declining of the sun. "Kia tauhinga rawa te ra" implies an advanced stage of such declining. "Kia rewa te ra ki runga" denotes that the sun is high up. Poutu and poutumaro mean "on the meridian." "Ka moe tonu te tangata ao noa te ra, whanake noa te ra i te rua, moiri noa ki runga, poutumaro tonu e moe ana" ("The person slept until day dawned, until the sun rose, until it was high up, and when it was on the meridian he still slept"). Kua to te ra" and "Kua torengi te ra" both mean "the sun has set"; but, precisely speaking, the latter seems to denote that the sun has quite disappeared, but the former is often used when it is still visible above the horizon. "Kua tao te ra" denotes that the sun has passed the meridian, but has not declined to any marked extent.
| Puaotanga | Dawn. | |
| Puao | To dawn. | |
| Takiri | To dawn. | |
| Takiritanga o te ata | Dawn. | |
| Haeata | To dawn. | |
| Putanga mai o te ra | Appearance of the sun; sunrise. | |
| Hapai | To dawn; to rise. |
"Ka hapai mai nga toko o te ata ka whakatika matau" ("As the rays of morning appeared we started"). "Ka hapai nga Kawainga o te ata" ("The harbingers of dawn rose"). Many such expressions as the following are also encountered: "Kia puta mai nga wana o te ra i nga huapae maunga" ("When the rays of the sun appeared from behind the ranges"). "Te tahanga o te ra" denotes afternoon, from taha "to pass; to go by."
Names of Seasons and Miscellaneous Notes.
To the Maori there are two main divisions of the year, winter and summer, takurua and raumati. There was also the usual division of the year into four seasons, as follows:—
| Winter | Takurua. Hotoke. | |
| Spring | Koanga. Mahuru. | |
| Summer | Raumati. | |
| Autumn | Ngahuru. |
Takurua is a star-name, apparently pertaining to Sirius. Hotoke carries the sense of cold. In the following remark the name of Pipiwai is not known to the writer: "Na, i te wa o te hotoke, o te takurua o Pipiwai" ("Now, in the time of winter, the winter of Pipiwai"). It is just possible that the name is connected with Pipiri, a star-name that is employed to denote the cold season. As a name for spring Mahuru is not often used, but it is also the title of the personified form of spring. The term Koanga simply denotes the digging season, from ko, the old native digging-implement, also ko, the verb "to dig." Spring is the digging and planting season. Another expression is Aroaro-mahana, which implies the welcome warmth of spring. Waru-tuhoehoe, Waru-tumahoehoe, Waru-puahaaha, and Te Waru i kanga i a Tahu are all terms applied to the eighth month, the warm, dry period of February and March. The last of these expressions probably refers to the scarcity of food products, of
