"Haki" (a transliteration
of "flag"?
— or more likely, of
"jack"),
has been used since the 19th century at least.
"Pīwari"
(meaning "to wave in the wind") is more recent
— it’s the term that The Māori
Language Commission gives in its dictionary Te Matatiki.
I’m guessing the MLC was trying to provide an alternative that
isn’t a transliteration. So "pīwari"
is a bit more official if you like. "Haki"
is the one everyone knows tho, and "pou pīwari" sounds odd to
me. Te Matatiki also gives "haki kairota" for
"linesman’s flag", and says that "haki"
is «common usage» for flag. Another word is
"kara", from
colour as in
"the trooping of the colour". Kahuroa, quoted by James Dignan, 17 Aug 2007
The pre-European Maori word for flag (if there was one)
does not seem to have survived. Stuart Park, 23 Jan 1996
Have a look at the Maori Wikipedia article about
te Ruki Kawiti and
you can see that Heke cut down the pou haki (the flagpole). Moriori, quoted by James Dignan, 17 Aug 2007
"Kara" is an assimilation of "colour".
Presumably it is used in a similar way to the term
"colour" in English
vexillology, though I confess I’m not 100%
certain that is the case. James Dignan, 26 Oct 2007
