"Tanakaha. A slender, handsome tree, sixty feet high; trunk rarely exceeds three feet in diameter; wood pale, close-grained, and excellent for planks and spars; resists decay in moist positions in a remarkable manner."
<hw>Tangi</hw>, <i>n</i>. (pronounced <i>Tang-y</i>) Maori word for a lamentation, a cry, or dirge.
1820. `Grammar and Vocabulary of Language of New Zealand' (Church Missionary Society), p. 207:
"Tangi, <i>s</i>. a cry or lamentation."
1845. E. J. Wakefield, `Adventures in New Zealand,' vol. i. p. 194:
"They wrapped the mutilated corpse in his red blanket, and bore it, lashed to a tree, to the village, where the usual tangi took place."
1873. Lieut.-Colonel St. John, `Pakeha Rambles through Maori Lands,' p. 154:
"Shortly afterwards a `tangi' was held over those of the party whose remains could be identified."
1881. J. L. Campbell, `Poenamo,' p.191:
"Perhaps some old woman did a quiet tangi over his grave."