This ‘small’ translation error went unnoticed... for over two years. In Canada, in the province of Alberta, Hell's Basement Brewery has apologised for naming one of its beers ‘Huruhuru.’ This word taken from the Maori language literally means ‘pubic hair,’ whereas the brewers thought it translated as ‘feather.’
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It was only last week, two years after the launch of the line called ‘Huruhuru - The Feather,’ that the blunder was discovered. On Facebook, Te Hamua Nikora, a Maori, explained that the word used by the indigenous population of New Zealand does not mean feather but pubic hair, blaming the brand for not having hired a specialist in Te Reo Maori, the language of the Maori.
The beer soon to be renamed
In a message to the CBC, brewery owner Mike Patriquin said he was considering renaming his beer in the near future, and that he did not intend ‘to offend Maori culture or people.’ He added:
We recognise that we did not consider that Huruhuru could be understood as a reference to pubic hair in the common language and that consulting a Maori representative would have been a better reference than consulting online dictionaries.
He also apologised in passing to ‘anyone who may have been offended.’
