Iwi and hapū

Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori, roughly means or , and is often translated as "tribe". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, and is typically pluralised as such in English.

In Māori and New Zealand English, a '''' ("subtribe", or "clan") functions as "the basic political unit within Māori society". A Māori person can belong to or have links to many hapū. Historically, each hapū had its own chief and normally operated independently of its iwi (tribe).

Whānau () is the Māori word for the basic extended family group. Within Māori society the whānau encompasses three or four generations and forms the political unit below the levels of hapū (subtribe), iwi (tribe or nation) and waka (migration canoe). These steps are emphasised in Māori genealogy as a person's whakapapa.

Ngāpuhi (also known as Ngāpuhi-Nui-Tonu or Ngā Puhi) is a Māori iwi associated with the Northland regions of New Zealand centred in the Hokianga, the Bay of Islands, and Whangārei.

thumb|Māori woman with a representation of her ancestress Te Iringa in Waikato. Genealogy is a fundamental principle in Māori culture, termed specifically in this context as whakapapa (, , lit. 'layering'). Reciting one's whakapapa proclaims one's identity among the Māori, places oneself in a wider context, and links themself to land and tribal groupings and their mana.

Māori iwi in New Zealand