Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu is the Māori name for a hill, 305 metres high, close to Porangahau, south of Waipukurau in southern Hawke's Bay, New Zealand. The name is often shortened to Taumata by the locals for ease of conversation. The New Zealand Geographic Placenames Database, maintained by Land Information New Zealand, records the name as "Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateapokaiwhenuakitanatahu", a hill at 40.3480 S, 176.5321 E.^[1] It has gained a measure of fame as one of the longest place-names in the world and one of the longest words used in English. It is featured in a Mountain Dew jingle and also in the 1979 single "Lone ranger" by British band Quantum Jump. It is the subject of a 1960 song by the NZ balladeer Peter Cape .^[2] Māori or Te Reo Māori,[1] commonly shortened to Te Reo (literally the language) functions as one of the official languages of New Zealand. ... This article is about the unit of length. ... Porangahau is a small township close to the Pacific Ocean coast of the southeastern North Island of New Zealand. ... Waipukurau is the largest town in the Central Hawkes Bay District on the east coast of the North Island of New Zealand. ... Hawkes Bay is a region of New Zealand. ... The longest word in English depends upon the definition of what constitutes an English word. ... Mountain Dew is a caffeinated, sweet, citrus-flavored soft drink produced by PepsiCo, Inc. ... This article is about the physical phenomenon. ...

Meaning

The name on the sign that marks this hill is "Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu", which translates roughly as The summit where Tamatea, the man with the big knees, the climber of mountains, the land-swallower who travelled about, played his nose flute to his loved one. At 85 letters, it is one of the longest placenames in the world. Girl playing the nose flute (Thomas Williams, 1858) The nose flute is a musical instrument played in Polynesia and the Pacific rim countries. ...

The longer form "Tetaumatawhakatangihangakoauaotamateaurehaeaturipukapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu"^{[citation needed]} has 92 letters, and has been entered into the Guinness Book of Records as the longest officially recognized place name in an English-speaking country. It is the second longest place name in the world. In comparison, according to the Guinness Book of Records, the world's longest place name is Bangkok's full ceremonial name given by King Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke, and later edited by King Mongkut, nearly doubles that and is called "Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahinthara Yuthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom Udomratchaniwet Mahasathan Amon Piman Awatan Sathit Sakkathattiya Witsanukam Prasit." ^[3] Suresh Joachim, minutes away from breaking the ironing world record at 55 hours and 5 minutes, at Shoppers World, Brampton. ... Location within in Thailand Coordinates: , Country Settled Ayutthaya Period Founded as capital 21 April 1782 Government  - Type Special administrative area  - Governor Apirak Kosayothin Area  - City 1,568. ...

Taumata sign, March 2007

Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 509 pixelsFull resolution (1024 × 651 pixel, file size: 706 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Taken by Matthew Grosso I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 509 pixelsFull resolution (1024 × 651 pixel, file size: 706 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Taken by Matthew Grosso I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ...

Tamatea, explorer of the land

Tamatea-pōkai-whenua (Tamatea the explorer of the land) was the father of Kahungunu, ancestor of the Ngāti Kahungunu iwi.^[4] Mention of Tamatea's explorations of the land occur not only in Ngāti Kahungunu legends, but also in the traditions of iwi from Northland, where he is said to have explored the Hokianga and Kaipara harbours. In traditions from the Bay of Plenty region, he left a son, Ranginui, who is the ancestor of Ngāti Ranginui of Tauranga. Legends from the East Coast of the North Island tell of his explorations in Tūranga-nui (Gisborne), Māhia, Wairoa, Ahuriri (Napier), Heretaunga (near Hastings) and Pōrangahau. He travelled via the Mangakopikopiko River, over the Tītī-o-kura saddle via Pohokura to Lake Taupo. The Ōtamatea River and swamp is named after him. Tamatea is also the name of a place in Napier. Early South Island legends say that Tamatea sailed down the east coast. His canoe was wrecked in the far south, and transformed into Tākitimu mountain range. Tamatea then returned to the North Island, and travelled via the Whanganui River.^[5] The Ngāti Kahungunu iwi, one of the largest tribes of New Zealand Māori, is based in Wairārapa , Hawkes Bay and Wairoa. ... Northland is the official or unofficial name of several places and things: // Northland Shopping Centre, a shopping centre in Melbourne, Australia Ontario Northland Railway, a transportation company in Canada Northland, the northernmost region of New Zealand, located on the North Auckland (or Northland) Peninsula Northland, a suburb of Wellington, New... The Hokianga Harbour, also known as The Hokianga River or more frequently simply as The Hokianga is a long estuarial drowned valley and its surrounding area on the west coast in the north of the North Island of New Zealand. ... Kaipara can be: The Kaipara Harbour, a bay in northern New Zealand Kaipara District, an administrative division based around Kaipara Harbour This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... The Bay of Plenty, often abbreviated to BoP, is a region in the North Island of New Zealand situated around the body of water of the same name. ... Ngāti Ranginui is a Māori iwi centred in Tauranga in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand. ... Tauranga (population 109,100 — 2006 census) is the largest city of the Bay of Plenty region of the North Island of New Zealand. ... Gisborne is the name of a unitary authority (in this case, a region and district) in New Zealand. ... The T & G Building (Atkin & Mitchell, Wellington, 1936) Napier (Ahuriri in Māori) is an important port city in Hawkes Bay, New Zealand. ... For other uses, see Hastings (disambiguation). ... Lake Taupo is a lake situated in the North Island of New Zealand. ... The South Island The South Island is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand, the other being the more populous North Island. ... The Whanganui River is a major river in the North Island of New Zealand. ...

Maps

• Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateapokaiwhenuakitanatahu is at coordinates 40°20′46″S 176°32′25″E / -40.346, 176.5402 (Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateapokaiwhenuakitanatahu)Coordinates: 40°20′46″S 176°32′25″E / -40.346, 176.5402 (Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateapokaiwhenuakitanatahu)

Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically), Eckert VI projection; large version (pdf, 1. ...

References

External links

• Porangahau - Home to the longest place name in the world
• The World's Longest Place Name - from yourDictionary.com
• Hawkes Bay Maori Legends - Longest Place Name