Iwi are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori, iwi roughly means 'people' or 'nation', and is often translated as "tribe," or "a confederation of tribes." The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, and is typically pluralised as such in English.
Te Rauparaha was a Māori rangatira, warlord, and chief of the Ngāti Toa iwi. One of the most powerful military leaders of the Musket Wars, Te Rauparaha fought a war of conquest that greatly expanded Ngāti Toa southwards, receiving the epithet "the Napoleon of the South". He remains one of the most prominent and celebrated New Zealand historical figures.
The Musket Wars were a series of as many as 3,000 battles and raids fought throughout New Zealand among Māori between 1806 and 1845, after Māori first obtained muskets and then engaged in an intertribal arms race in order to gain territory or seek revenge for past defeats. The battles resulted in the deaths of between 20,000 and 40,000 people and the enslavement of tens of thousands of Māori and significantly altered the rohe, or tribal territorial boundaries, before the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840. The Musket Wars reached their peak in the 1830s, with smaller conflicts between iwi continuing until the mid 1840s; some historians argue the New Zealand Wars were a continuation of the Musket Wars. The increased use of muskets in intertribal warfare led to changes in the design of pā fortifications, which later benefited Māori when engaged in battles with colonial forces during the New Zealand Wars.
Ngāpuhi is a Māori iwi associated with the Northland regions of New Zealand centred in the Hokianga, the Bay of Islands, and Whangārei.
Ngāti Whātua is a Māori iwi (tribe) of the lower Northland Peninsula of New Zealand's North Island. It comprises a confederation of four hapū (subtribes) interconnected both by ancestry and by association over time: Te Uri-o-Hau, Te Roroa, Te Taoū, and Ngāti Whātua-o-Ōrākei. The four hapū can act together or separately as independent tribes.
Ngāti Porou is a Māori iwi traditionally located in the East Cape and Gisborne regions of the North Island of New Zealand. Ngāti Porou is affiliated with the 28th Maori Battalion, it also has the second-largest affiliation of any iwi, behind Ngāpuhi with an estimated 92,349 people according to the 2018 census. The traditional rohe or tribal area of Ngāti Porou extends from Pōtikirua and Lottin Point in the north to Te Toka-a-Taiau in the south. The Ngāti Porou iwi also comprises 58 hapū (sub-tribes) and 48 mārae.
Ngāti 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 Wairārapa regions. The Kahungungu iwi also comprises 86 hapū (sub-tribes) and 90 marae.
Ngāti Toa, Ngāti Toarangatira or Ngāti Toa Rangatira, is a Māori iwi (tribe) based in the southern North Island and in the northern South Island of New Zealand. Its rohe extends from Whanganui in the north, Palmerston North in the east, and Kaikōura and Hokitika in the south. Ngāti Toa remains a small iwi with a population of only about 9000. It has four marae: Takapūwāhia and Hongoeka in Porirua City, and Whakatū and Wairau in the north of the South Island. Ngāti Toa's governing body has the name Te Rūnanga o Toa Rangatira.
Ngāi Te Rangi or Ngāiterangi is a Māori iwi, based in Tauranga, New Zealand. Its rohe extends to Mayor Island / Tuhua and Bowentown in the north, to the Kaimai Range in the west, south of Te Puke and to Maketu in the east.
The Māori King Movement, called the Kīngitanga in Māori, is a Māori movement that arose among some of the Māori iwi (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 British colonists, as a way of halting the alienation of Māori land. The Māori monarch operates in a non-constitutional capacity with no legal or judicial power within the New Zealand government. Reigning monarchs retain the position of paramount chief of several iwi and wield some power over these, especially within Tainui.
Ngāti 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 Matatā across the central plateau of the North Island to the lands around Mount Tongariro and Lake Taupō.
Hongi Hika was a New Zealand Māori rangatira (chief) and war leader of the iwi of Ngāpuhi. He was a pivotal figure in the early years of regular European contact and settlement in New Zealand. As one of the first Māori leaders to understand the advantages of European muskets in warfare, he used European weapons to overrun much of northern New Zealand in the early nineteenth century Musket Wars. He was however not only known for his military prowess; Hongi Hika encouraged Pākehā (European) settlement, built mutually beneficial relationships with New Zealand's first missionaries, introduced Māori to Western agriculture and helped put the Māori language into writing. He travelled to England and met King George IV. His military campaigns, along with the other Musket Wars, were one of the most important motivators for the British annexation of New Zealand and subsequent Treaty of Waitangi with Ngāpuhi and many other iwi.
Ngāti 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.
Whangape Harbour is a harbour on the west coast of Northland, New Zealand. There is a settlement called Whangape on the northern side of the harbour. Another, called Pawarenga, is located on the southern side. Kaitaia is 42 km north east.
Ngāti Whakaue is a Māori iwi, of the Te Arawa confederation of New Zealand, tracing its descent from Whakaue Kaipapa, son of Uenuku-kopakō, and grandson of Tūhourangi. The tribe lives in the Rotorua district and descends from the Arawa waka. The Ngāti Whakaue village Ōhinemutu is within the township of Rotorua. The Ngāti Whakaue chief Pūkākī is depicted on the New Zealand 20 cent coin.
Rangitāne is a Māori iwi (tribe). Their rohe (territory) is in the Manawatū, Horowhenua, Wairarapa and Marlborough areas of New Zealand.
Wiremu Tamihana Tarapipipi Te Waharoa, generally known as Wiremu Tamihana, was a leader of the Ngāti Hauā Māori iwi in nineteenth century New Zealand, and is sometimes known as the kingmaker for his role in the Māori King Movement.
Ruatara was a chief of the Ngāpuhi iwi (tribe) in New Zealand. He introduced European crops to New Zealand and was host to the first Christian missionary, Samuel Marsden.
Tarore was a Christian martyr and child prodigy. She was the daughter of Wiremu Ngākuku, a rangatira (chief) of the Māori iwi (tribe) Ngāti Hauā in the North Island of New Zealand. Her story is treasured by the New Zealand church as an example of forgiveness after her father chose not seek revenge against her killers following her death, and her gospel book was key to the spread of Christianity amongst Māori.
Ngāti Tūmatakōkiri is a Māori iwi (tribe) of New Zealand, who arrived on the Kurahaupō waka. In the 1600s the iwi settled northwestern South Island, becoming a major power in the region until the 1800s. In 1642, members of Ngāti Tūmatakōkiri made the first known contact between Europeans and Māori, when Dutch explorer Abel Tasman visited Golden Bay / Mohua.
