taonga

/ tɑˈɔnɡə /

noun

1. treasure; anything highly prized

Word History and Origins

Origin of taonga¹

Māori

Example Sentences

The feather is registered as a taonga tūturu under a system to protect Maori made objects.

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Ngāi Tahu, one of the Maori tribes that inhabits New Zealand's South Island consider the takahe as taonga - a treasure that should be protected.

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Since 2010, feathers shed by kiwi at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo in Washington, D.C., have been collected and sent back to New Zealand as “taonga,” the Maori word for treasure.

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They said she was a national treasure, or “taonga” in Indigenous Māori.

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During condolences in Parliament on Tuesday, Maori party co-leader Rawiri Waititi said the British Empire was built on stolen “whenua” and stolen “taonga,” using the Maori words for land and treasure.

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