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(PARTIALLY) COGNATE REFLEXES IN SOME OTHER AUSTRONESIAN LANGUAGES
A few Eastern Oceanic (Western Pacific) and Polynesian languages have words reflecting the *Sinu element in *tausinu/tauhinu:
Gela (South-east Solomon Islands): Sinu, "a kind of shore tree";
Wayan (Fiji): Sinu (Excoecaria agollocha, Euphorbiaceae) - a small coastal tree with acrid milky sap, capable of blinding;
Bauan (Fiji): Sinu (Phaleria spp., Thymelaeaceae) and several other trees whose sap is irritating.
Tongan: Huni (Phaleria disperma, Thymelaeaceae)
West Futunan: Sinu ("A tree whose sap is said to cause blindness")
Samoan: Suni (Phaleria disperma, and P. glabra, Thymelaeaceae, and some flowering plants, including the fragrant Hoya australis, Apocynaceae, and the introduced Ixora spp., cultivated exotic plants with showy flowers, Rubiaceae) |
*Tausinu in Polynesia
Tauhinu in Aotearoa
Gallery
As you can see from the whakapapa above, the Māori plant name tauhinu is derived from a combination of the word root *sinu, coined in the Western Pacific before the Austronesians arrived in Polynesia, and the derivative prefix tau-. *Sinu appears to have referred to a variety of trees, some of which had showy and scented flowers, while others were characterized by their irritating sap, but all growing on or near the shore.
The derived form however has a single referent, except in Aotearoa: the tropical shoreline tree Tournefortia argentea. However the word itself has several forms, which seem to have originated in Samoa or thereabouts as the Proto Nuclear Polynesian language was evolving, from two variants *tausinu (the direct ancestor of the Māori word), and tausunu, each referring to the same plant. Since then other variants have developed in the various Island groups, but again all refer to the Tournefortia.
*Tausinu ~ *Tausunu in Polynesia
The plant known to some botanists as Tournefortia argentea and to others as Heliotropium foetherianum is a pan-tropical shoreline plant, ranging from Madagascar through Southeast Asia, Northern Australia to Polynesia as far as Pitcarn Island. It did not reach Hawai'i naturally, but is now quite common there in littoral environments. It can be quite a large sprawling tree up to 5 metres high, with large, grey-green leaves, or a rather stunted shrub reaching only 1 metre, depending on the environment. It has hairy grey-green branches and its tough wood was sometimes used for making canoes or components of canoes. In Hawai'i, where it has become naturalized since its introduction in the 19th Century, it is used for coastal windbreaks, shade, and beach stabilization. In the Midway atolls (Hawai'i) the larger trees provide roosts and nesting places for several species of sea bird. Its umbrella shape when in a favourable situation makes it a useful shade tree.
Tauhinu in Aotearoa
On arrival in Aotearoa, no Tournefortia were to be found, but the name was bestowed on two other shoreline plants, and, probably later, on a very small high-altitude podocarp.
The first plant to have been named tauhinu may have been the shoreline tree Ozothamnus microphyllus. This grey to yellow bushy shrub can reach a height of about 3 metres, and the branches are clothed with fine, white hairs. If you disregard the size of the leaves, on the shoreline it can be reminiscent of its tropical namesake, especially when it is in flower. Its wood is exceptionally hard and durable, and its roots and branches were used for making fish hooks, just as the Tournefortia provided material for the construction of canoe parts. It was also used medicinally, particularly for the relief of chest troubles. This tauhinu was also believed to be a refuge for katipo spiders, denizens of some West Coast beaches, and it was therefore a dangerous tree to sleep under while resting at the beach.
In the Waikato Ozothamnus leptophyllis is found on the edges of the Raglan, Aotea and Kawhia harbours, all sites of early Māori settlement. Although it is essentially a littoral plant, it can also be found on rocky outcrops near the top of Mt Pirongia (959 m above sea level). Its natural range is from south of Auckland to Marlborough and Northern Westland. Its hebe-like appearance have earned it the alternative names tauhinu-kokokio and tauhinu-koromiko.
Another shoreline shrub, Pomaderris phylicifolia, was also named tauhinu. This is a strongly scented manuka-like small shrub, growing up to 2 metres tall. The branches are covered with white hairs, and the leaves are recurved, a protection against dry weather in the rocky environments which it frequents. The tough woody roots provided excellent material for fish hooks. This plant was once abundant from the far north to Waikato, as an early colonizer on gumlands, clay banks and other disturbed areas, and among mānuka and sedges on poor soils. It is now found on only a few sites from Te Paki (near North Cape) to Orewa, just north of Auckland.
The last, abeit hyphenated tauhinu is Podocarpus nivalis, the "snow totara", known as tōtara tauhinu in its upright form. It is found at relatively high altitudes from the Waikato, where it grows near the summit of Maungatautari (800 m above sea level), south, in the North Island, and also throughout the South Island. Its branches tend to be horizontal rather than vertical, and the lower branches grow roots, which helps stabilize the tree and its often insecure, stony surrounds, and faciliates a prostrate habit in adverse conditions. In more favourable conditions, when not bearing its succulent bright-red fruits, it does look rather like a small version its lowland tauhinu namesakes.
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