Learning Tahitian

[Linguaphile]

The middle section of "Teraimateatatane" contains the letters "teata", very close to "teatea", but have no idea about the "terai" part.

I don't know Tahitian, so maybe someone else can give you a better answer. However, for "terai":

te ra'i = the heavens, the sky

This entry from the dictionary mentioned above might also be relevant:
MĀTEA v.e. être pâle, comme un malade. - Cf. matatea, māteata, pūraure'a, pūrautea.

I could not get the dictionary to actually give me a translation for "māteata" specifically, just that entry for "mātea" that references it, but maybe "te ra'i māteata" = "the pale sky" (presumably the color of the sky when the sun is very bright and there are no clouds)?
(Also the color of a Norwegian, in comparison to Tahitians, perhaps. I don't know if you can read the French definition given above for "mātea", but it means "to be pale, like a person who is ill.")

[linguoboy]

I could not get the dictionary to actually give me a translation for "māteata" specifically, just that entry for "mātea" that references it, but maybe "te ra'i māteata" = "the pale sky" (presumably the color of the sky when the sun is very bright and there are no clouds)?

I haven't consulted any dictionaries yet, but I did come across reference to a Cook Islander basketball player named Terai Ma Teata Elia (formerly Terai-Ma-Teata Sadler). Assuming it's the same name, maybe we should be treating "ma" and "teata" as distinct elements.

[Linguaphile]

I could not get the dictionary to actually give me a translation for "māteata" specifically, just that entry for "mātea" that references it, but maybe "te ra'i māteata" = "the pale sky" (presumably the color of the sky when the sun is very bright and there are no clouds)?

I haven't consulted any dictionaries yet, but I did come across reference to a Cook Islander basketball player named Terai Ma Teata Elia (formerly Terai-Ma-Teata Sadler). Assuming it's the same name, maybe we should be treating "ma" and "teata" as distinct elements.

They're distinct morphemes. Mā means pure, unpolluted, but ma is also a verbal prefix.
"Te ra'i mateata" appears in the lyrics of a Tahitian song.
While searching earlier I also found Mateata as given name, Terai Mateata as a surname, Teraimateata as a surname, etc. It seems rather common, but I don't want to ignore the possibility that at least some of those may have originated with the person Ruperupe Tahiti referred to.

[Ruperupe Tahiti]

The middle section of "Teraimateatatane" contains the letters "teata", very close to "teatea", but have no idea about the "terai" part.

I don't know Tahitian, so maybe someone else can give you a better answer. However, for "terai":

te ra'i = the heavens, the sky

This entry from the dictionary mentioned above might also be relevant:
MĀTEA v.e. être pâle, comme un malade. - Cf. matatea, māteata, pūraure'a, pūrautea.

I could not get the dictionary to actually give me a translation for "māteata" specifically, just that entry for "mātea" that references it, but maybe "te ra'i māteata" = "the pale sky" (presumably the color of the sky when the sun is very bright and there are no clouds)?
(Also the color of a Norwegian, in comparison to Tahitians, perhaps. I don't know if you can read the French definition given above for "mātea", but it means "to be pale, like a person who is ill.")

Thank-you! You hit the nail on the head . The word "sky" in this context is undoubtedly "te ra'i" (terai). Searching the word "terai" returned no results on-line. However, a quick look at my diminutive Tahitian-English dictionary by Leonard Clairmont showed the word "sky" to be "terai" or "reva" in Tahitian. Can hardly believe I missed that over all these years! Too much reliance on internet! And yes, I can read read the French, but in regard to "mateata" part, I'm still leaning more towards a possible misspelling of the word "teatea".

"teatea": clair (ciel, eau, couleur...) as in clear sky, water or color. The prefix "ma" (propre/pur) as in "ma teatea" could signify " blue sky" But perhaps in such instance the spelling changes from "mateatea" to "mateata" (?) Solely conjecture on my part.

[Ruperupe Tahiti]

I could not get the dictionary to actually give me a translation for "māteata" specifically, just that entry for "mātea" that references it, but maybe "te ra'i māteata" = "the pale sky" (presumably the color of the sky when the sun is very bright and there are no clouds)?

I haven't consulted any dictionaries yet, but I did come across reference to a Cook Islander basketball player named Terai Ma Teata Elia (formerly Terai-Ma-Teata Sadler). Assuming it's the same name, maybe we should be treating "ma" and "teata" as distinct elements.

They're distinct morphemes. Mā means pure, unpolluted, but ma is also a verbal prefix.
"Te ra'i mateata" appears in the lyrics of a Tahitian song.
While searching earlier I also found Mateata as given name, Terai Mateata as a surname, Teraimateata as a surname, etc. It seems rather common, but I don't want to ignore the possibility that at least some of those may have originated with the person Ruperupe Tahiti referred to.

Thank, I'm still leaning more towards "clear sky" "te rai' teatea" modified in some manner by the prefix particle "ma" which possibly changes the spelling to "mateata" as opposed to "mateatea" (?)

ma-, prefixe dénotant l'atténuation devant
certains noms de couleur (analogue
au suffixe français -âtre) : ma-'ere'ere, mare'are'a, ma'uo'uo,
ma'ute'ute

Not sure how attenuation of color might come into play unless it might be the "pale blue (clear) sky as suggested by Linguaphile. Thanks for the favor of your reply!

[Ruperupe Tahiti]

I could not get the dictionary to actually give me a translation for "māteata" specifically, just that entry for "mātea" that references it, but maybe "te ra'i māteata" = "the pale sky" (presumably the color of the sky when the sun is very bright and there are no clouds)?

I haven't consulted any dictionaries yet, but I did come across reference to a Cook Islander basketball player named Terai Ma Teata Elia (formerly Terai-Ma-Teata Sadler). Assuming it's the same name, maybe we should be treating "ma" and "teata" as distinct elements.

They're distinct morphemes. Mā means pure, unpolluted, but ma is also a verbal prefix.
"Te ra'i mateata" appears in the lyrics of a Tahitian song.
While searching earlier I also found Mateata as given name, Terai Mateata as a surname, Teraimateata as a surname, etc. It seems rather common, but I don't want to ignore the possibility that at least some of those may have originated with the person Ruperupe Tahiti referred to.

Thanks, I'm still leaning more towards "clear sky" "te rai' teatea" modified in some manner by the prefix particle "ma" which possibly changes the spelling to "mateata" as opposed to "mateatea" (?)

ma-, prefixe dénotant l'atténuation devant
certains noms de couleur (analogue
au suffixe français -âtre) : ma-'ere'ere, mare'are'a, ma'uo'uo,
ma'ute'ute

Not sure how attenuation of color might come into play unless it might be the "pale blue (clear) sky as suggested by Linguaphile. Thanks for the favor of your reply!