Te Wai Pounamu
Encyclopedia
Te Wai Pounamu is a Māori name for New Zealand's South Island
which is also sometimes referred to as Te Waka a Maui
(The canoe of Maui), from 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.
The New Zealand Geographic Board has found that, along with the North Island, the South Island has no official name. The board intends to make South Island the island's official name, along with an alternative Māori name. Although several Māori names have been used, Maori Language Commissioner
Erima Henare sees Te Wai Pounamu as the most likely choice.
South Island
The South Island is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand, the other being the more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman Sea, to the south and east by the Pacific Ocean...
which is also sometimes referred to as Te Waka a Maui
Te Waka a Maui
Te Waka a Māui is a Māori name for the South Island, New Zealand. Some Māori mythology says that it was the vessel which Māui stood on as he hauled up Te Ika-a-Māui ....
(The canoe of Maui), from mythology
Maui (Maori mythology)
In Māori mythology, Māui is a culture hero famous for his exploits and his trickery.-Māui's birth:The offspring of Tū increased and multiplied and did not know death until the generation of Māui-tikitiki . Māui is the son of Taranga, the wife of Makeatutara...
.
Ngāi Tahu
Ngāi Tahu
Ngāi Tahu, or Kāi Tahu, is the principal Māori iwi of the southern region of New Zealand, with the tribal authority, Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu, being based in Christchurch and Invercargill. The iwi combines three groups, Kāi Tahu itself, and Waitaha and Kāti Mamoe who lived in the South Island prior...
, the principal Māori iwi
Iwi
In New Zealand society, iwi form the largest everyday social units in Māori culture. The word iwi means "'peoples' or 'nations'. In "the work of European writers which treat iwi and hapū as parts of a hierarchical structure", it has been used to mean "tribe" , or confederation of tribes,...
(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
Nephrite
Nephrite is a variety of the calcium and magnesium-rich amphibole mineral actinolite . The chemical formula for nephrite is Ca25Si8O222. It is one of two different mineral species called jade. The other mineral species known as jade is jadeite, which is a variety of pyroxene...
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.
The New Zealand Geographic Board has found that, along with the North Island, the South Island has no official name. The board intends to make South Island the island's official name, along with an alternative Māori name. Although several Māori names have been used, Maori Language Commissioner
Maori Language Commission
New Zealand's Māori Language Commission is an autonomous crown entity set up under the Māori Language Act 1987 with the following functions:...
Erima Henare sees Te Wai Pounamu as the most likely choice.