Iwi
Encyclopedia
In New Zealand
society, iwi form the largest everyday social unit
s in Māori culture
. The word iwi means "'peoples' or 'nations'. In "the work of European writers which treat iwi and hapū
as parts of a hierarchical structure", it has been used to mean "tribe
" , or confederation of tribes, however "peoples" is considered a "better gloss" because "it avoids the structural connotations" of the tribal terms. Anthropological
research identifies the "lack of precision" nineteenth-century Europeans had when defining communities new to them resulting in "confusion about Māori social stucture" (p. 56). Further, the author indicates that most Māori in pre-European times gave their primary allegiance to relatively small groups such as hapū ("clans") and whānau
("extended families").
, iwi literally means "bone". Māori may refer to returning home after travelling or living elsewhere as "going back to the bones" — literally to the burial-areas of the ancestor
s. Māori author Keri Hulme
named her best-known (1985 Booker Prize) novel The Bone People
, a title linked directly to the dual meaning of bone and "tribal people".
Many names of iwi begin with Ngāti or with Ngāi (from ngā āti and ngā ai, both meaning roughly "the offspring of"). Ngāti has become a productive morpheme in New Zealand English
to refer to groups of people: Ngāti Pākehā (Pākehā
as a group), Ngāti Poneke
(Māori who have migrated into the Wellington
region), Ngati Ranana
(Māori living in London), Ngāti Tūmatauenga, "Tribe of Tūmatauenga
" (the god of war) — (the official Māori-language name of the New Zealand Army
).
s who, according to tradition
, arrived from Hawaiki
. In turn, some iwi cluster into even larger groupings based on genealogical tradition
, known as waka
(literally: "canoe
s", with reference to the original migration voyages), but these super-groupings generally serve symbolic rather than practical functions. Each iwi has a number of hapū
("sub-tribes"). For example, the Ngāti Whātua
iwi has hapū including Te Uri-o-Hau, Te Roroa, Te Taou, and Ngāti Whātua ki Ōrākei.
in the recovery and management of land and of other assets. (Note for example the 1997 settlement
between the New Zealand Government and Ngāi Tahu
, compensating that iwi for various losses of the rights guaranteed under the Treaty of Waitangi
of 1840.) Iwi affairs can have a very real impact on New Zealand politics
and society. A 2004 attempt by some iwi to test in court their ownership
of the seabed and foreshore areas, polarised public opinion
(see New Zealand foreshore and seabed controversy
).
Each iwi has a generally recognised territory (rohe
), but many of these overlap, sometimes completely. This has added a layer of complication to the long-running discussions and court cases about how to resolve historical Treaty
-claims. The length of coastline emerged as one factor in the final (2004) legislation to allocate fishing-rights in settlement of claims relating to commercial fisheries.
and/or tino rangatiratanga
. Thus the "Rules of the Maori Party" (Māori Party
Constitution) mentions in its preamble "the dreams and aspirations of tangata whenua to achieve self-determination for whānau, hapū and iwi within their own land".
Some Tūhoe envisage self-determination in specifically iwi-oriented terms.
judgment (discussing the process of settling fishing-rights) illustrates some of the issues:
In the 2006 census, 16 percent of the 643,977 people who claimed Māori ancestry did not know their iwi. Another 11% did not state their iwi, or only stated a general geographical region or merely gave a canoe-name. The proportion who "don’t know" dropped relative to the previous censuses, perhaps helped by measures such as the "Iwi Helpline".
Urban Māori, typically urban bred, may identify with European culture to a much larger degree than rural Māori, and often feel that a non-iwi group may best represent their needs. It remains unclear how the traditional iwi groups will respond to this phenomenon. (Thus far, some appear dismissive of these notions.) Notably, one such urban group established itself in the belief that urban Māori do not get their fair share of "Treaty settlements
" between the Māori people and the New Zealand government.
Church, for example. operates across iwi divisions, and the Māori King Movement
aims to transcend some iwi functions in a wider grouping.
radio stations targeting local members and others. Programming on these stations is funded by Te Māngai Pāho
and include national and local news coverage, music, educational programming, comedy, drama and programmes which teach te reo. These stations update listeners on iwi news and events, and promote Māori language and culture.
The iwi stations are, from North to South:
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
society, iwi form the largest everyday social unit
Social unit
Social unit is a term used in sociology, anthropology, ethnology, and also in animal behaviour studies, zoology and biology to describe a social entity which is part of and participates in a larger social group or society....
s in Māori culture
Maori culture
Māori culture is the culture of the Māori of New Zealand, an Eastern Polynesian people, and forms a distinctive part of New Zealand culture. Within the Māori community, and to a lesser extent throughout New Zealand as a whole, the word Māoritanga is often used as an approximate synonym for Māori...
. The word iwi means "'peoples' or 'nations'. In "the work of European writers which treat iwi and hapū
Hapu
A hapū is sometimes described as "the basic political unit within Maori society".A named division of a Māori iwi , membership is determined by genealogical descent; a hapū is made up of a number of whānau groups. Generally hapū range in size from 150-200 although there is no upper limit...
as parts of a hierarchical structure", it has been used to mean "tribe
Tribe
A tribe, viewed historically or developmentally, consists of a social group existing before the development of, or outside of, states.Many anthropologists use the term tribal society to refer to societies organized largely on the basis of kinship, especially corporate descent groups .Some theorists...
" , or confederation of tribes, however "peoples" is considered a "better gloss" because "it avoids the structural connotations" of the tribal terms. Anthropological
Anthropology
Anthropology is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos , "man", understood to mean mankind or humanity, and -logia , "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German...
research identifies the "lack of precision" nineteenth-century Europeans had when defining communities new to them resulting in "confusion about Māori social stucture" (p. 56). Further, the author indicates that most Māori in pre-European times gave their primary allegiance to relatively small groups such as hapū ("clans") and whānau
Whanau
Whānau , is a Māori-language word for extended family, now increasingly entering New Zealand English, particularly in official publications.In Māori society, the whānau is also a political unit, below the level of hapū and iwi, and the word itself also has other meanings: as a verb meaning to give...
("extended families").
Naming
In MāoriMaori language
Māori or te reo Māori , commonly te reo , is the language of the indigenous population of New Zealand, the Māori. It has the status of an official language in New Zealand...
, iwi literally means "bone". Māori may refer to returning home after travelling or living elsewhere as "going back to the bones" — literally to the burial-areas of the ancestor
Ancestor
An ancestor is a parent or the parent of an ancestor ....
s. Māori author Keri Hulme
Keri Hulme
Keri Hulme is a New Zealand writer, best known for The Bone People, her only novel.-Early life:Hulme was born in Christchurch, in New Zealand's South Island. The daughter of a carpenter and a credit manager, she was the eldest of six children. Her parents were of English, Scottish, and Māori ...
named her best-known (1985 Booker Prize) novel The Bone People
The Bone People
The Bone People is a Booker Prize-winning 1984 novel by New Zealand author Keri Hulme. Hulme was turned down by many publishing houses before she found a small publishing house in New Zealand called Spiral...
, a title linked directly to the dual meaning of bone and "tribal people".
Many names of iwi begin with Ngāti or with Ngāi (from ngā āti and ngā ai, both meaning roughly "the offspring of"). Ngāti has become a productive morpheme in New Zealand English
New Zealand English
New Zealand English is the dialect of the English language used in New Zealand.The English language was established in New Zealand by colonists during the 19th century. It is one of "the newest native-speaker variet[ies] of the English language in existence, a variety which has developed and...
to refer to groups of people: Ngāti Pākehā (Pākehā
Pakeha
Pākehā is a Māori language word for New Zealanders who are "of European descent". They are mostly descended from British and to a lesser extent Irish settlers of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, although some Pākehā have Dutch, Scandinavian, German, Yugoslav or other ancestry...
as a group), Ngāti Poneke
Ngati Poneke
Ngāti Poneke is a Māori iwi of New Zealand. It is a pan-tribal iwi of Māori who have migrated to the city of Wellington ."Poneke" is a Maori language diminutive of "Port Nicholson".-References:***...
(Māori who have migrated into the Wellington
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
region), Ngati Ranana
Ngati Ranana
Ngāti Rānana is a Māori cultural group based in London. It aims to provide 'an environment to teach, learn and participate in Māori culture and to promote New Zealand through Māori culture. The group regularly performs throughout the United Kingdom and Europe....
(Māori living in London), Ngāti Tūmatauenga, "Tribe of Tūmatauenga
Tumatauenga
In Māori mythology, Tū or Tūmatauenga is one of the great gods, and the origin of war. All war-parties were dedicated to him, and he was treated with the greatest respect and awe. He is usually a son of the primordial parent, sky and earth...
" (the god of war) — (the official Māori-language name of the New Zealand Army
New Zealand Army
The New Zealand Army , is the land component of the New Zealand Defence Force and comprises around 4,500 Regular Force personnel, 2,000 Territorial Force personnel and 500 civilians. Formerly the New Zealand Military Forces, the current name was adopted around 1946...
).
Structure
Iwi groups trace their ancestry to the original Māori settlerSettler
A settler is a person who has migrated to an area and established permanent residence there, often to colonize the area. Settlers are generally people who take up residence on land and cultivate it, as opposed to nomads...
s who, according to tradition
Tradition
A tradition is a ritual, belief or object passed down within a society, still maintained in the present, with origins in the past. Common examples include holidays or impractical but socially meaningful clothes , but the idea has also been applied to social norms such as greetings...
, arrived from Hawaiki
Hawaiki
In Māori mythology, Hawaiki is the homeland of the Māori, the original home of the Māori, before they travelled across the sea to New Zealand...
. In turn, some iwi cluster into even larger groupings based on genealogical tradition
Whakapapa
Whakapapa , or genealogy, is a fundamental principle that permeates the whole of Māori culture. However, it is more than just a genealogical 'device'...
, known as waka
Waka (canoe)
Waka are Māori watercraft, usually canoes ranging in size from small, unornamented canoes used for fishing and river travel, to large decorated war canoes up to long...
(literally: "canoe
Canoe
A canoe or Canadian canoe is a small narrow boat, typically human-powered, though it may also be powered by sails or small electric or gas motors. Canoes are usually pointed at both bow and stern and are normally open on top, but can be decked over A canoe (North American English) or Canadian...
s", with reference to the original migration voyages), but these super-groupings generally serve symbolic rather than practical functions. Each iwi has a number of hapū
Hapu
A hapū is sometimes described as "the basic political unit within Maori society".A named division of a Māori iwi , membership is determined by genealogical descent; a hapū is made up of a number of whānau groups. Generally hapū range in size from 150-200 although there is no upper limit...
("sub-tribes"). For example, the Ngāti Whātua
Ngati Whatua
Ngāti Whātua is a Māori iwi of New Zealand. It consists of four hapu : Te Uri-o-Hau, Te Roroa, Te Taoū, and Ngāti Whātua-o-Ōrākei....
iwi has hapū including Te Uri-o-Hau, Te Roroa, Te Taou, and Ngāti Whātua ki Ōrākei.
Iwi and politics
In modern-day New Zealand, iwi groups may exercise significant political powerPolitical power
Political power is a type of power held by a group in a society which allows administration of some or all of public resources, including labour, and wealth. There are many ways to obtain possession of such power. At the nation-state level political legitimacy for political power is held by the...
in the recovery and management of land and of other assets. (Note for example the 1997 settlement
Treaty of Waitangi claims and settlements
Treaty of Waitangi claims and settlements have been a significant feature of New Zealand race relations and politics since 1975. Over the last 30 years, New Zealand governments have increasingly provided formal legal and political opportunity for Māori to seek redress for breaches by the Crown of...
between the New Zealand Government and Ngāi Tahu
Ngāi Tahu
Ngāi Tahu, or Kāi Tahu, is the principal Māori iwi of the southern region of New Zealand, with the tribal authority, Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu, being based in Christchurch and Invercargill. The iwi combines three groups, Kāi Tahu itself, and Waitaha and Kāti Mamoe who lived in the South Island prior...
, compensating that iwi for various losses of the rights guaranteed under the Treaty of Waitangi
Treaty of Waitangi
The Treaty of Waitangi is a treaty first signed on 6 February 1840 by representatives of the British Crown and various Māori chiefs from the North Island of New Zealand....
of 1840.) Iwi affairs can have a very real impact on New Zealand politics
Politics of New Zealand
The politics of New Zealand take place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic monarchy. The basic system is closely patterned on that of the Westminster System, although a number of significant modifications have been made...
and society. A 2004 attempt by some iwi to test in court their ownership
Ownership
Ownership is the state or fact of exclusive rights and control over property, which may be an object, land/real estate or intellectual property. Ownership involves multiple rights, collectively referred to as title, which may be separated and held by different parties. The concept of ownership has...
of the seabed and foreshore areas, polarised public opinion
Public opinion
Public opinion is the aggregate of individual attitudes or beliefs held by the adult population. Public opinion can also be defined as the complex collection of opinions of many different people and the sum of all their views....
(see New Zealand foreshore and seabed controversy
New Zealand foreshore and seabed controversy
The New Zealand foreshore and seabed controversy is a debate in the politics of New Zealand. It concerns the ownership of the country's foreshore and seabed, with many Māori groups claiming that Māori have a rightful claim to title. These claims are based around historical possession and the Treaty...
).
Each iwi has a generally recognised territory (rohe
Rohe
Rohe is a word used by the Māori of New Zealand to describe the territory or boundaries of tribal groups. In traditional times, rohe were defined according to prominent geographical features, including mountains, rivers, and lakes. This is generally the case today as well....
), but many of these overlap, sometimes completely. This has added a layer of complication to the long-running discussions and court cases about how to resolve historical Treaty
Treaty of Waitangi
The Treaty of Waitangi is a treaty first signed on 6 February 1840 by representatives of the British Crown and various Māori chiefs from the North Island of New Zealand....
-claims. The length of coastline emerged as one factor in the final (2004) legislation to allocate fishing-rights in settlement of claims relating to commercial fisheries.
Self-determination
Iwi can become a prospective vehicle for ideas and ideals of self-determinationSelf-determination
Self-determination is the principle in international law that nations have the right to freely choose their sovereignty and international political status with no external compulsion or external interference...
and/or tino rangatiratanga
Tino rangatiratanga
Tino rangatiratanga is a Māori term that can be interpreted as chieftainship. It is probably the most contentious phrase from the Māori version of the Treaty of Waitangi...
. Thus the "Rules of the Maori Party" (Māori Party
Maori Party
The Māori Party, a political party in New Zealand, was formed on 7 July 2004. The Party is guided by eight constitutional "kaupapa", or Party objectives. Tariana Turia formed the Māori Party after resigning from the Labour Party where she had been a Cabinet Minister in the Fifth Labour-led...
Constitution) mentions in its preamble "the dreams and aspirations of tangata whenua to achieve self-determination for whānau, hapū and iwi within their own land".
Some Tūhoe envisage self-determination in specifically iwi-oriented terms.
Problems of identification
Increasing urbanisation of Māori has led to a situation where a significant percentage do not identify with an iwi. The following extract from a 2000 High Court of New ZealandHigh Court of New Zealand
The High Court of New Zealand is a superior court of New Zealand. It was established in 1841 and known as the Supreme Court of New Zealand until 1980....
judgment (discussing the process of settling fishing-rights) illustrates some of the issues:
... 81 percent of Māori now live in urban areas, at least one-third live outside their tribal influence, more than one-quarter do not know their iwi or for some reason do not choose to affiliate with it, at least 70 percent live outside the traditional tribal territory and these will have difficulties, which in many cases will be severe, in both relating to their tribal heritage and in accessing benefits from the settlement. It is also said that many Māori reject tribal affiliation because of a working class unemployed attitude, defiance and frustration. Related but less important factors, are that a hapu may belong to more than one iwi, a particular hapu may have belonged to different iwi at different times, the tension caused by the social and economic power moving from the iwi down rather than from the hapu up, and the fact that many iwi do not recognise spouses and adoptees who do not have kinship links.
In the 2006 census, 16 percent of the 643,977 people who claimed Māori ancestry did not know their iwi. Another 11% did not state their iwi, or only stated a general geographical region or merely gave a canoe-name. The proportion who "don’t know" dropped relative to the previous censuses, perhaps helped by measures such as the "Iwi Helpline".
Challenge from urban Māori
In years, "urban Māori" have challenged the established tribal (iwi-based) power-base. Urban Māori form groups of people that, while unashamedly Māori, either choose not to identify with any particular iwi, or are unable to do so (possibly because they do not know their ancestral iwi). Individual Māori persons or groups may decide to support non-tribal structures because (for example) they believe the existing iwi do not give significant value to them, or that they believe that iwi cannot understand their point-of-view.Urban Māori, typically urban bred, may identify with European culture to a much larger degree than rural Māori, and often feel that a non-iwi group may best represent their needs. It remains unclear how the traditional iwi groups will respond to this phenomenon. (Thus far, some appear dismissive of these notions.) Notably, one such urban group established itself in the belief that urban Māori do not get their fair share of "Treaty settlements
Treaty of Waitangi claims and settlements
Treaty of Waitangi claims and settlements have been a significant feature of New Zealand race relations and politics since 1975. Over the last 30 years, New Zealand governments have increasingly provided formal legal and political opportunity for Māori to seek redress for breaches by the Crown of...
" between the Māori people and the New Zealand government.
Pan-tribalism
Some established pan-tribal organizations may also undercut the otherwise important iwi. The RatanaRatana
The Rātana movement is a Māori religion and pan-tribal political movement founded by Tahupōtiki Wiremu Rātana in early 20th century New Zealand...
Church, for example. operates across iwi divisions, and the Māori King Movement
Maori King Movement
The Māori King Movement or Kīngitanga is a movement that arose among some of the Māori tribes of New Zealand in the central North Island ,in the 1850s, to establish a role similar in status to that of the monarch of the colonising people, the British, as a way of halting the alienation of Māori land...
aims to transcend some iwi functions in a wider grouping.
Iwi radio
Many iwi operate bilingual English and MāoriMaori language
Māori or te reo Māori , commonly te reo , is the language of the indigenous population of New Zealand, the Māori. It has the status of an official language in New Zealand...
radio stations targeting local members and others. Programming on these stations is funded by Te Māngai Pāho
Te Mangai Paho
Te Māngai Pāho is a New Zealand Crown Entity responsible for promotion of Māori language and culture by providing funding for Māori language programming on radio and television....
and include national and local news coverage, music, educational programming, comedy, drama and programmes which teach te reo. These stations update listeners on iwi news and events, and promote Māori language and culture.
The iwi stations are, from North to South:
- Te Hiku O Te Ika (94.4FM) - KaitaiaKaitaiaKaitaia is a town in the far north region of New Zealand, at the base of the Aupouri Peninsula which is about 160 km northwest of Whangarei. It is the last major settlement on the main road north to the capes and bays on the peninsula...
- Radio Tautoko (90.8FM, 98.2FM, 92.8FM) - MangamukaMangamukaMangamuka is a district in Northland, New Zealand, at the junction of the Mangamuka and Opurehu Rivers. State Highway 1 runs through the area, and the settlement of Mangamuka Bridge lies at the point where the highway crosses the Mangamuku River. The river runs into the upper Hokianga Harbour...
- Ngāti Hine FM (99.5FM, 96.4FM) - WhangareiWhangareiWhangarei, pronounced , is the northernmost city in New Zealand and the regional capital of Northland Region. Although commonly classified as a city, it is officially part of the Whangarei District, administered by the Whangarei District Council a local body created in 1989 to administer both the...
- Radio Waatea (603AM) - South AucklandSouth AucklandSouth Auckland is an imprecisely defined area of Auckland, New Zealand, often stereotyped as a socio-economically disadvantaged, and sometimes rough, urban area with a relatively large Polynesian and Māori population. The name South Auckland is not an official place name but is in common use by New...
- Nga Iwi FM (99.5FM, 92.2FM) - PaeroaPaeroaPaeroa is a small town in New Zealand, in the northern Waikato region of the Thames Valley. Located at the foot of the Coromandel Peninsula, it is close to the junction of the Waihou and Ohinemuri Rivers, 20 kilometres from the coast at the Firth of Thames...
- Radio Tainui (95.4FM, 96.3FM, 96.5FM) - NgaruawahiaNgaruawahiaNgāruawāhia is a town in the Waikato region of the North Island of New Zealand. It is located 20 km north-west of Hamilton at the confluence of the Waikato and Waipa Rivers...
- Moana AM (1440AM, 98.2FM) - TaurangaTaurangaTauranga is the most populous city in the Bay of Plenty region, in the North Island of New Zealand.It was settled by Europeans in the early 19th century and was constituted as a city in 1963...
- Maniapoto FM (91.9FM, 92.7FM, 96.5FM, 99.6FM) - Te KuitiTe KuitiTe Kuiti is a small town in the south of the Waikato region of the North Island of New Zealand. It lies at the junction of State Highways 3 and 30 and on the North Island Main Trunk Railway, 80 km south of Hamilton....
- Te Reo Irirangi o Te Mānuka Tātahi (98.4FM, 96.9FM) - WhakataneWhakataneWhakatane is a town in the eastern Bay of Plenty Region, in the North Island of New Zealand, and is the seat of the Bay of Plenty Regional Council. Whakatane is 90 km east of Tauranga and 89 km north-east of Rotorua, at the mouth of the Whakatane River.The town has a population of , with...
- Te Arawa FM (89FM) - RotoruaRotoruaRotorua is a city on the southern shores of the lake of the same name, in the Bay of Plenty region of the North Island of New Zealand. The city is the seat of the Rotorua District, a territorial authority encompassing the city and several other nearby towns...
- Raukawa FM (90.6 FM, 95.7 FM) - TokoroaTokoroaTokoroa is the third-largest town in the Waikato region of the North Island of New Zealand and largest settlement in the South Waikato district. Located 30 km southwest of Rotorua, close to the foot of the Mamaku Ranges, it is mid-way between Taupo and Hamilton on State Highway One...
- Te Korimako O Taranaki (94.8FM) - New PlymouthNew PlymouthNew Plymouth is the major city of the Taranaki Region on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is named after Plymouth, Devon, England, from where the first English settlers migrated....
- Tuwharetoa FM (97.2FM, 95.1FM) - TurangiTurangiTurangi is a small town on the west bank of the Tongariro River, 50 kilometres south-west of Taupo on the North Island Volcanic Plateau of New Zealand. It was built to accommodate the workers associated with the Tongariro hydro-electric power development project and their families...
- Radio Ngāti Porou (585AM, 89.3FM, 90.1FM, 93.3FM, 98.1FM, 105.3FM) - RuatoriaRuatoriaThe town of Ruatoria is located in the East Coast region of New Zealand's North Island. It is the second largest centre of population in the sparsely populated region, yet has a population of only 900 .- Geography :...
- Turanga FM (91.7FM, 95.5FM) - Gisborne
- Radio Kahungunu (765AM, 94.3FM) - HastingsHastings, New ZealandThe city of Hastings is a major urban settlement in the Hawke's Bay region of the North Island of New Zealand, and it is the largest settlement by population in Hawke's Bay. Hastings city is the administrative centre of the Hastings District...
- Awa FM (100FM, 91.2FM, 93.5FM) - WanganuiWanganuiWhanganui , also spelled Wanganui, is an urban area and district on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is part of the Manawatu-Wanganui region....
- Kia Ora FM (89.8FM) - Palmerston NorthPalmerston NorthPalmerston North is the main city of the Manawatu-Wanganui region of the North Island of New Zealand. It is an inland city with a population of and is the country's seventh largest city and eighth largest urban area. Palmerston North is located in the eastern Manawatu Plains near the north bank...
- Atiawa Toa FM (96.9FM, 94.9FM) - Lower HuttLower HuttLower Hutt is a city in the Wellington region of New Zealand. Its council has adopted the name Hutt City Council, but neither the New Zealand Geographic Board nor the Local Government Act recognise the name Hutt City. This alternative name can lead to confusion, as there are two cities in the...
- Te Upoko O Te Ika (1161AM) - WellingtonWellingtonWellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
- Tahu FM (90.5FM, 91.1FM, 95FM, 99.6FM, Sky digital 105) - ChristchurchChristchurchChristchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of...
Well-known iwi groups
Prominent iwi include:- Ngāi TahuNgai TahuNgāi Tahu, or Kāi Tahu, is the principal Māori iwi of the southern region of New Zealand, with the tribal authority, Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu, being based in Christchurch and Invercargill. The iwi combines three groups, Kāi Tahu itself, and Waitaha and Kāti Mamoe who lived in the South Island prior...
or "Kāi Tahu" (based in the south of New Zealand - most of the South IslandSouth IslandThe South Island is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand, the other being the more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman Sea, to the south and east by the Pacific Ocean...
.) - Ngā Puhi (the largest iwi, with over 100,000 people stating their affiliation to it in the 2001 census; based in Northland)
- Ngāti KahungunuNgati KahungunuNgāti Kahungunu is a Māori iwi located along the eastern coast of the North Island of New Zealand. The iwi is traditionally centred in the Hawke’s Bay and Tararua and Wairārapa regions....
- Hawke's Bay and WairarapaWairarapaWairarapa is a geographical region of New Zealand. It occupies the south-eastern corner of the North Island, east of metropolitan Wellington and south-west of the Hawke's Bay region. It is lightly populated, having several rural service towns, with Masterton being the largest... - Ngāti ManiapotoNgati ManiapotoNgāti Maniapoto is an iwi based in the Waikato-Waitomo region of New Zealand's North Island. It is part of the Tainui confederation, the members of which trace their whakapapa back to people who arrived in New Zealand on the waka Tainui...
(based in the WaikatoWaikatoThe Waikato Region is a local government region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato, Hauraki, Coromandel Peninsula, the northern King Country, much of the Taupo District, and parts of Rotorua District...
–Waitomo region) - Ngāti PorouNgati PorouNgāti Porou is a Māori iwi traditionally located in the East Cape and Gisborne regions of the North Island of New Zealand. Ngāti Porou has the second-largest affiliation of any iwi in New Zealand, with 71,910 registered members in 2006...
- GisborneGisborne, New Zealand-Economy:The harbour was host to many ships in the past and had developed as a river port to provide a more secure location for shipping compared with the open roadstead of Poverty Bay which can be exposed to southerly swells. A meat works was sited beside the harbour and meat and wool was shipped...
–East CapeEast CapeEast Cape is the easternmost point of the main islands of New Zealand. It is located to the north of Gisborne in the northeast of the North Island.... - Ngāti Tama (based in Taranaki and WellingtonWellingtonWellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
) - Ngāti ToaNgati ToaNgāti Toa , an iwi , traces its descent from the eponymous ancestor Toarangatira. The Ngāti Toa region extends from Miria-te-kakara at Rangitikei to Wellington, and across Cook Strait to Wairau and Nelson....
(based in PoriruaPoriruaPorirua is a city in the Wellington Region of New Zealand, immediately north of the city of Wellington, with their central business districts 20 km apart. A large proportion of the population commutes to Wellington, so it may be considered a satellite city. It almost completely surrounds...
, having migrated from KawhiaKawhia HarbourKawhia Harbour is one of three large natural inlets in the Tasman Sea coast of the Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island. It is located to the south of Raglan Harbour, Ruapuke and Aotea Harbour, 40 kilometres southwest of Hamilton...
in the 1820s under the leadership of Te RauparahaTe RauparahaTe Rauparaha was a Māori rangatira and war leader of the Ngāti Toa tribe who took a leading part in the Musket Wars. He was influential in the original sale of conquered Rangitane land to the New Zealand Company and was a participant in the Wairau Incident in Marlborough...
) - Ngāti RuanuiNgati RuanuiNgāti Ruanui is a Māori iwi traditionally based in the Taranaki region of New Zealand. In the 2006 census, 7,035 people claimed affiliation to the iwi. However, most members now live outside the traditional areas of the iwi.-Early history:...
(based in the Taranaki region) - Ngāti WhātuaNgati WhatuaNgāti Whātua is a Māori iwi of New Zealand. It consists of four hapu : Te Uri-o-Hau, Te Roroa, Te Taoū, and Ngāti Whātua-o-Ōrākei....
(based in and north of AucklandAucklandThe Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
- notably Bastion Point in OrakeiOrakeiOrakei is a suburb of Auckland city, in the North Island of New Zealand. It is located on a peninsula five kilometres to the east of the city centre, close to the shore of the Waitemata Harbour, which lies to the north, and Hobson Bay and the Orakei Basin, two arms of the Waitemata, which lie to...
) - TainuiTainuiTainui is a tribal waka confederation of New Zealand Māori iwi. The Tainui confederation comprises four principal related Māori iwi of the central North Island of New Zealand: Hauraki, Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāti Raukawa and Waikato...
(based in the WaikatoWaikatoThe Waikato Region is a local government region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato, Hauraki, Coromandel Peninsula, the northern King Country, much of the Taupo District, and parts of Rotorua District...
region) - Te ArawaTe ArawaTe Arawa is a confederation of Māori iwi and hapu based in the Rotorua and Bay of Plenty areas of New Zealand, with a population of around 40,000.The history of the Te Arawa people is inextricably linked to the Arawa canoe...
(Bay of PlentyBay of PlentyThe Bay of Plenty , often abbreviated to BOP, is a region in the North Island of New Zealand situated around the body of water of the same name...
) - with several subtribes - Te ĀtiawaTe Ati AwaTe Āti Awa is a Māori iwi with traditional bases in the Taranaki and Wellington regions of New Zealand. Approximately 17,000 people registered their affiliation to Te Āti Awa in 2001, with around 10,000 in Taranaki, 2,000 in Wellington and around 5,000 of unspecified regional location.-Geographical...
- Taranaki and Lower HuttLower HuttLower Hutt is a city in the Wellington region of New Zealand. Its council has adopted the name Hutt City Council, but neither the New Zealand Geographic Board nor the Local Government Act recognise the name Hutt City. This alternative name can lead to confusion, as there are two cities in the... - TūhoeTuhoeNgāi Tūhoe , a Māori iwi of New Zealand, takes its name from an ancestral figure, Tūhoe-pōtiki. The word tūhoe literally means "steep" or "high noon" in the Māori language...
(UreweraTe Urewera National ParkTe Urewera National Park is one of fourteen national parks within New Zealand and is the largest of the four in the North Island. Covering an area of approximately 2,127 km², it is in the north east of the Hawke's Bay region of the North Island....
/WhakataneWhakataneWhakatane is a town in the eastern Bay of Plenty Region, in the North Island of New Zealand, and is the seat of the Bay of Plenty Regional Council. Whakatane is 90 km east of Tauranga and 89 km north-east of Rotorua, at the mouth of the Whakatane River.The town has a population of , with...
) - Ngāti TūwharetoaNgati TuwharetoaNgāti Tūwharetoa is an iwi descended from Ngātoro-i-rangi, the priest who navigated the Arawa canoe to New Zealand. The Tūwharetoa region extends from Te Awa o te Atua at Matata across the central plateau of the North Island to the lands around Mount Tongariro and Lake Taupo.The iwi is identified...
(based in the central North IslandNorth IslandThe North Island is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the much less populous South Island by Cook Strait. The island is in area, making it the world's 14th-largest island...
) - Whakatohea (based in the OpotikiOpotikiOpotiki is a town in the eastern Bay of Plenty in the North Island of New Zealand. It houses the headquarters of the Opotiki District Council and comes under the Bay of Plenty Regional Council.-Population:* of the town: 4176 - Male 1,989, Female 2,187...
district)
External links
- Map of tribal areas
- Te Kāhui Māngai - Directory of Iwi and Māori Organisations
- http://www.nzherald.co.nz/storydisplay.cfm?storyID=3452740&thesection=news&thesubsection=generalUrban Māori article in The New Zealand HeraldThe New Zealand Herald- External links :* * *...
] (details on the creation and rationale for the National Urban Māori Authority) - Tribal organisation in Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand