mātenga - head
matenga - time or circumstance of death
Mātenga, n. Head. E toru tonu nga taiaha ki te matenga o Hatupatu (T. 99).
Williams Dictionary
matenga, n. 1. Time, circumstance, etc., of death. Na, te matenga ano o taua tamaiti ra, pokaia ana e Turi te manawa (T. 107).
2. Disaster, defeat, slaughter. Te ingoa o tenei matenga, ko Maikukutea (T. 93).
Tirotiro ai ia i ngā pānui mō ngā matenga i ia rā, i ia rā.She checks out the death notices religiously every day.Habitual action - ai
Nō mua tata atu i tōna matenga, ka puta tana ōhākī ki tana whānau.Shortly before his passing, he made his dying speech to his whānau.Belonging to the past - nō
Ko tēnei te kōrero o te matenga o Kae.This is the story of the death of Kae.Possessives - 'o' class - ō, tōku...
