AWATEA

Evening Post, Issue 87, 9 October 1936, Page 8

AWATEA

(To the Editor.)

. Sir,—l have been asked whether Awatea is a true Maori word? Also what its true meaning is. I- have answered that there is no such word in the Maori i language, and, in fact Awatea is a mispronounced and mutilated form of Ao-Atea. The pronunciation of Ao-Atea is by prolonging the sounds, Ao,, as in English' "Ah, Oh." By mispronouncing those letters with the following Atea, we get.the shortsounding Awatea, which, as I say, is not true Maori. In Maori we have Awa-nui, Awa-iti, Awa-roa, Awa-huri, all of which are descriptive names with their appropriate-meanings, big river, little river, long river, turning river. But no Awatea. Now what is the true meaning of Awa-tea? ' Awa, river; Tea, clear. Awatea does not, cannot mean, "The.Eye of Dawn," or anything else connected with dawn. In Maori we have one of the most beautiful myths, either in Maori, or any other language, the myth of Tane and Hine-Ao,. Tane/ the Lord of Light. Hine-Ao, ihe Goddess of the atmosphere (for our Ao is the name for atmosphere). Familiarly our Goddess of the Atlnosphere, is known as the "Dawn Maiden" —HineAo! Fancy us describing her as HineAwa. Then we have the Ao-tea, ancestral canoe, is that to be spelt "Awatea"? Then there is our Ao-Tea-Roa, the Maori nanie for, New Zealand, is that to be spelt "Awatea?" ■ Then again there is Ao-Rangi (Mount Cook), can that be spelt "Awarangi." Awatea is not a dictionary word. It is- a compound, comprising two distinct words, and it ought not to.find a place in any dictionary. It is said that Williams's Maori dictionary, gives the meaning of Awatea as ''broad daylight" and-"middle of the day." It is news to me to know that in our Maori language, the name for "broad daylight" and "middle of the day" can be expressed in one and- the same term. He who quotes Williams's dictionary, and I speak of the fifth' edition; as being sufficient work for expressing the purity of my Maori language, will fail.

It is said in your columns thai Awatea has been published in 1871; as if that was proof that Awatea is correct. Before and since 1871, we have Remuera, Hinuera, Motueka, each without the necessary "w," and many others of our Maori place names mutilated, just as Awatea is a mutilation of our Ao-Atea. And why should anyone suggest and ask us to believe Awatea is a true Maori word? •

Alao, sir, before • and since 1871 we have Kaiwarraj ■ Ngahauranga, Petone, Waiwetu, "Ohiro, all of ' which are wrong, but'all.of which to the correspondent must be right,' as they have been recorded since before 1871.—1 am, etc.,' ■ i. ■

HARE HONGI.