rahui
/ˈrɑːhʊə
/noun (plural same) NZ
A prohibition against a particular area or activity, typically one in force temporarily in order to protect a resource: a Maori elder placed a rahui on the river...
- Two carvings will be placed alongside billboards at each end of Matapihi Peninsula to warn people of the rahui.
- In Maoridom, a tapu area is considered sacred and holy and it is believed that anyone breaking the rahui will face spiritual consequences.
- The blue cod fishery down there is so threatened that two whole fiords have had to be closed in a rahui, while the fishery rebuilds.
Origin
Early 19th century: Maori.