Tohunga v.s. Matoran?

[Banana Gunz]

No this is not a topic about "$Xx Biarniclez havin' warz bro-maanz xX$".

 

Anyone who knows anything about Bionicle probably knows about the whole thing that happened between LEGO and some Maori dudes and how they didn't like LEGO using maori words in Bionicle. The word 'tohunga' was especially targeted because it was a name given to a mere villager when it was actually a very honorable priest in their society. To keep everyone happy, LEGO changed the name to 'matoran'.

 

But the question here today is which name do you prefer? Which sounds nicer, which fits better? It's all preference here!

 

 

 

My own opinion:

Personally I kind of like Tohunga a bit more, though matoran is a worthy replacement. I also like the way the three forms of the matoran species all start with the same letter when they are called Tohunga. It has a funner islander vibe to it to match the nostalgic 2001 feel.

Edited August 30, 2014 by Banana Gunz

[fishers64]

Matoran. Tohunga just sounds crude and animalian and gruff, while Matoran carries a tone of elegance. It sort of implies roboticness as well, a hint at the big secret of the story. Also, the Matoran were fighting animals in 2001; the name Matoran implies superiority over the Rahi, as opposed to the other name, which, in contrast, made the animals seem more dignified.  

[TERIDAX941]

I got into BIONICLE after the name swap, so Matoran is all I've ever known them to be. So I'm going with Matoran.

[Sumiki]

Tohunga makes more sense to me - if you're going to call the other iterations Toa and Turaga, it makes sense to keep it with a T.

[Wrinkledlion X]

I like Tohunga because of the alliteration, and because I like the sound those Polynesian names have. Nonetheless, I think LEGO was right to listen to the Maori complaints. 

[Toa Smoke Monster]

I always thought they were called Matoran until I learned that their name was Tohunga a few years ago. I just can't see them being called Tohunga, which is why I like the term Matoran more than it.

[Element Lord of Milk]

Honestly I think both names are good, but even though I've been a fan since 2001, they've always been Matoran to me (I didn't start following the story until 2003 or so, after the change) .

[randomreviewerbros]

I like Matoran better as I grew up with that term more so than Tohunga

[Toatapio Nuva]

I've grown used to Matoran, so I think I actually prefer it over Tohunga now... Tohunga sounds much more tribal and so fits the tribal setting of 2001-2003 better, but I don't see Tohunga being used in Metru Nui. Then again, the consistency with Tohunga, Toa and Turaga all starting with T is also a factor. I would have appreciated that consistency.

 

So I would choose Matoran, but wouldn't mind Tohunga either. Both are ok.

[Axilus Prime]

I find that the word Matoran sounds better.

 

"In the time before time, the Great Spirit descended from the heavens, carrying we, the ones called Tohunga--"

 

nope.

[Chro]

I got into BIONICLE after the name swap, so Matoran is all I've ever known them to be. So I'm going with Matoran.

Same here.

I guess I'd use Tohunga to refer to the entire "species" (Matoran, Toa, Turaga) because that's what I thought Tohunga meant before someone explained the name swap to me however many years ago... but then again, Matoran works for that too.

[Tuuli]

I simply refer to "matoran villagers" as Tohunga, sometimes Koronans. I believe that all names of the sub species of matoran should start with a T. In the story technically they are still called Tohunga, but they realized that they were all one people and started calling themselves "matoran". Honestly tohunga sounds better when referring to the villagers. It does indeed grant them a more tropical islander feel. Besides, they are boneheads on voodoo island after all.

[Banana Gunz]

'Matoran' is a really great name, and I like it a lot. It was also the name that I knew them as when I first got into Bionicle, so it does come more naturally to me.

 

I just like Tohunga a lot because it has that 'islander' feel. Though this mostly applies to the original tohunga sets. The other forms (except maybe the voya-nui forms, I still haven't had a real good look at them) do look like they sound like 'matoran' more. I guess I'm tied really. It's just that the original 2001 tropical story-line has a lot of nostalgia attached to it for me.

 

I had an idea some time ago that male matoran can be called 'tohunga' and females can be called 'matoran'. I don't really use this in my head-canon but it is an idea that allows both names to be used...

[Master Inika]

I got into the franchise in 2003, and didn't even learn of the term Tohunga until awhile later. Tohunga does fit the tribal feel much better, like Turaga. I feel Toa feels like it could go either way, though. appreciate the alliterative appeal of Tohunga/Toa/Turaga (though we didn't learn of the real significance until later), but I still prefer Matoran, maybe out of arbitrary familiarity with it.

[Aanchir]

I prefer Matoran because I like its connotations. It sounds like a name that might describe the people of the Great Spirit Mata Nui, you know? And also, there's really no sense using a term like Tohunga once it's been discovered to be offensive. If the term had been an integral part of the BIONICLE storyline for three to five years before it got changed, I guess I might have felt more upset, but as it is, it was just a one-year screw-up on the part of the LEGO Group's legal and marketing teams, and one they addressed rather swiftly and effectively in my opinion.

 

Back in 2002, when the change first occurred, there was a little story blurb used to explain it — telling how the Tohunga had realized that they were effectively one people and thus adopted the new name. It's a little bit sappy, and like the Naming Day ceremony in 2003, later stories ignored it for obvious reasons (you can't exactly go back to using an offensive name in new stories even if you're describing events of the past). But I feel like it did a good job helping even young kids who didn't understand the legal ramifications of the change to embrace it.

 

I also feel like "Ta-Matoran" rolls off the tongue a lot better than "Ta-Koronan", which rather clumsily combined the oceanic root word Koro with the English suffix -an to describe people of a particular place. And it made it easier for the story to refer to Matoran of the same tribe by the same name, even those living in places that didn't have elemental villages like the Koro of Mata Nui. A Ta-Koronan is only a Ta-Koronan if they live in or come from Ta-Koro. But a Ta-Matoran is a Ta-Matoran no matter where they happen to call home.

[Matoro Zeliph]

Tohunga sounds like tribe islanders (Mata Nui). But matoran seems like city people from Metru Nui.

[hafu]

I always liked the super-tribal style of the early bionicle stuff...So I'm still kinda partial to Tohunga.

[LordofBionicles]

Matoran since now the term Tohunga sound really strange to me, haha

[Archon~]

Has anyone thought to poll this?

Anyway, Matoran ftw. I always thought Tohunga was a name for that specific group of Matoran.

And I would change the name of Turaga. Maybe Aldeiri or something like that?

Edited August 31, 2014 by Archon~

[Chro]

And I would change the name of Turaga. Maybe Aldeiri or something like that?

Out of curiosity, does Aldeiri actually mean anything, or is it derived from something, or did you just come up with it because it sounds cool? (It does.)

[Archon~]

I came up with it, just to stay away from the M--T--T that bothers a lot of people, including me. And it sounds similar to elder, or old, and it gives them an ancient, mysterious and wise feel, which would have been appropriate for early years but whatever.

[Banana Gunz]

Aldeiri sounds cool, but for the same reason many people prefer matoran over Tohunga, I'm kind of used to Turaga. Though that's still a really cool name!

 

BTW congrats on 1,000 posts!

Edited August 31, 2014 by Banana Gunz

[Mendicant]

There was originally a theme with the names; Tohunga, Toa, Turaga, alliterations I've always been fond of. As a fan from the era of Tohunga, it's what I still call them to this day. It will always be Tohunga to me. Though, I still remember the assault on BZPower, and the site was down and everything. A shame LEGO gave into the demands of loonies.

[Archon~]

There was originally a theme with the names; Tohunga, Toa, Turaga, alliterations I've always been fond of. As a fan from the era of Tohunga, it's what I still call them to this day. It will always be Tohunga to me. Though, I still remember the assault on BZPower, and the site was down and everything. A shame LEGO gave into the demands of loonies.

If by loonies you mean a group of people with their own separate culture and traditions that they would like to maintain and shelter in this globalized world of ours?

Yeah, I'm sure they're total loonies...

Aside from the fact from respecting a culture, Lego had a reputation to maintain of a peaceful company that respects its fans as well as critics.

So please remember that when you refer to the Maori peole as "loonies".

[Mendicant]

If you assault fan communities over a miscommunication, you're a loonie. There are proper, culturally representative ways to present your case. Holding fansites hostage is unacceptable, and loony toony. Digital terrorism is not a solution. So please remember that.

[Manducus]

Tohunga vs Matoran?

 

Get real man. It's all about the McTorans.

 

Lego should've used that name.

Edited August 31, 2014 by Regicidal Kaiser Manducus

[MrSciFiGuy]

I liked Tohunga when they were really tribes on an island, but I like the word Matoran better and I'm fine with it

[Aanchir]

If you assault fan communities over a miscommunication, you're a loonie. There are proper, culturally representative ways to present your case. Holding fansites hostage is unacceptable, and loony toony. Digital terrorism is not a solution. So please remember that.

So because one "loony" hacks a fansite and claims to represent a legitimate culture and their legitimate interests, that means the LEGO Group should completely ignore that culture and their interests? A LOT of people were offended by the LEGO Group's poorly-thought-out decision to borrow important terms from their language and culture for commercial gain. The fact that one of those people decided to lash out by hacking a random fansite doesn't mean the rest of those people should be ignored.

[Ektris]

The alliteration bit with the names was fun, but it's been so long since I thought of them as Tohunga that they really are all just Matoran to me. Never had a problem with the name change either.

 

~|ET|~

[Adventurer]

Tohunga is a cooler word (I love the Polynesian languages in general ) but I like Matoran too and I totally respect their desire to not have such a word from their language used in that way. Taking that into account I actually prefer Matoran in context.

[Liopleurodon]

Matoran. The word Tohunga sounds kinda like 'fungus' to me for some reason.

[Kopekemaster]

When thinking of small dudes in the GSR, I think I prefer Matoran.

When thinking of small dudes on Mata Nui, I think I prefer Tohunga. I guess it has more of a tribal feel than Matoran, which I think fits well with Mata Nui (island). Matoran is good as more of a technological term, I guess.

Bottom line, though, is that I like both.

[Korero]

We must rescue the Tohunga!

-Vakama

 

Nope

[doodleloot]

Tohunga fit the 2001 island setting better than Matoran. It made them feel like villagers. Matoran however fit the settings of 2004 and onward a lot better, especially Metru Nui.

I always refer to the villagers of the Mata Nui island as Tohunga, everyone else are Matoran to me.

[Nidhiki of the Shadows]

It's not really fair, cause I was exposed to 8 years of the Matoran name and only 1 of Tohunga, so Matoran definitely stick with me more. Tohunga certainly wasn't bad though.

 

-NotS

[J46 Nui]

Even though I was there since the beginning, I prefer Matoran way more. I always thought the original name sounded way too much like Turaga.

[25K Now!]

I like Matoran. I entered the franchise during 04, so it fit a lot better with the tech of Metru Nui.