Māori colours and the Māori alphabet

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Tuesday 28 December 2010
Ron Brownson

I thought you would enjoy some Māori words for ko nga kara [Māori colours].

Mangu, pango
Black


White

Whero
Red

Para, karaka
Orange

Tuapōkere
Violet

Purū
Blue

Kikorangi
Sky-blue

Kākariki
Green

Kōwhai
Yellow

Pūma, kerei
Grey

Parāone
Brown

Whakahekeheke
Striped

The Māori alphabet has the following letters:

A E G H I K M

N O P R T U W

Remember G is used with ‘n’ (ng) only.

Aalto Colour, one of the Gallery's paint sponsors, developed with Toi Māori Aotearoa, a bespoke palette of Māori colour.
http://www.aaltocolour.com/colour/default.asp?p=7