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ahu |
|
a place of worship, called marae in other parts of Polynesia and
heiau in Hawai‘i. These ceremonial shrines take many shapes. Not all had statues |
|
ahu moai |
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image ahu, ceremonial platforms with statues |
|
ahu poepoe |
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canoe-shaped shrine |
|
aku aku |
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supernatural spirits of the land, believed to frequent specific tribal areas; referred to as varua in Tahiti |
|
ana |
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cave |
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'ao |
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ceremonial dance paddle with a human face on one end; also, a ruler or person of authority |
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'ariki |
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chief, head of descent group |
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'ariki mau |
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paramount chief |
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aringa ora |
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"living faces", the collective name for the statues |
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avanga
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burial chamber created in later years beneath ahu |
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hami |
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a squarish shape located between the fingers of a statue, believed to represent the sacred loincloth worn by kings |
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hanga |
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bay |
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hanihani
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red scoria |
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hare |
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house |
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hare rongorongo
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a rongorongo school |
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hare moa |
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stone structure, probably a tomb; some claim they were hiding places for chickens |
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hare pa'enga |
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status dwelling for chiefs and priests, with foundation of cut basalt; shaped like an upturned canoe and thatched |
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hauhau |
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a small shrub (Triumfetta semitriloba) from which rope was made |
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hehe
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octopus |
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henua |
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land, earth |
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hetu'u
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star |
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Hiva |
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mythical ancestral homeland |
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Hoa-haka-nana-ia
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statue presently in the Britsh Museum that was unearthed at Orongo and carried back on the Topaze |
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honu
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turtle |
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hopu |
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a servant or proxy for the birdman contest |
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Hotu Matu'a |
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legendary founder of the island; this original ariki and his family and followers came from Hiva |
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Huri-moai
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the Late Period of Rapanui history; the warring period as it is sometimes referred to |
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ika |
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fish, victim, human sacrifice; a post missionary carving in the shape of a fish |
|
iti
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little — in opposition to "rapa," big |
|
ivi |
|
bone, lineage |
|
ivi atua |
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a shaman-like priest; literally,
"bones of the gods" or "bones of the ancestors"; said to have been able to commune with the akuaku |
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ivi pupko
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a human skull |
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kai |
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food, eat; "to account" |
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kaikai
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string figures |
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Kaimoko
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the last king of Rapanui; he was captured by Peruvian slave traders and died
as an indentured servant in Peru |
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kainga |
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land, Rapanui, clan territory |
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kavakava |
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rib, see also moai kavakava (carved figure) |
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keho |
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thin slabs of basalt used in house construction at Orongo |
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kie'a |
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red (the red clay dye) |
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kio' |
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servant (or farmer) |
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kio'e |
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Polynesian rat (Rattus concolor), now extinct on Rapa Nui |
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komari |
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vulva sign, often incised on rocks |
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koro
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feast |
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koromaké
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men who, among other things, specialized in casting spells to secure the death of an enemy; see also ivi atua |
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kouhau (kohau) |
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a staff: originally the battle staff and then over time the ceremonial staff; in the 19th century any wooden object with
rongorongo on it received was so named |
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kuhane |
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soul, spirit |
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kumara |
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sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) |
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maea
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rock or stone |
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mahina
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moon |
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mahute |
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paper mulberry (Broussonetia papyrifera), from which
tapa cloth was made from the inner bark |
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Makemake |
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deity associated with warriors and warfare (pronounced "mahkay mahkay" |
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maika |
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banana |
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makohe |
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Frigate Bird (Fregata minor) |
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mako'i |
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Thespesia populnea, now rare on the island |
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mana |
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spiritual power or force |
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manavai |
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stone walled or sunken garden enclosures |
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mangai
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fishhook |
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manu
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bird |
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manu ori
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"ancestral mask"; kite; masked people |
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manu piri |
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a motif showing
two Birdmen face to face, said to signify the concept of
"tumu" |
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manutara |
|
Sooty Tern (Sterna fuscata) or
Grey-backed Tern (Sterna lunata) |
|
ma'ori |
|
expert |
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marikuru |
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a tree used for its hard wood (Sapindus saponaria) |
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marae |
|
sacred enclosure, a place of worship (Polynesian, general); in the Marquesas, mae'a; in Hawai'i, heiau |
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maro |
|
sacred loincloth of authority |
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mata |
|
eye, people, clan, ancestor |
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mata'a |
|
obsidian spear point |
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matato'a |
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warrior |
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ma'unga |
|
mountain, hill |
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miro
|
|
tree; wood |
|
Miru |
|
primary status clan on the island |
|
moa |
|
chicken |
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moai |
|
statue, carving |
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moai aringa
|
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double headed images |
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moai maea
|
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stone images |
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moai kavakava |
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"ribbed statuette," carving of emaciated man |
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moai pa'ap'a |
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carved figure of an elderly female |
|
moai toromiro
|
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generic term for wooden images/carvings |
|
moko |
|
lizard |
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motu |
|
islet |
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naunau |
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sandalwood (Santalum) |
|
nga'atu |
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a reed (Scirpus californicus) that has grown in the crater lakes for over 30,000 years. The South American term for this reed is
"totora." |
|
ngarua
|
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stone pillow |
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noa
|
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the lifting of tapu |
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nua
|
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cape made of mahute |
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oho
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hair |
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paenga
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finished basalt stone slab used for the stone foundations of homes for ariki and such |
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paina
|
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large, stuffed, bark-cloth figures constructed in human-like form |
|
paoa
|
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short wooden war club |
|
papa |
|
flat lava flow, pahoehoe |
|
poporo |
|
a plant with small berries (Solanum forsteri) |
|
pora
|
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totora tusk-shaped reed float |
|
poro |
|
rounded beach cobbles |
|
pua |
|
turmeric (Curcuma longa) |
|
pukao |
|
cylindrical stone topknots or headdress for statues, made of red scoria |
|
pure uriuri
|
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black shells |
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ra'a
|
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the sun |
|
rangi |
|
sky, heaven |
|
rano |
|
crater lake |
|
rapa |
|
ceremonial dance paddle |
|
rei
|
|
cognate with the Hawaiian term lei, necklace of flowers |
|
rei miro |
|
crescent shaped pectoral made of wood; sometimes also known as rei marama, "moon pectoral" |
|
rona
|
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sign, ideographs, carved symbols or designs on stone, wood, banana leaves, and other indigenous materials |
|
rongorongo |
|
wood tablets with undeciphered symbols. The priests who were trained to chant the sacred information were the tangata rongorongo. |
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tabiri
|
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key |
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tahonga |
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coconut-shaped pendant, said to have been worn by royalty |
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takona
|
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tattoo |
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tangata |
|
man, living person |
|
tangata manu |
|
birdman |
|
tá
|
|
"write" and "writing"; the pre-missionary (1871) name for rongorongo |
|
tapa |
|
bark cloth, made from the mahute tree |
|
tapu |
|
sacred,
prohibited; source for the word "taboo" |
|
taro |
|
a starchy tuber (Colocasia esculenta) which is made into poi |
|
ta'u
|
|
year; a form of rongorongo writing |
|
taula |
|
priest similar to ivi atua; taua in the Marquesas |
|
ti |
|
an edible plant that also is a source for dye (Cordyline fruticosa) |
|
tiaki ana
|
|
cave guardians |
|
toa |
|
sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum) |
|
toki |
|
stone pick/adze made of basalt |
|
toromiro |
|
indigenous tree (Sophora toromiro), now extinct on the island |
|
totora |
|
a reed (Scirpus californicus) that has grown in the crater lakes for over 30,000 years. The word
"totora" is a South American term; Rapa Nui islanders know it only as nga'atu |
|
tuhunga, tufunga |
|
protopolynesian word for expert, priest. Elsewhere in Polynesia a priest is referred to as maori, tohunga, or kahuna |
|
tumu |
|
source, family tree; group into which one may marry |
|
tumu ivi atua |
|
shaman |
|
tupa |
|
stone towers with inner chambers, of uncertain function. Similar structures in the Tuamotus were used as "turtle watching" towers: actually for watching the stars to predict when turtles would come to the shores |
|
tupuna
|
|
ancestor |
|
tu'ura
|
|
an ariki mau's house
steward |
|
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|
u'a |
|
anthropomorphic ceremonial staff with a double human head on the end |
|
'umu pae |
|
earth oven |
|
umu takapu
|
|
sacrificial earth oven |
|
ure |
|
penis, lineage |
|
uta |
|
the uninhabited center of the island, where spirits were said to dwell |
|
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|
vai |
|
water |
|
vahine |
|
woman |
|
vaka |
|
canoe |
|
varua |
|
spirit of a deceased person |
|
vi'e
|
|
woman |
