In New Zealand society, iwi (Māori pronunciation: [ˈiwi]) form the largest social units in Māori culture. The word iwi means "'peoples' or 'nations'.^[1][2][3][4] In "the work of European writers which treat iwi and hapū as parts of a hierarchical structure", it has been used to mean "tribe",^{[5][6][7][8][9]} or confederation of tribes, however "peoples" is considered a "better gloss" because "it avoids the structural connotations" of the tribal terms.^[10] Anthropological research^[11] identifies the "lack of precision" nineteenth-century Europeans had when defining communities new to them resulting in "confusion about Māori social structure" (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"^[10]) and whānau ("extended families"^[12]).

Naming[link]

In Māori, 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 ancestors. 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).

Structure[link]

Iwi groups trace their ancestry to the original Polynesian migrants who, according to tradition, arrived from Hawaiki. In turn, some iwi cluster into even larger groupings based on genealogical tradition, known as waka (literally: "canoes", 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.

Iwi and politics[link]

In modern-day New Zealand, iwi groups may exercise significant political power 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.^[13] 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.

Self-determination[link]

Iwi can become a prospective vehicle for ideas and ideals of self-determination 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".^[14] Some Tūhoe envisage self-determination in specifically iwi-oriented terms.^[15]

Problems of identification[link]

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 Zealand 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.^[16]

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.^[17] The proportion who "don’t know" dropped relative to the previous censuses,^[17] perhaps helped by measures such as the "Iwi Helpline".

Pan-tribalism[link]

Some established pan-tribal organizations may also undercut the otherwise important iwi. The Ratana Church, for example. operates across iwi divisions, and the Māori King Movement aims to transcend some iwi functions in a wider grouping.

Iwi radio[link]

Many iwi operate bilingual English and Māori 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:

• Te Hiku O Te Ika (94.4FM) - Kaitaia
• Radio Tautoko (90.8FM, 98.2FM, 92.8FM) - Mangamuka
• Ngāti Hine FM (99.5FM, 96.4FM) - Whangarei
• Radio Waatea (603AM) - South Auckland
• Nga Iwi FM (99.5FM, 92.2FM) - Paeroa
• Radio Tainui (95.4FM, 96.3FM, 96.5FM) - Ngaruawahia
• Moana AM (1440AM, 98.2FM) - Tauranga
• Maniapoto FM (91.9FM, 92.7FM, 96.5FM, 99.6FM) - Te Kuiti
• Te Reo Irirangi o Te Mānuka Tātahi (98.4FM, 96.9FM) - Whakatane
• Te Arawa FM (89FM) - Rotorua
• Raukawa FM (90.6 FM, 95.7 FM) - Tokoroa
• Te Korimako O Taranaki (94.8FM) - New Plymouth
• Tuwharetoa FM (97.2FM, 95.1FM) - Turangi
• Radio Ngāti Porou (585AM, 89.3FM, 90.1FM, 93.3FM, 98.1FM, 105.3FM) - Ruatoria
• Turanga FM (91.7FM, 95.5FM) - Gisborne
• Radio Kahungunu (765AM, 94.3FM) - Hastings
• Awa FM (100FM, 91.2FM, 93.5FM) - Wanganui
• Kia Ora FM (89.8FM) - Palmerston North
• Atiawa Toa FM (96.9FM, 94.9FM) - Lower Hutt
• Te Upoko O Te Ika (1161AM) - Wellington
• Tahu FM (90.5FM, 91.1FM, 95FM, 99.6FM, Sky digital 105) - Christchurch

Well-known iwi groups[link]

Prominent iwi include:

• Ngāi Tahu or "Kāi Tahu" (based in the south of New Zealand - most of the South Island.)
• Ngā Puhi (the largest iwi, with over 100,000 people stating their affiliation to it in the 2001 census; based in Northland)
• Ngāti Kahungunu - Hawke's Bay and Wairarapa
• Ngāti Maniapoto (based in the Waikato–Waitomo region)
• Ngāti Porou - Gisborne–East Cape
• Ngāti Tama (based in Taranaki and Wellington)
• Ngāti Toa (based in Porirua, having migrated from Kawhia in the 1820s under the leadership of Te Rauparaha)
• Ngāti Ruanui (based in the Taranaki region)
• Ngāti Whātua (based in and north of Auckland - notably Bastion Point in Orakei)
• Tainui (based in the Waikato region)
• Te Arawa (Bay of Plenty) - with several subtribes
• Te Ātiawa - Taranaki and Lower Hutt
• Tūhoe (Urewera/Whakatane)
• Ngāti Tūwharetoa (based in the central North Island)
• Whakatohea (based in the Opotiki district)

See also[link]

• List of Māori iwi

References[link]

External links[link]

• Map of tribal areas
• Te Kāhui Māngai - Directory of Iwi and Māori Organisations
• Urban Māori article in The New Zealand Herald (details on the creation and rationale for the National Urban Māori Authority)
• Tribal organisation in Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand