ngai tahu 2

20.
4.
It’s probably a good time to note that it isn’t polite in Mäori to ask someone who they are by saying ‘Ko
wai koe?’, or ‘Ko wai tö ikoa?’. This is the equivalent of saying, ‘And just who do you think you are’?
But that’s not to say you are limited on potential pick up lines or anything – you may just need to be a
bit more creative, like:
Hey you… Ko wai tö mauka?
Okay, okay, back to Ko wai. Our structure is the same as the answer, so for: ‘What is the name of your
river?,’ we say:
Ko wai tö awa?
You’ll notice for the question, what is your river, we use tö for your. Whereas in the answer we are saying,
‘Waitaki is my river’ which is why we use taku.
As an example, to answer the question:
Ko wai tö wharenui? Who is your wharenui? We could say:
Ko Uenuku taku wharenui. Uenuku is my wharenui.
To ask a question of a third person we replace the possessive taku or tö with tana, which means his or
hers.
Ko wai tana awa?
Ko Waihao tana awa.
What is his river?
Waihao is his river.
4.1
Using the grid above, translate the following sentences:
1. Waitaki is my river.
2. Täkitimu is my canoe.
3. Tahu Pötiki is my ancestor.
4. Käi Tahu is my tribe.
5. Poutüteraki is my name.
6. What is her meeting house?
7. What is your canoe?
8. Her canoe is Araiteuru.
9. Who is your ancestor?
10. Tühawaiki is my ancestor.