Glossary

Māori words found in accompanying text

aroha - love, regard, sympathy, hospitality, affection, sorrow

āwhina – assist, help. The Sisters of the Rātana Church are known as Ngā Āwhina

hapū – part of a large tribe; pregnant

hui – come together, assemble, congregate; meet

kai – food

karakia – incantation, traditional chant usually of a sacred nature

kaumātua – persons of advanced years, elder

kaupapa – issue to be debated; basis or main ingredient (of a speech)

kawa – custom, protocol

kiri mate – the close relatives of a tūpāpaku (corpse)

koata – leader in the Rātana Church

kuia – elderly woman (sing: kuia)

Māoritanga – Māori culture, the essence of being Māori

manuhiri – guests, visitors

marae – meeting ground, forecourt of the meeting house

mihi – greeting; to greet, to acknowledge

mihi ki ngā mate – greeting to the dead (of former times)

mihi ki te huihuinga – greet to the assembled company

mihi ki te hunga ora – greeting to the living (present)

mihi ki te kiri mate, ki te whānau – greeting to the close kin, and extended family

mihi ki te tupapaku – greeting to the deceased

mihi ki te whakaminenga – greeting to the assembly

ngā mate – the dead

Pākehā – Anglo-Saxon, white New Zealanders

pepeha – a regional; saying identified with a particular tribe

poroporoaki – a farewell to the dead in formal speech

rangatira – one of noble birth

tangata whenua – people  belonging to a particular place, local people

tāke – cause or purpose; see also kaupapa

tangihanga (tangi) – the mourning ceremony

tapu – sacred

tau – the term used to describe introduction section of a whaikōrero

tauparapara – a chant relating to whakapapa or mythology

tuakana – elder brother of a male; elder sister of a female; cousin of the same sex, but in an elder branch of the family (plural: tuākana)

waiata – loosely used to describe Māori song

waka – canoe, a tribal grouping

whānau – family; extended family

whaikōrero – formal Māori speech; to orate; oratory

whakaaraara – a loud cry which calls attention to the speaker

whakamutunga – ending, conclusion

whakataukī – proverb

whare tupuna – the house of the ancestors, the meeting house