hawaiki - The mythical land the Maori say they came from before migrating to Aotearoa.

Hapu - Literally "pregnancy," the term for the sub-tribe consisting of various whanau

Hawaiki - The mystical homeland the Maori say they came from before journeying to Aotearoa

Hongi - Maori way of greeting where two parties press noses together

Hui - A formal gathering or meeting

Iwi - Literally "bones," the tribe in Maori social life made up of various hapu.

Kapa haka - Performing arts

Karakia - Sacred chants

Karanga - A call to welcome during powhiri

Kaumatua - Male elders, or the male head of a whanau.

Ki - Balls made out of flax, generally used for games.

Ki-o-Rahi  - A traditional Maori contact sport which was the forerunner of rugby

Kia ora - Traditional Maori greeting, literally "be healthy."

Kingitanga - The Maori royal movement

Kiwi - A small flightless bird native to New Zealand

Kohanga Reo - Maori language kindergartens

Kuia - Female elders

Kumara - A variety of sweet potato cultivated by the Maori

Mana - Prestige, charisma, magical power

Marae atea- The ceremonial ground in front of the wharenui

Maui - A demigod trickster in Maori mythology

Mauri - The active life principle found in all things

Noa - The opposite of tapu; that which is not sacred

Pakeha - Maori term for non-Maori, especially Europeans

Papa - The Earth Goddess in the Maori pantheon

Pataka - Ornately carved special storehouses for the storage and preservation of food

Poi - Balls attached to strings, or women’s performance using these balls.

Poi toa - A men’s version of poi used for training

Poupou - Carved panels in the wharenui depicting ancestors

Poutokomanawa - Carved support poles in the wharenui depicting captains of the founding waka

Powhiri - Traditional welcoming ceremony

Puhi - Tribal virgin whose chastity was fiercely guarded until she was married

Rangatira - The senior social line

Rangi - The Sky God in the Maori pantheon

Raranga - Weaving

Taiaha - A traditional weapon for hand-to-hand combat

Ta moko - Maori tattooing

Tane - God of the forests and trees

Tangata whenua - A pan-tribal, self-referential term, "people of the land."

Tangihanga - A lamentation or funeral

Taniwha - Mythical sea beings in Maori mythology, alternately monsters or helpers

Tapu - Sacredness, the opposite of noa

Taua muru - A military raid

Te Reo or Te Reo Maori - The Maori language

Teina - A younger sibling or cousin

Tiki - Carved human figures

Tino rangatiratanga - Self-governance or sovereignty, one of the disputed terms in the Treaty of Waitangi and a rallying cry for many Maori.

Toa - Warriors

Tohunga - By itself, a priest. With a qualifier, denotes an expert in a particular field.

Tu - The god of war

Tuakana - An older sibling or cousin

Tukutuku - Panels made from flax or reeds woven in geometric patterns

Tutua - The junior social line

Wahine-ariki - Woman chief

Waiata - Songs or poems

Wairua - The eternal soul

Waka - Literally "vehicle," usually refers to huge oceangoing canoes

Whakairo - The woodcarving tradition

Whakapapa - Ancestry or genealogy

Whanau - Extended family, the basis of Maori society.

Wharekai - A dining hall

Whare-maire - A house of learning for talented boys to learn tribal history

Wharenui - Carved meeting house

Whare pora - A type of weaver’s guild

Whare wananga - Schools to train priests

Whenua - Literally "placenta," the Maori word for land