Whakatauki

  1. Au ahi au ora. Au moana, aua noa atu.
    This whakataukī can be understood as the contrast of the comforting warmth of a fire ashore with the uncertainty of a stormy or foggy sea. A version of this was recorded in Moeraki in 1920 and is attributed to tipuna Albert Wānaka Weka.
  2. He tītī huatahi – Metaphor for an only child. Could be used to express uniqueness or all the eggs in one basket.
  3. He tītī rere ao ka kitea, he tītī rere pō e kore e kitea – Muttonbirds which fly by day can be seen, those that fly by night cannot. ‘Do not chase shadows’ or ‘don’t be shy’.
  4. He manawa tītī – A muttonbird’s heart. A metaphor for a person of great endurance or strength.
  5. Huriawa Karamea, Huirapa Kōkōwai, He kura huna ko karo Kāhore ia, Kāhore ia hī. The clay from Huriawa preserves our ancestral house. Will our knowledge be lost, Never! Never!
  6. Ko ō mātou kāinga nohoanga, ko ā mātou mahinga kai, me waiho mārie mō ā mātou tamariki, mō muri iho i a mātou. – Our places of residence, cultivations and food-gathering places must still be left to us, for ourselves and our children after us. Kemps Deed.
  7. Ko te toa i a tini i a mano o te tangata” – Tūwhakauika & Te Oreorehua
    We possess the strength of the many. It is the bravery of a multitude, of thousands of people.
  8. Hāhā te whenua, hāhā te tangata – Desolate land, desolate people.
  9. He mahi kai takata, he mahi kai hōaka – It is work that consumes people, as greenstone consumes sandstone.
  10. He manawa tahi, he manawa ora, he manawa toa, te manawa Kāi Tahu – A united heart, a vibrant heart, a determined heart, this is the heart of Kāi Tahu.
  11. Kauraka koutou i mate pīrau pēnei me au nei. E kāore! Me haere ake koutou i ruka i te umu kakara. Taku whakaaro i mate rakatira i ruka i te tāpapa whawhai. – Do not die a rotting death like mine. No! Leave this world via the fragrant ovens of war. In my opinion a chiefly death occurs on the battlefield. On his deathbed, Te Wera, a renowned Kāi Tahu fighting chief, warned his sons to die honourably on the battlefield and not slowly of natural causes, as was his fate.
  12. Kei korā wā kei Motupōhue, he pāreka e kai ana, nā tō tūtae – It was there at Motupohue that a shag stood, eating your excrement.
  13. Kia pai ai taku titiro ki Te Ara a Kiwa – Let me gaze upon Foveaux Strait
  14. Ko ngā hau ki ētahi wāhi, ko ngā kai ki Orariki – Whatever the season or wind, food will be found at Orariki
  15. Ko te kāhui mauka, tū tonu, tū tonu, ko te kāhui takata karo noa, karo noa ka haere – The people will perish but the mountains shall remain.
  16. Mō tātou, ā, mō kā uri ā muri ake nei – For us and our children after us.
  17. Te kopa iti a Raureka – The tiny purse of Raureka. This refers to a female ancestor, Raureka, who travelled from the West Coast in pursuit of a lost dog. She encountered people in the South Canterbury region and took from her purse the pounamu, or greenstone. This pepeha is used to denote something precious.
  18. Ko te mauka ko Te Whatarama, te manu o reira, he kākāpō. Mōku tēnā mauka kia maro ai a Hine-mihi rāua ko Hutika. – Te Whatarama is the mountain of parrot and will be mine to cloak my daughter Hinemihi and Hutika.
  19. Takaroa pūkunohi nui – The god of the sea Takaroa can observe all we are doing.
  20. Te Puna Waimarie, Te Puna Hauaitu, Te Puna Karikari – The pools of frozen water; The pools of bounty; The pools dug by the hand of man. On arrival in this new land, Rākaihautu sought an indication of the nature of the land and the fortunes that awaited him and his people. With his digging stick he made three pools and then gave the prophetic utterance about what lay before them.
  21. Tūrākautahi: Ko Kura-tāwhiti te mauka kākāpō, ko au te takata. – Kura-tāwhiti is the mountain that has the parrot and I am the man.
  22. E tā mā, haramai rā, kia komotia ō koutou ihu ki roto i Taratu.
    Come here sirs, and we’ll bury your noses in Lake Taratu.
    This was the challenge of Ngāi Tahu at Kaiapoi as Te Rauparaha was trying to breach the pā’s defenses. The metaphor of the nose being submerged or above water is stiff current. Above water is taken to mean survival and progress; below water is suffering death. (Ngā Pepeha a ngā Tipuna).
  23. Haere e oma kia puta ai koe
    Go, run in order that you may escape.
    The saying comes from the story of Tūāhuriri. He ordered the ambush of people from Kaikōura. When the people of Moeraki heard of this, they sent a war party to take revenge who entered the village of Tūāhuriri and took the people prisoner. Kūwhare was held apart by order of a young chief to be killed by him, but was able to escape but was perused by a noted runner. The runner called out to him the above, which is now the whakataukī. (Ngā Pepeha a ngā Tipuna: White 1887: III.111)
  24. Haere, e te hoa, ko tō tātou kāinga nui tēnā
    Go, o friend, for that is the great abode for us. A poetic farewell fitting for the funeral obsequies.
    (Ngā Pepeha a ngā Tipuna: Davis 1974: 58)
  25. Haere mai, e te Rāwhiti
    Welcome o sunrise
    A traditional greeting of the South Island to the North Island.
    A reference to the fact that each day the sun first reaches Hikurangi. (Ngā Pepeha a ngā Tipuna: Smith 1913a:113)
  26. Te Whakatakanga o te Ngārehu a Tamatea
    The preparation of Tamatea’s charcoal.
    This allusion to the tattooing of Tamatea was used by Kāi Tahu when referring to the people of Murihiku. (Ngā Pepeha a ngā Tipuna: Anderson 1942:183; Cowan 1905: 195).
  27. He Puna Hauaitu; He Puna Waimaria; He Puna Karikari a Rākaihautu
    The pools of frozen water; The pools of bounty; The pools dug by Rākaihautu (Te Kete Ako a Rākaihautu).
  28. Hakahaka Te Raki i ruka nei, ko te po koua tupu. Though the heavens hang low there is growth in the dark. Two Ngai Tahu chiefs whose tribe faced annihilation used this phrase. Also appears at the start of Ngai Tahu whakapapa to the creation chants, which indicates that from darkness life emerged. (Ngā Pikitūroa o Ngāi Tahu. The Oral Traditions of Ngāi Tahu. (Ngā Pikitūroa o Ngāi Tahu: Page 79.)
  29. Tokotoru a te tuakana, tokotoru a te taina, ko ngā tokoono ēnei a Hemo i noho ai i Tūranga. ‘Hemo the mother of Ngāti Porou and Ngāi Tahu – all who came from Tūranga. (Christchurch City Libraries, ‘Tūranga – Our Māori name’).
  30. Te Whatu-Kura a Takaroa. A flattering and figurative allusion to a high-born girl. (Tikao Talks: page 28).
  31. Ko mate te marama. A saying when the moon disappears away. (Tikao Talks: Page 44).
  32. Ka tō te rā. The sun is setting. (Tikao Talks: Page 46)
  33. Ngā rā o Toru Whitu. The sun from July to November (Tikao Talks: Page 46).
  34. Ko tō te rā. The sun has set (Tikao Talks: Page 46).
  35. Whatutaki te marama ki te rā. Reference to an eclipse of the sun. (Tikao Talks: Page 48).
  36. Ko te kete ika a Tutekawa. A reference to the large amount of fish in Lake Forsyth and Lake Waihora/Ellesmere. (Tikao Talks: Page 129).
  37. Te hauka te ahi. A reference to a stranger who stays longer will get to know the hosts better. (Tikao Talks: Page 152).
  38. O te parara. A derogatory term for a Māori person of mixed descent. The saying implies the person’s mother was paid for intercourse that produced the offspring. (Tikao Talks: Page 155).
  39. Ko Waitaha kua Ngāti Māmoetia, kua Ngāi Tahutia. (Waitaha were absorbed by Ngāti Māmoe who were in turn absorbed into Ngāi Tahu).
  40. Te kokopu, te kai o Maui – The kokopu, the food of Maui. pg 10 Moriori : the Morioris of the South Island by Herries Beattie
  41. Te hao te kai a te aitaka a Tapu-iti. That the small delicious eel known as hao is the favourite food of the descendants of Tapu-iti, who was the wife of Te Rakihouia. pg 32 Moriori : the Morioris of the South Island by Herries Beattie
  42. Ka-poupou-a-Te Rakihouia. The whole Canterbury seaboard is known as. Lit. the posts of Te Rakihouia. Because that chief erected posts at the river-mouths to enable eel weirs to be built. g 32 Moriori : the Morioris of the South Island by Herries Beattie
  43. Ka-whata-kai-a-Te Rakihouia. The sea cliffs along the east coast. Lit. the food storehouses of Te Rakihouia. pg 32 Moriori : the Morioris of the South Island by Herries Beattie.
  44. Whata-tu-a-Te Rakihouia. The sea cliffs along the east coast. Lit. the standing storehouses of Te Rakihouia. Because the son of Rakaihaitu procured food from them. pg 32 Moriori : the Morioris of the South Island by Herries Beattie.