Polynesian Glossary

Question 1

Aotearoa

Answer 1

Land of Long White Cloud aka New Zealand

Question 2

Atua

Answer 2

Maori spirits who were both good and evil

Question 3

Conservation

Answer 3

Protecting the environment and its resources

Question 4

Canoe

Answer 4

A type of boat

Question 5

Haka

Answer 5

Maori dance performed before battle to scare the enemy

Question 6

Hangi

Answer 6

An earth oven filled with stones

Question 7

Hawaiki

Answer 7

The mythical homeland from which the ancestors of the Maori came to Aotearoa

Question 8

Hongi

Answer 8

The traditional way Maori greet each other by pressing noses with them

Question 9

Hui

Answer 9

A gathering of people for a meeting

Question 10

Iwi

Answer 10

A Maori tribe

Question 11

Mana

Answer 11

Pride, prestige, and honour

Question 12

Marae

Answer 12

An open space or courtyard for the conduct of ceremonies, usually in front of the meeting house

Question 13

Moko

Answer 13

Traditional Maori practice of tattooing

Question 14

Pa

Answer 14

A fortified Maori stronghold or village

Question 15

Polynesians

Answer 15

People from Polynesia, a region of the Pacific Ocean, including New Zealand, Hawaii, Tonga, and the Samoan Islands

Question 16

Rangatira

Answer 16

Maori chief or noble

Question 17

Taiaha

Answer 17

Maori weapons of war

Question 18

Tapu

Answer 18

Sacred, forbidden, and untouchable laws governed by spirits

Question 19

Teko teko

Answer 19

Carved figure on top of a Maori building

Question 20

Tohunga

Answer 20

Maori priest, wise man, or leader

Question 21

Whare

Answer 21

A Maori house