VOCABULARY

OF

THE KAITAHU' DIALECT.*

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.

AITANGA, progeny, or descendants of, used in the same sense as 'ngati' is in the North Island; thus, Te aitanga-Kuri,' or the descendants of Kuri, has the same meaning as 'Ngati-Kuri' would. Ai,' the root of the word, signifies the act of begetting: 'nana i ai,' he begot. It has also a secondary sense, just as the English word conceive has; 'ai ou hapaigna ki tou ringa, whati tou tuara; puta tahanga mai koe; ana tou kore na,' I thought or conceived that the quantity [of food] you would bring in your hands would be enough to break your back: you return empty-handed; so, I suppose, you got nothing there. Here'ai' has the same sense as the more common expression hua noa.' The tribe Ngapuhi have, in familiar use, the expression 'e ai ta Mea,' meaning, as Mr. So-and-so says, or, according to Mr. Soand-so's opinion, or version of the story; 'e ai tana,' as he says, literally, as he conceives it to be.

In the Maori' version of the Testament, thus

* The words inserted in this vocabulary are either unknown or have different significations in other parts of New Zealand, except perhaps in that inhabited by the tribe Ngatikahununu, which has common ancestors with Kaitahu. Synonymous words and sentences, to be met with in the North Island, are denoted by the prefix Syn.

saith the Lord, has been rendered 'e ai ta te Atua.' As the words in Maori,' however, do not convey the sense or force of a command, which the words of the Bible do, we should prefer as a translation, some such expression as 'Ka penei ta Te Atua kupu,' or 'Ka penei ta Te Atua ki iho.'

'Ai' is sometimes used as a noun, having the same sense as aitanga,' as appears from the word 'Kaitahu' (q. vide).

AOAKA, two handsful at once.

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Syn. Aohanga. Aohia mai he riwai ma tatou ki te ahi.' Throw handsful

of potatos on the fire for all of us to eat. mai,' has the same sense as 'aohia mai.'

'Opehia

Au, tide or current.

Syn. eia.

AUA ATU,

I dont care.

Syn. Kia ahatia atu.

AWHA, rain, mist.

"Tawhakiteraki,' a man's name,

AUA NOA, I dont know. Syn. aua hoki.

means 'Te awha ki te raki,' or the mist in the sky.

E TA,

E HIKA,

E TAE,

Terms of address applied to males or females indifferently.

HAKAROA, the name of the principal harbour in Banks's

Peninsula. The first syllable is generally aspirated

Syn. 'whangaroa,'

The sound

wha'

by the natives of the district. long waiting place, or long port. of the northern tribes, is replaced by 'ha,' and sometimes by 'a' among the southern tribe; and 'k' is almost always substituted by them for 'ng.' Similarly the river Hakatere would, in the North Island, be called whangatere.'

HAKORO, a father.

HAKUI, a mother.

HAPUA, a shallow lake, the termination of a river, separated from the sea by a bank of sand or shingles. Syn. hopua.

HOANGA, the stone on which the 'pounamu' or other hard stone is ground.

He wai-para-hoanga,' water discoloured by portions of the stone reduced to mud during the grinding. Hoi, deafness. 'He hoi no te ngakau,' deafness of the heart, obstinacy.

HоIноI, to deny what a person says. "E hoihoi ana

koe ki ahau,' you are denying what I say. The common sense of this word in the North Island is 'noisy.' 'Hoihoi tahi koutou,' what a noisy set you

are.

IKOA, a name. Syn. ingoa.

KA, the (plur.). Syn. nga.

KAEAEA, a simpleton. In North Island, ‘a hawk.' KAHIKA, Syn. kahikatea (dacrydium excelsum vel taxifolium), a lofty tree of the order Taxaciæ, acquiring sometimes a height of 200 feet. Its fruit, unlike that of conifers, forms separate berries, which, when ripe, are eaten by the natives. From its branches, as well as from others of the same genus, a beverage may be brewed resembling, in antiscorbutic qualities, the spruce beer (vide Appendix, p. 298-9).

KAIKA, a place of eating; hence a place of residence.' Syn. kaigna.

KAITAHU or NGAITAHU, contracted from Ka-ai-Tahu r Nga-ai-Tahu, Tahu's descendants. 'Kai' and ,' in the Southern districts, have the same

ation,

Ngati' has in the North. As

Ngati' is a contraction for Nga ati,' I imagine that ati' is merely another form of the word 'ai' or 'aitanga,' for sake of euphony. From other words it may be seen that 'ati' and 'ai' replace each other in different parts of New Zealand; thus,—'watitiri’ or thunder in the North Island, becomes 'waitiri' in the South. That such is the origin of the word 'Ngati' further appears from the fact that there is in 'Te-ati-awa' an instance of the word 'ati' being used in the singular number. Hence it may be concluded that 'Ngati' or 'Nga-ati,' Te Ati,' 'Ngai' or 'Ngaai,' 'Kai' or 'Ka-ai,' and 'Te Aitanga,' are convertible terms, having a meaning similar to that of the familiar prefixes, O, Mac, and Fitz.

KAKARI, to fight. Koutou ko ka takata ke atu e noho

nei ki Hakaroa mauria atu koutou e Te Rauparaha ki Kapiti na Tuhawaiki i kakari ki a Te Rauparaha, nana hoki i wakahokimai i a koutou ki Hakaroa.' As for the rest of you (whom I have not named) now dwelling at Hakaroa, you were carried away by Te Rauparaha to Kapiti. Tuhawaiki fought against Te Rauparaha, and restored you to Hakaroa. KAPUKA, a handful, as of potatos, &c.

KAREAREA, a hawk, believed by the natives to be 'tuakana' to the mole.

KATAHI RA IA! oh, what a fellow! an expression of real or pretended disapprobation, depending on the tone of voice of the speaker.

KAUHOU, a lesson or address. Syn. kauwhau.

KAURU, the root of the Ti or Whanake after it has been baked in the native oven.

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KAURAKA, not, don't. Syn. kauaka.

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KоHIMU, slander or abuse. He Wakakino i tetehi,'

'he korero puku,' the speaking evil of one, slander. 'Kauraka e kohimu,' don't slander.

KOTORE, Syn. teina, the relationship of a younger brother or sister to an elder brother or sister respectively; also of the younger male branches of a family to the elder male branches-or of the younger female branches to the elder female branches. Hence a brother or a cousin is equally denoted by the word 'teina,' only in the latter case the word 'ke' is frequently added to 'teina' to avoid ambiguity. Ob.A brother speaking of or to his sisters calls them 'tuahine;' and a sister speaking of or to her brothers calls themtungane.'

KOURARAKI (vide p. 185), a small crustaceous animal. KUMUTIA, brought, carried. 'Kumutia mai ououtahi

ki roto i te ringaringa,' bring me a few in the hollow of the hand.

MAHETAU, a potato. Syn. riwai; besides which a variety of other words are used to denote their different kinds.

MAHITI, consumed. Syn. pau.

MANIA, thin lamina of sandstone used for cutting the 'pounamu.' The natives fasten them in frames after the manner of a stonecutter's saw. The word 'papa'

has a similar signification.

MANIORE, noisy. Syn. maniania, hoihoitahi, turi-turitahi, all common expressions in North Island to signify, What a noise you make!