Glossary: New Zealand Māori
The following is a brief description of Māori words that appear on this site and a few commonly used Maori words. The translations are not literal, as many words hold a wealth of meaning that should become clear when placed in context.
Māori words on this site
Haumi - to join, a piece of wood used to lengthen a canoe (haumi join - a traditional canoe join)
Hourua - double canoe
Kākano - seed, indicates the beginning
Koha - gifting, gift, present, offering, donation
Manaakitanga - hospitality, kindness
Ngāti - prefix for a tribal group, e.g. Ngāti Poru
Pākeke - tribal elders
Pare - lintel
Pā - Māori village
Pā Tūwatawata - fortified village
Rākau - wood
Rangiātea - place in Hawaiki and point of dispersal of migration canoes
Roopu - group
Tāne-Mahuta - name of New Zealand's most well known living kauri tree
Tāne Mahuta - Deity of the forest in Māori traditions
Taonga - treasure, something prized
Te Puia - Wellspring, geothermal feature
Te Wānanga Whakairo Rākau - The National Carving School located at Te Puia
Tohunga - chosen expert, chosen as a leader in a particular field, priest
Tohunga Whakairo - Master Carver
Waharoa - traditional gateway, main entrance way
Waka - canoe, vehicle, conveyance, also long narrow receptacle
Waka Maumahara - canoe cenotaph
Wānanga - tertiary institution that caters for Māori subjects, knowledge and/or values (Te Wānanga Whakairo Rākau)
Whakairo - carving, carved (whakairo rākau - wood carving)
Wharenui - meeting house
Commonly used Maori words
Aroha - love
Atua - guardian, deity
Iwi - kinship, group, nation, nationality (a large group of people descended from a common ancestor)
Haere Mai - come here, to move towards the speaker
Kia ora - hello, best wishes, good luck
Mana - prestige, authority, power, the essence of a person, spiritual power
Māori - indigenous race of New Zealand
Marae - traditional meeting place
Tapu - be sacred, prohibited, restricted, forbidden
Whakapapa - heritage, past, geneology, connection
