Etymology
According to Williams' definitive Dictionary of the Māori Language, tangata means "man" or "human being", whilst tāngata (with the long ā) is the plural meaning "people"; tangata (without the macron) can also mean "people" in reference to a group with a singular identity. Whenua means both "land" and "placenta" (again referencing Williams, who lists five definitions). Unlike European thought where people own land, in Māori the land is regarded as a mother to the people. The relationship to land is not dissimilar to that of the foetus to the placenta. In addition, there are certain Māori rituals involving burying the afterbirth of a newborn in ancestral land, which may further shed light on the use of the word whenua for both land and placenta.
Read more about this topic: Tangata Whenua
Famous quotes containing the word etymology:
“The universal principle of etymology in all languages: words are carried over from bodies and from the properties of bodies to express the things of the mind and spirit. The order of ideas must follow the order of things.”
—Giambattista Vico (1688–1744)
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