Glossary of Māori terms
Te Reo Māori term |
English terminology |
Scientific term |
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A |
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Aroha |
Show sincerity and mutual respect |
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Atua |
Ancestor with continuing influence, god, supernatural being, deity |
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Aua |
Yellow eyed mullet |
Aldrichetta forsteri |
Awa |
River, stream, creek |
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H |
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Hapū |
Sub-tribe |
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Harakeke |
Flax |
Phormium tenax |
Hui |
Assemble, assembly, meeting, gathering |
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I |
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īnanga |
Common galaxias, juveniles are a component of the whitebait catch |
Galaxias maculatus |
Iwi |
Tribe, nation, people, society |
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K |
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Kāeo |
Freshwater mussel |
Hyridella menziesi |
Kāinga |
Home, abode, dwelling |
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Kākahi |
Freshwater mussel |
Hyridella menziesi |
Kahikatea |
White pine |
Dacrycarpus dacrydioides |
Kai |
Eat, food, dine |
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Kai awa |
Food from the river |
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Kaimoana |
Food from the sea |
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Kaitiaki |
Guardian, caretaker, manager, trustee |
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Kaitiakitanga |
Guardianship |
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Kanohi kitea |
The ‘seen face’ |
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Karakia |
Incantation, prayer, chant |
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Kaumatua |
Elder (singular), not gender specific |
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Kaumātua |
Elders (plural), not gender specific |
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Kaupapa |
Strategy, theme, philosophy |
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Kawa |
Ceremonial rituals, protocol |
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Koikoi |
Species of fern |
Blechnum minus |
Kōaro |
Climbing galaxias, juveniles are a component of the whitebait catch |
Galaxias brevipinnis |
Kōhanga |
Nest, nursery |
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Kōkopu |
Galaxiids (including banded, giant, and short jaw kōkopu), juveniles are a component of the whitebait catch |
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Kōrero |
Speech, narrative, story, news, account, discussion, conversation, discourse |
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Kōura |
Freshwater crayfish |
Paranephrops spp. |
Kōwhai |
Trees in the genus Sophora native to New Zealand |
Sophora spp. |
Korimako |
Bellbird |
Anthornis melanura |
Korowai |
Cloak |
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Kuia |
Female elder |
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Kura |
School, education, learning, gathering. (Kura kaupapa are schools which operate under Māori custom, using Māori as the medium of instruction) |
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Kuta |
Great spike rush, bamboo spike-sedge |
Eleocharis sphacelata |
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M |
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Māhaki |
Exercise humility |
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Mānuka |
Tea tree |
Leptospermum scoparium |
Māori |
Indigenous person of Aotearoa - New Zealand |
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Mātauranga Māori |
Māori knowledge - the body of knowledge originating from Māori ancestors, including the Māori world view and perspectives, Māori creativity and cultural practices |
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Mahinga kai |
Food gathering areas |
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Mana |
Prestige, authority, control, power, influence, status, spiritual power, charisma - mana is a supernatural force in a person, place or object |
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Manāki tangata |
Practise reciprocity and generosity |
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Manākitanga |
Hospitality (ability of hosts to care for their visitors), kindness, blessing |
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Manuhiri |
Visitor, guest |
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Marae |
Sacred meeting place, courtyard in front of the wharenui (meeting house) |
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Mauri |
Life principal/force, entity |
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Mokopuna |
Grandchild, descendant |
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N |
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Ngā Waihotanga Iho |
What is left behind, lift up |
Iwi Estuarine Monitoring Toolkit |
Ngāwhā |
Geothermal hot pools, boiling spring, volcanic activity, boiling mud pool, fumarole, sulphur water, geyser |
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P |
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Pā |
Traditional settlement |
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Pā tuna |
Eel weirs |
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Pānui |
Announcement, advertise |
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Pātiki |
Flounder |
Rhombosolea plebeia |
Pīharau |
Lamprey |
Geotria australis |
Pōrohe |
Common smelt |
Retropinna retropinna |
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R |
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Rāhui |
To put in place a temporary ritual prohibition, closed season, ban, reserve - traditionally a rāhui was placed on an area, resource or stretch of water as a conservation measure or as a means of social and political control for a variety of reasons which can be grouped into three main categories: pollution by tapu, conservation and politics |
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Rama kōura |
Spotlighting - to catch kōura by torchlight |
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Rangatahi |
Youth, younger generation |
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Rangatira |
Chief (male or female), leader, proprietor - qualities of a leader is a concern for the integrity and prosperity of the people, the land, the language and other cultural treasures and an assertive and sustained response to outside forces that may threaten these |
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Rangatiratanga |
Sovereignty, chieftainship, leadership, right to exercise authority, chiefly autonomy, self-determination, self-management, ability to lead, ownership |
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Raupatu |
Invasion and war by land and by the Waikato River, and subsequent confiscation of Waikato lands |
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Raupō |
Bullrush, cat’s-tail |
Typha orientalis |
Rohe |
Tribal boundary, district, region, territory, area, border (of land) |
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Rongoā |
Remedy, medicine, drug, cure, medication, treatment, solution (to a problem), tonic |
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Ruru |
Morepork |
Ninox novaeseelandiae |
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T |
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Tamariki |
Children |
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Tangata whenua |
People of the land, locals, host, resident, people born of the whenua, i.e. of the placenta and of the land where the people's ancestors have lived and where their placenta are buried |
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Tangi |
Mourn, funeral |
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Tangihanga |
Weeping, crying, funeral, rites for the dead |
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Taniwha |
Metaphor for a chief, a monster good and bad that resides in water, taniwha take many forms from logs to reptiles and whales and often live in lakes, rivers or the sea. They are often regarded as guardians by the people who live in their territory/Also can be an area to be aware of danger/kia tupato – see tapu |
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Taonga |
Goods, possessions, effects, treasure, gifts, something prized |
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Taonga tuku iho |
Treasure handed down, similar to inheritance |
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Tapu |
Restriction - a supernatural condition. A person, place or thing is dedicated to an atua and is thus removed from the sphere of the profane and put into the sphere of the sacred. It is untouchable, no longer to be put to common use. Tapu was used as a way to control how people behaved towards each other and the environment, placing restrictions upon society to ensure that society flourished |
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Tau kōura |
Te Arawa method of catching kōura |
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Te Reo Māori |
Māori language |
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Teina (singular), tēina (plural) |
Younger brother(s) (of a male), younger sister(s) (of a female), junior relative(s) |
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Tikanga |
Correct procedure, custom, habit, lore, method, manner, rule, way, code, meaning, plan, practice, convention |
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Toetoe |
Species of tall grasses native to New Zealand |
Cortaderia spp. |
Tohu |
Sign, identify, mark, symbol, indicate |
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Tōtara |
Species of podocarp tree endemic to New Zealand |
Podacarpus totara |
Tuakana (singular), Tuākana (plural) |
Elder brother (of a male), elder sister (of a female), senior relative |
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Tuna |
Freshwater eel |
Anguilla dieffenbachii (longfin); Anguilla australis (shortfin) |
Tūpuna (singular), tupuna (plural) |
Ancestor(s) |
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Tūī |
Parson bird |
Prosthemadera novaeseelandiae |
Tūrangawaewae |
A place to stand, home ground, place where one has rights of residence and belonging through kinship and whakapapa |
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Tūpatotanga |
Demonstrate caution |
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U |
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Urupā |
Cemetery, burial place, graveyard |
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W |
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Wāhi tapu |
Shrine, sanctuary, sacred area/place |
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Wā nanga |
Place of learning |
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Wai |
Water |
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Wairua |
Spirit, soul |
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Waka |
Canoe |
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Whānau |
Extended family, family group, to be born |
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Whakairo |
Carving |
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Whakamā |
Be ashamed, shy, bashful, embarrassed |
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Whakapapa |
Genealogy, genealogical table, lineage, descent, ancestry |
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Whakawhanaungatanga |
Honour relationships |
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Whanaungatanga |
Relationship, kinship, sense of family connection - a relationship through shared experiences and working together which provides people with a sense of belonging. It develops as a result of kinship rights and obligations, which also serve to strengthen each member of the whaanau. It also extends to others to whom one develops a close familial, friendship or reciprocal relationship |
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Whareweku |
Bracken fern bundles, component of the tau kōura |
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Whenua |
Land, country, earth, placenta, afterbirth |
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