Ho & the Baby Eater

Ho and the Baby Eater: Glossary

A spoiler-light reader aid for recurring names, atua, places, peoples, Polynesian terms, and in-world words from Ho & the Baby Eater.

A spoiler-light reader aid for the journal chapters of *Ho and the Baby Eater*. This glossary explains recurring names, atua, places, peoples, Polynesian terms, and in-world words that may be unfamiliar on first encounter.

Author's Note on Language Method

The language choices in this manuscript are governed, where possible, by POLLEX, the Polynesian Lexicon Project Online: a comparative dictionary of Polynesian languages that gathers cognates, reflexes, and reconstructed older forms. My aim is not to decorate English prose with isolated Polynesian words, but to make the world think, name, worship, judge, remember, and misunderstand itself through language closer to pre-colonial contact.

That choice is deliberate, but expensive. A modern English-language novelist has access to a vast working inheritance: major dictionaries record hundreds of thousands of English words and phrases, and an educated adult writer can draw on tens of thousands of known words before even reaching for specialist vocabulary. POLLEX is invaluable, but it is a narrower tool for a different job. It contains more than 64,000 recorded reflexes arranged under more than 5,000 reconstructed forms across 67 languages; once those forms are filtered for pre-contact plausibility, cultural fit, part of speech, semantic precision, sound, and story context, the usable pool of nouns and verbs becomes much smaller.

This limitation shaped the prose. Sometimes a scene could not simply use the first English word that came to mind; it had to be rebuilt around a concept that had an older Polynesian pathway, or around a moral category that belonged more naturally to the world of the story. Terms such as mana, tapu, utu, wairua, atua, rohe, and rāhui are therefore not interchangeable ornaments. They are part of the book's architecture: its cosmology, belief system, social order, ethics, and sense of consequence.

Some entries explain standard Māori or wider Polynesian terms; others explain in-world terms shaped by the novel's imagined Kafiki setting. The glossary will continue to grow as more chapters are released.

Core Kupu, Cultural Terms, and Material Culture

Term	Meaning
āe	Yes; an affirmation.
ariki	Person of high rank or chiefly/noble status. In the manuscript, often tied to bloodline, prestige, and political standing.
atua	Divine or supernatural being; in this story, gods and powerful ancestral forces who govern parts of the world.
auē	Exclamation of distress, grief, surprise, or emphasis. Appears both sincerely and mockingly.
hā	Breath, vital breath, or life force. Used in the manuscript in divine conception/life-force language.
hapū	Kinship group or sub-tribe.
harakeke	New Zealand flax; used for cord, lashings, kete, and woven objects.
hoe	Paddle; also the action or command to paddle.
kaihautū	Canoe leader, caller, or timekeeper who helps coordinate paddling and rhythm.
karaka	A coastal tree with glossy leaves and orange fruit.
kauri	Large native forest tree. In the manuscript it can also appear in elevated or personified chant contexts.
kava	Ceremonial/drink plant preparation used across parts of Polynesia; in the manuscript it appears as a drink shared in ritual/social settings.
kete	Woven basket, pouch, or kit.
kōhū	In-world medicinal salve or herb used against fever.
kūmara	Sweet potato.
lavālava	Wrapped cloth garment.
mākutu	Magic, curse, or ritual harm. Appears in the phrase `tohunga mākutu`.
mana	Prestige, authority, status, spiritual force, and power. In the story it can be social rank, divine potency, personal strength, or something expended in action.
maro	Loincloth or waist garment; appears in clothing descriptions.
moa	Large flightless bird; in the manuscript also a significant food/ride/gift animal.
motu	Island. Appears in `Kafiki Motu`.
muka	Prepared flax fibre, used for weaving.
namu	Sandfly/gnat-based insult or in-world slang.
ngeri	Short chant or haka-like performance. In the manuscript, used for rhythmic chant and battle/ritual expression.
pā	Fortified settlement or village enclosure; in manuscript context, may also be used more generally for settlement/place.
pākē	Rough cape or rain cape made from undressed leaves or flax.
paoa	In-world medicinal salve or herb used against fever.
patupaiarehe	Fairy folk; fair-skinned supernatural people associated with bush, mountains, mist, and avoidance of fire.
pāua	Abalone/paua shell, often valued for its iridescence.
poerava	Tahitian black pearl; in the manuscript, black pearl ornaments worn ceremonially, later used figuratively for a small dark glint of hope beneath the surface.
pōhutukawa	Coastal tree with red flowers.
Pouākai	Giant mythic/extinct bird of prey; in manuscript context, associated with Autara eagle hunters or tracker-hunters.
pounamu	Greenstone/nephrite/jade; also used as Selai's private pet name. Carries connotations of beauty, value, and preciousness.
puaka	Pig.
puga	In-world substance, drink, powder, or crushed coral preparation with intoxicating/ritual effects.
rāhui / rahui	Temporary restriction, prohibition, or sacred ban placed over an area or resource. Manuscript has both macron and non-macron forms.
rauhā-tangi	In-world herb used to sharpen inner sight and widen perception.
rohe	Boundary, territory, region, or district. Often used for tribal land/area of authority.
tāhei	Necklace or ornament worn at the chest/neck.
tāmure	Snapper/fish.
tāniko	Decorative woven border or patterned weaving.
taonga	Treasure, prized object, valued resource, or anything held precious.
tapa	Barkcloth; in the manuscript, appears as mat, cord, and cloth material.
tapu	Sacred, restricted, forbidden, taboo, or set apart.
taro	Root crop/staple food.
tī	Cabbage tree; leaves may be used for skirts, coverings, or other material culture.
tika	Correct, right, proper, just, or fitting.
toetoe	Reed/grass-like plant or thatch material; in context, sharp blades cut the hand.
tohunga	Expert, priest, healer, ritual specialist, or keeper of sacred knowledge.
tōtara	Native tree; appears in forest/clearing scenes.
tūrama	In-world yellow dye or plant-dye source used for bright garments.
utu	Reciprocity, payment, compensation, revenge, or balancing response. In the story it often carries the weight of blood debt and moral balancing.
wairua	Spirit or soul. In the manuscript, often used when body, memory, and spiritual self separate or return.
waka	Canoe or vessel. Central to travel, exile, return, and ocean navigation.
whakataukī	Proverb or proverbial saying.
whāriki	Woven mat.

Atua, Supernatural Figures, and Cosmological Names

Name	Meaning
Ārohirohi	Goddess of the lake in Matavai origin story.
Feke	Ho's adopted island/tribal power and a divine/guardian presence in the manuscript.
Feke and Rapa-Iti	Taniwha gods named as awakening powers.
Io	Supreme divine figure referenced as a creator/source above other atua.
Mailagu	Sky/blue-veil goddess in the manuscript.
Mārama	Moon goddess in the manuscript's ritual context.
Māui	Culture hero referenced through comparison and memory.
Papatūānuku	Earth mother.
Rā	Sun or sun-associated deity.
Ranginui	Sky father.
Rongo	Peace, agriculture, and fertile garden-associated atua.
Takali Foto	Volcano god/mountain; a place, a divine presence, and a prophetic threat.
Takaroa	Sea/ocean god associated with Ho, the ocean, and divine ancestry.
Tāne / Tāne-Mahuta	Forest god; associated with trees and the living forest.
Tāwhiri / Tāwhirimātea	Wind or storm god. `Tāwhirimātea` is the fuller Maori deity name; manuscript also uses shortened `Tāwhiri`.
Tokoroa	Variant/error form appearing in early ocean-counsel references.
Tū	War/humankind-associated atua, invoked among Ho's carved gods.
Wātea	God of the cosmos; Teā's claimed divine father.

Peoples, Tribes, and Places

Name	Meaning
Ahukai	Tribe associated with Sukey and Faturaki.
Autara	Tribe that enslaved Ho as a child and remains politically important.
Feke	Ho's adopted home/tribal identity off Kafiki; also appears with divine force.
Ho's atoll	Ho's isolated place of exile after leaving Kafiki.
Kafiki	Main island/world of the tribes; Ho's homeland context before exile.
Kafiki Motu	The island of Kafiki; `motu` means island.
Lidopo	Place/people named in later intertribal context.
Mahana	Ranges/area named in Matavai geography.
Makateā	Distant people or tribe associated with Rapa-Iti.
Makateān	Adjectival form referring to the Makateā people or their motifs.
Matalagi	Great meeting fale; glossed in manuscript as `Beautiful Cloak`.
Matavai	Powerful tribe/rohe tied to Chief Kuanua, Selai, Teā, and the Waimate River.
Na-Mala-o-Kala‘i	Goddess of Water and the Sea who gives Ho knowledge of the mana beneath his skin.
Nasara	Place name appearing later in the manuscript.
Rapa-Iti	Distant place/people; also appears in supernatural/taniwha-god references.
Takaroans	People of Feke Motu associated with Feke and the Takaroa/Feke tradition.
Tuakau	Village/place reached during tracking scenes.
Tumutumu	One of the Kafiki tribes named in tribal gatherings/prophecy.
Ulu Waimate	Falls/landmark central to Teā, Kura, and the Baby Eater thread.
Unusi	One of the Kafiki tribes named in tribal gatherings/prophecy.
Vanua	Place/people term appearing later in the manuscript; in wider Polynesian usage often relates to land/people/place.
Waimate River	River and rohe marker in Matavai territory.

Main Characters, Recurring Names, and Objects

Name	Meaning
Ailani	Recurring named figure in later chapters.
Arahuta	Loha's companion in Ho's early encounter.
Baby Eater	Child-taking monster/demon whose threat draws Ho back toward Kafiki.
Chief Kuanua	Chief of Matavai and Selai's husband.
Dark Flame	Title/name for the masked tohunga or ritual figure at Takali Foto.
Faturaki	Elder tohunga, navigator/prophet figure, and Ho's adoptive father.
Galaiga	Crew/warrior figure in Faturaki's party.
Gundaidhar	Supernatural/ritual figure appearing late in the manuscript.
Hina	Named figure appearing late in the manuscript.
Ho	Exiled warrior, monster-hunter, and central protagonist.
Hōkūleʻa	Navigational star reference.
Hōkūpaʻa	Navigational star reference.
Iwa	Autara hunter/warrior figure.
Kalapa	Carved/voiced presence connected to Ho's solitude and spirit-world chorus.
Kanopolu	Named figure in the Feke/forest/tracking sections.
Kura	Companion/friend connected to Teā and the Ulu Waimate thread.
Loha	One of the sky-fallen/divine-feeling figures Ho encounters early.
Makosai	Named figure associated with Kanopolu and provisions/weapons.
Manōkalanipō	Star/navigation name referenced by Ho.
Paiʻea	Musician of Ahukai.
Pakuu	Speaker/authority figure in Matavai-related scenes.
Pataru	Recurring named figure in later chapters.
Pounamu	Selai's private pet name used by Ho; literally greenstone/precious stone.
Selai	Teā's mother; emotionally central to Ho and Matavai.
Sere	Elder or older woman figure connected to Matavai/Selai scenes.
Sukey	Ahukai girl/woman of ariki blood tied to Teā's early storyline.
Teā	Son of Selai, believed by some to be a child of Wātea.
Totokona	Ho's famous weapon, carved by him and repeatedly associated with his legend.
Tufukia	Matavai warrior/brother figure.
Turuturu	Recurring named figure in later chapters.
Tuʻunaga	Matavai warrior/brother figure.
Waru	Autara hunter/warrior figure.