wairua

/ wɑːiːruːɑː /

noun

1. a spirit or soul

Word History and Origins

Origin of wairua¹

Māori

Example Sentences

I come from the Maori nation of New Zealand, the Indigenous people — we’re the Down Under Polynesians — and I wanted to bring that kind of spirit and energy, which we call wairua.

From New York Times

In June, the Māori heavy-metal band Alien Weaponry’s album Tū went right to number one in New Zealand and has had more than a million streams on Spotify, while last year Wairua by the Māori group Maimoa Music was the most-watched YouTube clip in New Zealand, seen more than 5.5m times.

From The Guardian