Moari Glossary

Aroha - love

Atua - God, guardian

Iwi - Tribe, descended from one of the seven canoes which came to New Zealand

Haere - to move, to go

Haere Mai - to move towards the speaker, come here

Haere Ra - goodbye

Hangi - oven (in the ground - traditional method used for cooking food)

Hapu - sub-tribe, a branch of the main iwi

Harakeke - flax

Hine - young girl

Kai - food

Kai moana - food of the sea

Kainga - home

Kakariki - green

Kete - woven basket

Kia ora - Hello

Korero - talk, speak, words, language

Korowai - traditional cloak

karakia - prayer

Mana - the essence of a person, honour, prestige,

Manaakitanga - caring, sharing

Manuhiri - visitor, guest

Maori - indigenous race of New Zealand, normal

Marae - traditional meeting place

Pa - fortified Maori village

Papa - earth, ground, soil

Papatuanuku - Mother Earth, nature

Piupiu - to swing or sway, name of the costume skirt

Pohutu - big splash or explosion

Rakau - wood, stick

Rangatira - chief

Rauru - spiral

Roto - lake, also the adverb for ‘in’

Rotorua - second (rua) lake

Rotorua nui a Kahu - second big lake of Kahu

Rotowhio - lake of the blue or whistling duck

Tane - man

Tane Atua - god of the forest

Tangata - person, people

Tangata Whenua - people of the land, the original inhabitants

Taniwha - ancient creature

Tapu - sacred

Te Puia - the volcano or geyser

Te Rito - the baby stem at the heart of the flax. Also, name of weaving school

Te Wananga Whakairo - carving school

Te Whakarewarewatanga O Te Ope Taua A Wahiao - The uprising of the warriors (war party) of Wahiao

Tikanga - principles, protocols, guidelines

Tohunga - high priest

Tupuna - ancestor

Urupa - burial site

Wahine - woman

Wai - water

Waiotapu - sacred waters

Waka - canoe, carrier, mode of transport

Waka Taua - war canoe

Wananga - school of learning

Whakairo - the art of carving. Can also apply to weaving

Whakairo rakau - the art of wood carving

Whakapapa - heritage, past, genealogy, connection to land

Whanau - family

Whare - building, structure, house

Wharenui - large house, usually the sacred meeting house of tribes

Whenua - land

Whero - red

Whio - blue or whistling duck

Numbers in Maori:

Tahi - one

Rua - two

Toru - three

Wha - four

Rima - five

Ono - six

Whetu - seven

Waru - eights

Iwa - nine

Tekau - ten