Peru. Scented plants. Proverb.
Scent
Scent
A preparation made from certain plants, used as a scent. (Williams 1971)
Mentioned in Best 1942.
Proverbs
"Taku hei piripiri, taku hei mokimoki, taku hei tawhiri, taku kati-taramea."
My necklace of scented moss; my necklace of fragrant fern; my necklace of odorous gum; my sweet-smelling locket of sharp-pointed Taramea."
"This affectionate and pretty distich was often sung to a little child when fondling it, expressive of love... Piripiri is a fine horizontal moss-like Hepaticae (Lophocolea novae-zealandiae and other allied species) found in the dense forests; Mokimoki is the fern Doodia caudata;Tawhiri is the shrub, or small tree, Pittosporum tenuifolium; Taramea is the Alpine plant Aciphylla colensoi . From the two last a fragrant gum was obtained; that, however, from the needle-pointed Aciphylla only through much ceremony, labour, and trouble, - and, I may say, pain, -gently indicated in the prefix given to it in the chant - kati = sudden sharp prick, or puncture. All these scents were much prized by the New Zealanders who wore them in little sachets suspended to their necks." (Colenso 1879: 148, Colenso 1892b)
NB. Piripiri is also the name given to the scented fern Hymenophyllum sanguinolentum
