What is an iwi?
Presented by ClearTrust Free for classrooms, newsrooms and the curious.
An iwi is a Māori tribe or nation in Aotearoa New Zealand. It is a large group of people who descend from a common ancestor and are linked to a particular region. Each iwi is made up of smaller groups called hapū, which are in turn made up of extended families called whānau.
Māori society has three main levels. The whānau is the extended family. Several whānau form a hapū, often translated as clan or sub-tribe. Several related hapū form an iwi. Many iwi trace their origins to one of the voyaging canoes that brought their ancestors from Polynesia.
Historically the hapū was the group that held land and made day-to-day decisions, and iwi came together for larger purposes such as defence. Today iwi are the main bodies that deal with the government, and most Māori can name the iwi, or several iwi, they belong to.
Many iwi have negotiated settlements with the Crown for breaches of the Treaty of Waitangi. Iwi organisations now manage land, fishing rights, businesses, and health and education services for their members. Ngāpuhi, in the north of the North Island, is the largest iwi. The word 'iwi' also means 'bone', which reflects the idea of shared ancestry.