The Whale Rider

Glossary

ae yes

ahau I, me

Ahuahu Mercury Island

ao world

Aotearoa New Zealand

aroha love

arohanui great love

haere travel

haka war dance

hapuku groper Polyprion oxygeneios

haramai come here

Hawaiki traditional homeland of the Maori people

hine form of address to a girl

Hine Nui Te Po Goddess of Death

hoa partner, friend

hokowhitu war party

hongi press noses in greeting

huhu beetle grub Prionoplus reticularis

hui gathering

hui e, haumi e, taiki e ritual incantation: join everything together, bind it together, let it be done

ia he, she, him, her

ihi power

ika fish

iwi tribe

kaha strength

kahawai fish Arripis trutta

kai food

kainga home

karakia prayer

karanga call

karanga mai call (to someone)

katoa all

kiwi small flightless bird, native to New Zealand

ko wai who?

koe you (one person)

kohanga nursery

koro old man (affectionate)

koroua old man

koutou you (pl.)

kowhaiwhai scroll painting on rafter

kuia old woman

kuini queen

mai here, this direction

mako shark Isurus glaucus

mana prestige

manaaki hospitality

manawanui brave

manga barracouta Thyrsites atun

mango ururoa great white shark Carcharodon carcharias

Maori indigenous people of Aotearoa New Zealand

marae communal point of settlement

maua we two

mauri life principle

mihimihi introductory speechmaking

moa large flightless bird, now extinct

moana sea

moe doze, sleep

mokemoke lonely

moki trumpeter fish Latridopsis spp.

moko tattoo

mokopuna grandchild; young generation

neke shift

neke neke tighten up

nga the (pl.)

Ngati people of …

noho remain

nui big

ope expedition

ora alive; well, healthy

pae kare by golly!

pai quality; good

paka bugger

Pakeha non-Maori

paua shellfish Haliotis spp.

piki climb

pito birth cord

piupiu flax skirt

pohutukawa red-flowering native tree Metrosideros excelsa

pounamu greenstone

poutama steps

Poututerangi star Altair

puawaitanga blossoming

putiputi flower

ra sun

rangatira noble

rangi sky

Rawheoro site of traditional East Coast carving school

rawhiti east

Rehua star Antares

reo speech

Rotorua a city in the Bay of Plenty

runga upwards

taiaha long club

taku my (one item)

tama boy

tamahine girl

tamariki children

tamure fish Pagrasomus auratus

Tane god of man

Tangaroa guardian of the sea

tangata person (either sex)

tangi mourn

taniwha water monster

tapu sacred

tarawhai stingray

tatou us (including the one spoken to)

tautoko to support

Tawhirimatea god of winds and storm

tawhiti distance

te the (sing.)

te mea te mea yeah, yeah

Te Pito o te Whenua the Polynesian name for Easter Island

Te Whiti Te Ra The Pathway of the Sun

tekoteko carved figure on a house

tena that (near you)

tenei this

tipua guardian spirit

tipuna ancestor

titiro look

toa warrior

tohora southern right whale Baelena glacialis australis

tohu emblem, sign

tohunga specialist, especially artist or priest

toia drag

tomo enter

tomo mai join us

tu stand

tuahine sister, female cousin (of a male)

Tuamotu East Polynesian archipelago

tuatara ancient reptile Sphenodon punctatus

waenganui in the middle

wahine woman

wai water

waiata song poem

waka canoe

wananga seminar

warehou fish Seriolelle brama

weka woodhen Gallirallus australis

whaiaipo sweetheart

whakapapa genealogy

whakarongo listen

whakatane like a man (a woman)

whanau extended family

whare kai dining room

whare house

Whatonga East Coast ancestor

wheke octopus O. maorum

whenua ground

Whironui ancestor