| 释义 |
▪ I. ‖ matai, n.1|ˈmataiː|
Maori name for a New Zealand coniferous tree, Podocarpus spicata; the Black Pine of Otago. Also, the wood of this tree.
1835W. Yate Acc. N. Zealand (ed. 2) 50 Matai (Taxus Matai), a plant with a small yew-tree leaf, a strong smell, and a rough bark. 1875Offic. Handbk. N. Zealand 40 Valuable woods..matai (or black pine) [etc.].
▪ II. ‖ matai, n.2|mataiː|
[Samoan.]
In a Samoan extended family, the person who is chosen to succeed to a chief's or orator's title and honoured as the head of the household.
1928M. Mead Coming of Age in Samoa (1929) iv. 40 The matai exercises nominal and usually real authority over every individual under his protection, even over his father and mother. 1934F. M. Keesing Mod. Samoa i. 30 In general the matais, or titled men,..engage mostly in ceremonial activities while the work as the white man views it is done by the rest of the community. 1956F. M. & M. M. Keesing Elite Communication in Samoa ii. 17 The community is made up of a series of households of ‘extended family’ or ‘multiple family’ type, each under the authority of a ‘head’ or ‘matai’. 1974Sunday Advocate-News (Barbados) 16 Dec. 21/2 The matais usually deal out justice to law breakers in the Samoan spirit of ‘forgive and forget’ before the matter ever reaches the ears of the authorities. 1974Encycl. Brit. Macropædia XVI. 205/2 Within the villages, close kinship ties have traditionally bound individuals into a sternly collectivist society. Elected family leaders called matai (titled chiefs or orators) form village or district councils to administer group affairs. |