Te Wai Pounamu

Te Wai Pounamu

Te Wai Pounamu is the Māori name for New Zealand's South Island which is also sometimes referred to as "Te Waka a Maui" (The canoe of Maui), referring to mythology.

Ngāi Tahu, the principal Māori iwi (tribe) of the southern region of New Zealand, utilised the very hard greenstone (jade) to make adzes and other implements, as well as ornaments. Particularly valued was a paler nephrite which the Māori called "inanga", gathered in a remote area near what is now called the Dart Valley. Māori named the district "wāhi pounamu", meaning "place of greenstone", and the South Island came to be called "Te Wāhi Pounamu". This somehow evolved into "Te Wai Pounamu" which means "the water(s) of greenstone" but bears no relation to the original meaning.

References

* Evison, Harry C, "The Ngai Tahu Deeds, A Window on New Zealand History"," (Canterbury University Press, [2006] ). ISBN 1-877257-39-7


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Te Wai Pounamu — Lake Tekapo Blick auf die Kaikora Ranges von einem Plateau bei Kaikoura Die Südinsel Neuseelands hat eine Fläche v …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Pounamu — pendant. From space, the west coa …   Wikipedia

  • Pounamu — Hei Matau aus Pounamu Hinepare, eine Frau des Iwi …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • New Zealand — This article is about the country. For other uses, see New Zealand (disambiguation). NZ redirects here. For other uses, see NZ (disambiguation). New Zealand Aotearoa …   Wikipedia

  • South Island nationalism — The South Island. South Island nationalism refers to a nationalist movement in the South Island of New Zealand. This political viewpoint is not widely held in the 1999 elections the NZ South Island Party received 2,622 votes, 0.14% of the total.… …   Wikipedia

  • List of New Zealand place names and their meanings — Placenames in New Zealand derive largely from British and Māori origins. An overview of naming practices can be found at New Zealand place names. * Akaroa Kāi Tahu Māori for Long Harbour . * Albert Town named after Prince Albert of Saxe Coburg… …   Wikipedia

  • South Island — Infobox Islands name = South Island Māori: Te Wai Pounamu image caption = Satellite view of the South Island image size = locator Location map|New Zealand|lat= 43.983333|long=170.45|marksize=16 map custom = yes native name = native name link =… …   Wikipedia

  • JADE — Weiße und grüne Jade. Serpentin (Bowenit) aus Polen …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • New Zealand place names — Most New Zealand place names are derived from Māori and British sources. Both groups used names to commemorate notable people, events, places from their homeland, their ships or to described the surrounding area. The Māori did not have a… …   Wikipedia

  • Jade — Nephrite jade redirects here. For nephrite itself, see Nephrite. This article is about the gemstone. For other uses, see Jade (disambiguation). A selection of antique, hand crafted Chinese jade …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”