NZLC - Report 53: Justice - The Experience of Mäori Women

a tätou tamariki	the children of us all
hapü	extended kin group, consisting of many whänau
hui	meeting, gathering
iwi	tribe, descent group consisting of many hapü
kaitiaki	guardian
kaitiakitanga	guardianship
karakia	prayer
kaumätua	elder
kaupapa	strategy, theme, central idea, topic
köhanga reo	language nest
komiti whakahaere	organising or management committee
kura kaupapa Mäori	total immersion school
mana	personal and political authority
marae	the open space in front of the meeting house the modern marae complex, including open marae, meeting house, dining hall, kitchen facilities and toilet facilities functions as a meeting ground and symbol of identity for whänau and hapü, and sometimes also for communities formed on other bases, such as residence in the same town or suburb, or affiliation to a religious denomination
marae
paepae	threshold (in Tai Tokerau “taumata” was and often still is the preferred term)
Päkehä	New Zealander of European descent
pätere	one type of traditional poem typically chanted rather than sung
rohe	boundary, region, area
rünanga	council, usually representative of a hapü or iwi
tangata whenua	literally “people of the land” (Mäori)
taonga	treasure
tapu	sacred; under ritual restriction
te reo Mäori	the language
teina	younger brother of male, younger sister of female; cousin of same sex, same generation but junior rank
tikanga	law, custom, traditional behaviour, philosophy
tuakana	older brother of male, older sister of female; cousin of same sex, same generation but senior rank
tupuna	ancestor, grandparent
türangawaewae	standing place, home, home turf
wähi tapu	sacred place
wahine	woman, female
waiata aroha	song or poem of love and/or sorrow or loss
waiata oriori	song or poem informing a child of its origins, often incorporating whakapapa
waiata	song
wänanga	programme or school of learning; series of discussions; sometimes used today to mean “seminar”
whakamä	an adjective used to describe a range of feelings from shyness through embarrassment to shame and consciousness of fault, and behaviour involving varying degrees of withdrawal and unresponsiveness
whakapapa	genealogy, sometimes limited to descendants of a common ancestor, sometimes including spouses; recitation of genealogies in proper order
whänau	nuclear family, or extended family, or a community with a common purpose or identity; in the definition of whänau, circumstances and context are important variables
whanaungatanga	kinship, connectedness, a web of relationships of descent and marriage
wharenui	meeting house
whenua	land; placenta (traditionally the placenta and umbilical cord were buried on ancestral land)

New Zealand Law Commission

Glossary