Hau = Thread, line, string, ribbon; this is the name of the fibres of the hauhau tree formerly used to make twine, cloth, etc.; hau kahi, fishing line for tuna; hau here, line for eel trap; hau moroki, strong, tough line, thread; hau paka, fibres of the hauhau tree, which were first soaked in water, then dried to produce a strong thread. Ha'u = Hat. Vanaga. Hat, cord; the tree Triumfetta semitriloba. Van Tilburg. Ta.: The tree Hibiscus tiliaceus. Henry. Hau. 1 a. Hibiscus. b. Wick. P Pau.: fau, hibiscus. Mgv.: hau, id. Mq.: fau, hau, id. Ta.: fau, id. 2. To contribute. Ta.: aufau, to pay, to contribute, to subscribe. 3. Hat, cap, helmet; hakarere ki te hau, to take off the hat. Ta.: fauurumaa, war bonnet. 4. Dew; hakaritorito ki te hau, to bleach in the dew. P Mgv., Mq.,Ta.: hau, dew. 5. To blow freshly, coolness, zephyr, salubrious, breeze, wind (hahau, ahau); kona hauhau, kona hahau, a breezy spot; ahau ora, agreeable breeze; hakahahau, to hang out in the air; hakaahau, to blow. T Mgv.: hau, to blow, blusterous, to breathe. Haua, hoarse. (Hauha); araha hauha, to wait for, to look forward to. Hauhau, 1. dog (onomatopoetic). 2 a. To scratch, to scrape, to rub. b. Wood used in plowing fire. 3. (hau 5). Haumaru (hau 5 - marumaru) cool, cold. Hauù, to replace. Hauva, twin, cut T. Hauvaero (hau 3 - vaero) plume, aigrette, head ornament. Hauvarikapau (hau 3 - varikapau) plume, aigrette, head ornament. Churchill. Pau.: Hau, superior, kingdom, to rule. Mgv.: hau, respect. Ta.: hau, government. Mq.: hau, id. Sa.: sauā, despotic. Ma.: hau, superior. Hauhau, to attack. Ma.: hau, to chop. Churchill. Sa.: fau, to tie together, to fasten by tying, the tree (Hibiscus tiliaceus) whose bast is used for cord, the kava strainer made therefrom, strings in various uses; fafau, to lash on, to fasten with sennit; faufau, to fasten on, to tie together. To.: fau, to fasten up the hair, the name of the hibiscus, the kava strainer made therefrom; faufau, to fasten the outriggers of small canoes; hau, to fasten to; fehauaki, to tie. Fu.: fau, the hibiscus, the kava strainer; faù, fafaù, faùfaù, to attach, to tie. Niuē: fau, fafau, to make by tying. Fotuna: no-fausia, to tie, to fasten. Ta.: fau, the hibiscus; fafau, to tie together. Pau.: fau, the hibiscus. Nuguria: hau, id. Ma.: hau, to bind, to fasten together; whau, a shrub; whauwhau, to tie. Ha.: hau, name of a tree with a practicable bark. Mq.: hau, the hibiscus. Mgv.: hau, id.; hahau, to join or tie with cords. Nukuoro: hau, the hibiscus, a garland. Mg.: au, the hibiscus. Vi.: vau, the hibiscus; vautha, to bind together. Churchill 2.

Mahute. A tree (Boussonetia papyrifera) formerly more abundant on the island, the fibres of which were used for clothing (see nua and hami). Vanaga. The tree Broussonetia papyrifera, indispensible for all types of fasteners (lines, twine, ropes, and rigging). Barthel 2. Maute, paper mulberry (mahute G). P Mgv.: eute, ute, id. Mq.: ute, id. Ta.: aute, Hibiscus rosa-sinensis. Pau.: aute, id. Mahutehute (mahute - tutu 1) bast cloth in the last stage of preparation (maute). Churchill.

Gaatu, totora reed. Vanaga. Gaatu 1. Bulrush, reed. 2. (gatu).  Churchill.Gatu. Gaatu, totora reed. Gatu: 1. To press, to tighten, to squeeze. 2. To pack tight. 3. To pull suddenly, to give a jerk. I ka hakarogo atu, ku eke á te kahi, he gatu mai, as soon as he felt the tuna be, he pulled in [the line] with a sharp jerk. 4. To kick. 5. E gatu te hagu, to wait for something impatiently (gatu, breath). 6. Shortly, very soon. He tu'u gatu, he is coming shortly, he is just about to arrive. Vanaga. Bulrush, reed. Gaatu (gatu) 1. To feel of, to pinch, to throttle with the hands, to touch, to press (gaatu); gatuga, pressure; gatugatu, to trample down. T Mgv.: natu, to press out linen, to squeeze a person or a sore place. Mq.: natu, to pinch. Ta.: natu, to pinch, to bruise. 2. To suppurate. 3. Gatu mai gatu atu, sodomy. Gatua (gatu 1), tractable, to press.  Churchill. Scirpus riparius var. paschalis. Barthel 2.

Tavari, the plant Polygonum acuminatum grows on the crater lakes in close association with rushes and seems to have been used for medicinal purposes. Barthel 2.

Riku. To grow in abundance; he-riku te rokia, the grass grows thickly. Vanaga. A light green fern, whose roots were eaten in times of famine. Barthel 2. Vine (fern) T. Churchill.

Gaoho. A shrub (Caesalpinia). Vanaga. Caesalpinia bonduc. The fibres were used as fasteners and the fruit as ornaments, and the plant also seems to have been used for medicinal purposes. Barthel 2.

Nau. Sandalwood which used to grow on the steep slopes of the coast: nau opata. Vanaga. The Sandalwood (Santalum) tree. During the birdman ceremonies at Orongo, a piece of sandalwood was tied to the arm with which the victorious birdman held up the egg of the sooty tern. Barthel 2. ... He [Oroi] went into a (grove of ) sandalwood. He had hidden there so he could watch the arrival of the king and (at the moment when) the foot (of the king touched the loop) quickly pull the rope. Then Oroi would come out immediately and kill the king ... Barthel 2.

Ukukoku, A plant. Vanaga. Uku koku is the name of a dark type of grass, which in earlier times was used to make hats. Barthel 2.

* 2

Nahe. Ta.: Angiopteris erecta [maybe evecta?: 'Mule's-foot Fern']. Sa.: nase, the giant fern. Churchill. Bishop Jaussen: crustacé. Barthel. In Jamaica the species Angiopteris evecta ['Mule's-foot Fern'] is widely naturalized and is registered as an invasive species. The plant was introduced by Captain Bligh from Tahiti as a staple food for slaves and cultivated in the Castleton Gardens in 1860. From there it was able to distribute itself throughout the eastern half of the island. Wikipedia.

... I remember from somewhere in Heyerdahl's books that he considered it significant that neke-neke was a special word in the vocabulary of Easter Island, it meant 'walking without legs, walking by moving the weight this side and that slowly advancing forward'. He had discovered the word when he asked how the statues had been moved - they walked (neke-neke) was the answer ...

Poporo. A plant (Solanum forsteri); poporo haha, a sort of golden thistle. Vanaga. A berry whose juice is mixed with ashes of ti leaves in tattoing. Ta.: oporo, a capsicum plant. The Tahiti oporo is not a degradation of poporo but is the original poro stem augmented by that o which in Tahiti is word-formative in a sense too elusive to find expression in European ideas. Mgv.: poporo, the July season when the leaves fall. Mq.: pororo, dry, arid. Sa.: palolo-mua, July. Ma.: paroro, cloudy weather. Poporohiva, milk thistle. Churchill

Kava. 1. Sour; salty: vai kava, saltwater, sea; te kava o te haíga, acrid underarm smell; tagata kava - tagata kakara i te kava, man with smelly armpits. 2. He-kava te haha, to be thirsty. 3. To turn sour, to become embittered, bad-tempered, exasperated (used with manava): tagata manava kava, bad-tempered, angry man. Vanaga. Bitter, salt; vai kava, brackish water; hakakava, to embalm; kavakava, acid, sharp, bitter, salt, spiritous, vinegar, poisonous, disagreeable; akavakava, to make sharp; hakakavakava, to make acid. P Pau.: kava, disagreeable to the taste; kavakava, acid, sharp. Mgv.: kava, to be bitter, sour, acid, salt. Mq.: kava, bitter. Ta.: ava, bitter, acid, salt. Kavahia: 1. Comfort, comfortable, to feast; hakakavahia, comfort, comfortable. 2. Repulsive (of food), disgusted; hakakavahia, repulsion. Kavakava, rib; moi kavakava, a house god G. P Mgv.: vakavaka, the breast. Mq.: vakavaka, vaávaá, rib. Ma.: wakawaka, parallel ridges. We shall need all the available material in order to determine the germ sense of this word. Sa.: va'ava'a, the breast-bone of a bird; fa'ava'a, the frame as of a slate. To.: vakavaka, the side. Fu.: vakavaka, the side below the armpit. Ha.: hoowaa, to make furrows. In all these we may see the idea of ridge or depression, or of both, as primal (Rapanui, Samoa, Marquesas, Maori, Hawaii), and as secondary the part of the body where such appearances is common (Mangareva, Tonga, Futuna). Churchill. Mgv.: kava, the pepper plant and the drink made therefrom. Ta.: ava, id. Mq.: kava, id. Sa.: 'ava, id. Ma.: kawa, a pepper. Kavakava, a fish. Sa.: 'ava'ava, id. Kavapui, a tree. Ta.: avapuhi, a fragrant plant. Mq.: kavapui, wild ginger. Sa.: 'avapui, id. Ha.: awapuhi, id. Churchill. Mq.: ava, a small fish of sweet water. Sa.. 'ava'ava, a small fish. Ha.: awa, a fish. Kakava, burnt. Sa.: 'a'ava, very hot. Churchill.

Kohe. A plant (genus Filicinea) that grows on the coast. Vanaga. Vave kai kohe, inaccessible. Churchill. *Kofe is the name for bamboo on most Polynesian islands, but today on Easter Island kohe is the name of a fern that grows near the beach. Barthel 2. Koe. I tu'u mai ai a koe. Du kamst / du bist angekommen. Bergmann.

... he oho hokoou te kuhane he ata pe hiva he hati te kohe i te vae [she broke the kohe plant with her feet] he nape i te ingoa ko hatinga te kohe.a hau maka. o hiva ... (E:8)

Pua. 1. A zingiberacea (plant of which few specimens are left on the island). 2. Flower: pua ti, ti flower, pua taro, taro flower, pua maúku pasture flower; pua nakonako, a plant which grows on steep slopes and produce red, edible berries. 3. Pua tariga (or perhaps pu'a tariga), anciently, hoops put in earlobes. 4. The nanue fish when young and tender. Puapua, summit, top, upper part; te puapua o te maúga, the top of the mountain; te puapua kupega, the upper part of a fishing net. Vanaga. Pu'a. 1. (Modern form of pu'o), to cover up something or oneself, to put on; ka-pu'a te ha'u, put on your hat; ka-pu'a-mai te nua, cover me up with a blanket. 2. To respond to the song of the first group of singers; to sing the antistrophe; he-pu'a te tai. 3. To help; ka-pu'a toou rima ki a Timo ite aga, help Timothy with the work. 4. Pu'a-hare, to help a relative in war or in any need; ka-oho, ka-pu'a-hare korua, ko ga kope, go, give your relative a hand, lads. 5. To speak out in someone's favour; e pu'a-mai toou re'o kia au, speak in my favour, intercede for me. Pu'apu'a, to hit, to beat. Vanaga. 1. Flower, ginger, soap; pua mouku, grass. 2. To grease, to coat with tar, to pitch; pua ei meamea, to make yellow. Puapua, a piece of cloth. Mgv.: pua, a flower, turmeric, starchy matter of the turmeric and hence soap. Mq.: pua, a flower, soap. Ta.: pua, id. Ma.: puapua, cloth wrapped about the arm. Churchill.

Hara. Harahara 1. Misaligned (of roofing, basketware, etc.); e harahara nó te kete, the basket is misaligned (its strips are not parallel. 2. A sort of taro. 3. Latrine, defecating ground. Vanaga. 1. Pandanus. P Mgv.: ara, puhara, pandanus (tree); hara, a bunch of pandanus fruit, old pandanus. Mq.: faá haá, pandanus. Ta.: fara, id. 2. Error, mistake, oversight, wrong; to err, to confound, to mistake; manau hara, illusion; toua hara, discussion without knowing the object. P Mgv.: ara, arara, defective, abortive, to miss, to fail, a fault, a quarrel; hara, a fault, a mistake, an error, a dispute, a quarrel, undisciplined. Mq.: hara, a rake, libertine. Ta.: hara, sin, fault, crime. Churchill.

Hua. 1. Testicle. 2. Figuratively: son, hua tahi, only son; fruits of the earth; to grow well (of fruits). 3. To cause a fight, a quarrel. Hua-ai, generation, as lineage of direct descendents; contemporaries. Huahua, coccyx of bird, 'parson's nose': huahua moa, huahua uha. Huataru, a creeper (Chenopodium ambiguum). Vanaga. 1. The same; ki hua, again, to continue, to strain, to struggle, to move, to repeat, over and above. Mq.: hua, the same, to return, to recommence.  2. To bloom, to sprout; flower, fruit (huaa); huaa tae oko, huaa vahio, young fruit; hua atahi, only son; huahaga, fruit; mei te huahaga o tokoe kopu, the fruit of thy body; tikea huahaga, deceptive appearance. P Pau.: ua, to be born; huahaga, lineage. Mgv.: hua, to produce (said of trees, grain, etc.), blooming time of flowers, abundance of fruit. Mq.: hua, to produce, to bear fruit. Ta.: ua, to sprout. Huahua. 1. Tailless fowl. 2. Vein, tendon, line. 3. Mgv.: huahua, pimples covering the face. Ta.: huahua, id. Mq.: hua, tubercules. Sa.: fuafua, abscess on hand or feet. Ma.: huahua, small pimples. Pau.: Hua-gakau, rupture. Ta.: áau, entrails. Sa.: ga'au, id. Ma.: ngakau, id. Churchill. 1. Fruit. 2. Egg. 3. Tā hua = 'genealogical writing' or 'same writing'. Fischer.

hata.

Hata. 1. Table, bureau. P Pau.: afata, a chest, box. Mgv.: avata, a box, case, trunk, coffin. Mq.: fata, hata, a piece of wood with several branches serving as a rack, space, to ramify, to branch; fataá, hataá, stage, step, shelf. Ta.: fata, scaffold, altar. 2. Hakahata, to disjoint; hakahatahata, to loosen, to stretch. P Pau.: vata, an interval, interstice. Mgv.: kohata, the space between two boards, to be badly joined; akakohata, to leave a space between two bodies badly joined; hakahata, to be large, broad, wide, spacious, far off. Mq.: hatahata, fatafata, having chinks, not tightly closed, disjointed. Ta.: fatafata, open. 3. Hatahata, calm, loose, prolix, vast. Mgv.: hatahara, broad, wide, spacious, at one's ease. Ta.: fatafata, free from care. Mq.: hatahata, empty, open. 4. Hatahata, tube, pipe, funnel. Churchill. Sa.: fata, a raised house in which to store yams, a shelf, a handbarrow, a bier, a litter, an altar, to carry on a litter; fatāmanu, a scaffold. To.: fata, a loft, a bier, a handbarrow, to carry on a bier; fataki, a platform. Fu.: fata, a barrow, a loft; fatataki, two sticks or canes attached to each other at each side of a house post to serve as a shelf. Niuē: fata, a cage, a handbarrow, a shelf, a stage, (sometimes) the upper story of a house. Uvea: fata, a barrow, a bier. Fotuna: fata, a stage. Ta.: fata, an altar, a scaffold, a piece of wood put up to hang baskets of food on; afata, a chest, a box, a coop, a raft, a scaffold. Pau.: fata, a heap; afata, a box, a chest. Ma.: whata, a platform or raised storehouse for food, an altar, to elevate, to support. Moriori: whata, a raft. Mq.: fata, hata, hataá, shelves. Rapanui: hata, a table. Ha.: haka, a ladder, an artificial henroost; alahaka, a ladder. Mg.: ata, a shelf; atamoa, a ladder; atarau, an altar. Mgv.: avata, a coffer, a box. Vi.: vata, a loft, a shelf; tāvata, a bier. The Samoan fata is a pair of light timbers pointed at the ends and tied across the center posts of the house, one in front, the other behind the line of posts; rolls of mats and bales of sennit may be laid across these timbers; baskets or reserved victuals may be hung on the ends. The litter and the barrow are two light poles with small slats lashed across at intervals. The Marquesan fata is a stout stem of a sapling with the stumps of several branches, a hat tree in shape, though found among a barehead folk. These illustrations are sufficient to show what is the common element in all these fata identifications, light cross-pieces spaced at intervals. With this for a primal signifaction it is easy to see how a ladder, a raft, a henroost, an altar come under the same stem for designation. Perhaps Samoan fatafata the breast obtains the name by reason of the ribs; it would be convincing were it not that the plumpness of most Samoans leaves the ribs a matter of anatomical inference. Churchill 2.

... Teke said to Oti, 'Go and take the hauhau tree, the paper mulberry tree, rushes, tavari plants, uku koko grass, riku ferns, ngaoho plants, the toromiro tree, hiki kioe plants (Cyperus vegetus), the sandalwood tree, harahara plants, pua nakonako plants, nehenehe ferns, hua taru grass, poporo plants, bottle gourds (ipu ngutu), kohe plants, kavakava atua ferns, fragrant tuere heu grass, tureme grass (Diochelachne sciurea), matie grass, and the two kinds of cockroaches makere and hata.' ... The division into quarters of a 28-series can be applied to the main phases of the moon during the visible period as was as to a (reflex of the old world?) sidereal month. The separate subgroup (29 makere - 30 hata) consists of the names of two types of cockroaches, but in related eastern Polynesian languages these names can also be explained on a different level. MAO. makere, among others, 'to die', and whata, among others, 'to be laid to rest on a platform', deserve special attention. The theme hinted at is one of death and burial. In our scheme they occur at just that time when the moon 'has died'! This lends further support to the lunar thesis. Barthel 2.

Heu. Offspring of parents from two different tribes, person of mixed descent, e.g. father Miru, mother Tupahotu. Heuheu, body hair (except genitals and armpits). Vanaga. 1. Heheu; ivi heheu, the cachalot, bone needle; hakaheu, spade, to shovel, to grub up, to scratch the ground, to labor; rava hakaheu, laborious, toilsome. 2. Hakaheu, affair. Churchill. M. Heu, to separate, to pull asunder; the eaves of a house; heu, a single hair; hau. to hew; heru, to comb; huru, hair on the body; down; feathers; maheu, scattered; maheuheu, shrubs; mahuru, scrub; heuea, to be separated. Text Centre. Nonoma ran, he quickly went to Te Hikinga Heru (a ravine in the side of the crater Rano Kau) and looked around. There he saw the double canoe way out near the (offshore) islets, and the two (hulls of the canoe) were [still] lashed together ...

Kere. To moor, to make fast. Kerekere, black, dark, blue, obscure, gloom; niho kerekere, blackened teeth. Hakakerekere, to blacken. P Pau.: kerekere, black, dark, somber. Mgv.: kerekere, blue, dark blue almost black, the color of the deep ocean, black, somber, darkness. Mq.: kerekere, keékeé, black, somber, livid; ere, blue, azure. Ta.: ereere, black. Churchill.

... tureme grass (Dichelachne sciurea) ...

Tu. To crush into puree, like women of old did, crushing sweet potatoes and mixing them with cooked egg to give the children. Vanaga. To mix, to confound. Churchill.

Tike. Mgv.: Tikitike, high, raised. Mq.: tiketike, tietie, id. Sa.: Ti'eti'e, to sit on a raised seat. Ma.: tiketike, high, lofty. Churchill. Tire. 1. Mgv.: To swell. Mq.: tie, a large boil on the head, to burst (of buds). 2. Ta.: Enough, have done. Mq.: tie, interjection of disapproval. Churchill.

The expressions Tonga, Kona, Toa (Sam., Haw., Tah.), to indicate the quarter of an island or of the wind, between the south and west, and Tokelau, Toerau, Koolau (Sam., Haw., Tah.), to indicate the opposite directions from north to east - expressions universal throughout Polynesia, and but little modified by subsequent local circumstances - point strongly to a former habitat in lands where the regular monsoons prevailed. Etymologically 'Tonga', 'Kona', contracted from 'To-anga' or 'Ko-ana', signifies 'the setting', seil. of the sun. 'Toke-lau', of which the other forms are merely dialectical variations, signifies 'the cold, chilly sea'. Fornander.