Ngāti Whātua in the context of "Te Uri-o-Hau"

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.

Te Roroa is a Māori iwi from the region between the Kaipara Harbour and the Hokianga Harbour in Northland, New Zealand. They are part of the Ngāti Whātua confederation of tribes.

In the early 19th century Te Roroa fought a series of wars with Ngāpuhi. In 1807 or 1808, following earlier battles, the Ngāpuhi chief Pokaia led a campaign against Te Roroa. Te Roroa, led by their chief Tāoho, and their Ngāti Whātua allies led by Murupaenga ambushed and defeated the Ngāpuhi forces in the Te Kai-a-te-karoro battle at Moremonui.

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.