- The Marae: A meeting area in front of the meeting house.
- The Pa, a fortified Maori village. The Pa in this book does not exist. I used the original Maori name of Palmerston for the name of the Pa. The fact that Hakopa sold the Pa without the consent of his tribe was something that did actually happen, as land was communal. Note that Hakopa is the Maori version of Jacob, a reference to the biblical story of Jacob and Esau. Esau was the one who gave up the land for a mess of pottage, but there’s no Maori equivalent for that name.
- Whare: A Maori hut made of flax or raupo.
- Pakeha: White or European New Zealanders.
- Turehu: A white ghost with red hair. I have exaggerated the importance of this ghost in Maori mythology, mostly because Jens had red hair and I wanted an equivalent to the Scandinavian troll.
- Haka: A war dance with actions. Usually done before rugby games these days. Search YouTube for various versions involving the All Blacks, the New Zealand rugby team. You’ll love them.
- Powhiri: The greeting ceremony performed when dignitaries arrive at a Pa. Search for a video of Hilary Clinton attending one of these.
- Tapu: Taboo, or forbidden, because something is sacred.
- Hangi: A feast cooked in a hole with hot rocks and leaves. I once attended a hangi where a group of ad executives cooked a roast pig using this method. When it was taken out the pig was not fully cooked, which made things awkward as you can’t really put it back in for an extra hour. Fortunately my agency also represented Alka Seltzer.
- Hongi: Not to be confused with hangi. The act of touching noses as a greeting. Watch various members of the Royal Family do this on YouTube.
- Waka: A dugout canoe. A small waka is called a waka teti. Teti means basket, so presumably a waka teti is a basket-sized canoe, although not shaped that way.
- Utu: Can mean revenge, but the meaning is closer to balance.
- Wiremu: Karira’s first name is Wiremu, the Maori name for William. Maori names often come from a Maori pronunciation of the English name, so Hori is George, Hohepa is Joseph, and Hemi is James. In the next book you will meet Wiki, short for Wikitoria, or Victoria.
For more Maori words, look here.