Haki-haki, pakeha, tapu

The book opens with entries from The Pacific Journal of Adam Ewing. The key word here is Pacific. 

He is in the country of New Zealand and uses lots of Maori terms that can be impossible for most people to understand. 

Thank goodness for my Kindle app and my very-well trained index finger. Not to mention, the two and a half years I spent studying South Pacific culture. 

What was that? Oh, you want me to help you out. Well, let me see what I can do...

Ponga-tree ferns or tree fern logs

Haki-haki-smallpox

Maori-a member of the aboriginal people of New Zealand

Pakeha-a white New Zealander, as opposed to a Maori

Moriori-indigenous people of the Chatham Islands (east of the NZ archipelago)

Rekohu-the main island of the Chatham Islands; literally meaning misty skies

Paua-a large edible mollusk

Tapu-sacredness

Tui-a large NZ honeyeater with glossy blackish plumage and two white tufts at the throat

Aotearoa-the Maori name for NZ; literally meaning land of the long white cloud

Don't get discouraged. I'm on page 50, and I can promise you it gets better. 

Happy reading,
Kaley