Glossary
The Cook Islands Māori words used in the books and the law reports, explained in plain English. Where a word meant something different on another island, the entry says so.
On this page
- ariki
- The highest titleholder of a tribe, such as Makea, Pa or Kainuku on Rarotonga.
- Aronga Mana
- The traditional leaders of a vaka or island, the ariki, mata‘iapo and rangatira, acting together.
- ‘atinga
- The first fruits and other offerings given to a titleholder; in the mission years, the offering that became rent.
- kōpū tangata
- A family or descent group, the people who share an ancestor and the land that came from them.
- kōutu
- The court or ceremonial ground of an ariki.
- marae
- A sacred place of ceremony and worship, and the seat of a title.
- mata‘iapo
- The head of a major lineage and holder of its title, below the ariki. A mata‘iapo held land in his own right.
- papa‘anga
- A genealogy, the line of descent by which a family traces its rights.
- rangatira
- The head of a branch of a lineage, below the mata‘iapo.
- tapere
- A division of a vaka, usually running from the mountains to the reef.
- ‘uipā‘anga
- An assembly or meeting.
- vaka
- A canoe, and by extension the district of the people who came in it. Rarotonga has three: Te Au o Tonga, Tākitumu and Puaikura.