Hapū in the context of "Ngāti Whātua"

Iwi (Māori pronunciation: [ˈiwi]) are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori, iwi roughly means 'people' or 'nation', 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.

Iwi groups trace their ancestry to the original Polynesian migrants who, according to tradition, arrived from Hawaiki. Some iwi cluster into larger groupings that are based on whakapapa (genealogical tradition) and known as waka (literally 'canoes', with reference to the original migration voyages). These super-groupings are generally symbolic rather than logistical. In pre-European times, most Māori were allied to relatively small groups in the form of hapū ('sub-tribes') and whānau ('family'). Each iwi contains a number of hapū; among the hapū of the Ngāti Whātua iwi, for example, are Te Uri-o-Hau, Te Roroa, Te Taoū, and Ngāti Whātua-o-Ōrākei. Māori use the word rohe for the territory or boundaries of iwi.

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.

According to the 2023 New Zealand census, the estimated population of Ngāpuhi is 184,470. This compares to 125,601 in 2001, 102,981 in 2006, 122,214 in 2013. and 165,201 in 2018. It is formed from 150 hapū or subtribes, with 55 marae.

Waitaha is an early Māori iwi who inhabited the South Island of New Zealand. They were largely absorbed via marriage and conquest – first by the Ngāti Māmoe and then by Ngāi Tahu – from the 16th century onward. Today those of Waitaha descent are represented by the Ngāi Tahu iwi. Like Ngāi Tahu today, Waitaha was itself a collection of various ancient iwi. Kāti Rākai was said to be one of Waitaha's hapū.

In Māori culture, rangatira (Māori pronunciation: [ɾaŋatiɾa]) are tribal chiefs, the leaders (often hereditary)of a hapū (subtribe or clan). Ideally, rangatira were people of great practical wisdom who held authority (mana) on behalf of the tribe and maintained boundaries between a tribe's land (Māori: rohe) and that of other tribes. Changes to land-ownership laws in the 19th century, particularly the individualisation of land title, undermined the power of rangatira, as did the widespread loss of land under the Euro-settler-oriented government of the Colony of New Zealand from 1841 onwards. The concepts of rangatira and rangatiratanga (chieftainship), however, remain strong, and a return to rangatiratanga and the uplifting of Māori by the rangatiratanga system has been widely advocated for since the Māori renaissance began c. 1970. Moana Jackson, Ranginui Walker and Tipene O'Regan figure among the most notable of these advocates.

The concept of a rangatira is central to rangatiratanga—a Māori system of governance, self-determination and sovereignty.

Whānau (Māori pronunciation: [ˈɸaːnaʉ]) 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.

Te Uri-o-Hau (sometimes spelt Te Uri O Hau or Te Uriohau) is a Māori iwi (tribe) based around New Zealand's Kaipara Harbour. It is both an independent iwi and a hapū (sub-tribe) of the larger Ngāti Whātua iwi, alongside Ngāti Whātua-o-Ōrākei, Te Roroa and Te Taoū. Its rohe (tribal area) includes Dargaville, Maungaturoto, Mangawhai, Kaiwaka and Wellsford.

According to the 2018 New Zealand census, about 1,314 people affiliate with the iwi. This compares to 732 in 2001, 1,074 in 2006, and 1,260 in 2013.

Te Taoū is a Māori iwi (tribe) of Northland and the Auckland Region in New Zealand. Together with Te Uri-o-Hau, Te Roroa and Ngāti Whātua-o-Ōrākei, it comprises the iwi (tribe) of Ngāti Whātua. The four iwi can act together or separately as independent tribes. Te Taoū has been considered to be a hapū (subtribe) of Ngāti Whātua in the past, but this is disputed. Te Taoū have attempted to separate from Ngāti Whātua in Treaty of Waitangi settlement negotiations, claiming that Ngāti Whātua do not represent them and being kept under Ngāti Whātua will cause a loss of sovereignty and mana.

Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei or Ngāti Whātua-o-Ōrākei is an Auckland-based Māori hapū (sub-tribe) in New Zealand. Together with Te Uri-o-Hau, Te Roroa and Te Taoū, it comprises the iwi (tribe) of Ngāti Whātua. These four hapū can act together or separately as independent tribes. The hapū's rohe (tribal area) is mostly in Tāmaki Makaurau, the site of present-day Auckland. Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei has around 6,000 members whose collective affairs are managed by the Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei Trust.