The Name Aorangi.

At such a time, and at sunrise, you can appreciate the fine Maori fancy, the thought of a poetic people, which gave the supreme peak the name Aorangi. Frequently, but quite incorrectly, the name is said to mean “cloud-piercer.” “Ao” means “light” or “cloud,” and “rangi” is the sky. There is nothing in its name to signify piercing, or anything like it. A literal translation of Aorangi leaves one the choice of any of three equivalents— “Light of Heaven,” “World in the Sky,” or “Cloud of Heaven,” each of which is descriptively appropriate.