Aotearoa

Aotearoa (Māori: [aɔˈtɛaɾɔa]), originally used in reference to the North Island of New Zealand, is now the most widely known and accepted Māori name for the entire country. It is often pronounced ⁱ/aʊtɪəˈroʊ.ə/ by English speakers, and is becoming widespread in the bilingual names of national organisations, such as the National Library of New Zealand / Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa. Since the 1990s it has been the custom to sing New Zealand's national anthem, "God Defend New Zealand", in both Māori and English, exposing the term Aotearoa to a wider audience.

Translation

The original derivation of Aotearoa is not known. The word can be broken up as: ao = cloud, dawn, daytime or world, tea = white, clear or bright and roa = long. It can also be broken up as Aotea = the name of one of the migratory waka that travelled to New Zealand, or the Large Magellanic Cloud, and roa = long. The common translation is "the land of the long white cloud". Alternative translations are ‘long bright world’ or ‘land of abiding day’ referring to the length and quality of the New Zealand daylight (when compared to the shorter days found further north in Polynesia).

Aotearoa (canoe)

In Māori tradition, Aotearoa (canoe) was one of the great ocean-going, voyaging canoes that was used in the migrations that settled New Zealand.

See also

Aotearoa (disambiguation)

Aotearoa is the Māori name for New Zealand.

Aotearoa may also refer to:

Music