In tikanga Māori (Māori culture or practice), a rūnanga (runaka in Southern Māori dialect) is a tribal council, assembly, board or boardroom. The term can also be a verb meaning "to discuss in an assembly". An iwi (tribe) can have one governing rūnanga and many sub rūnanga. In such cases it can be used to mean the subdivision of a tribe governed by that council. It is also used for non tribal affiliations as with the CTU Runanga a sub union for Māori workers.
The leader or representative of a rūnanga is sometimes referred to as Te Upoku o Te Rūnanga (literally "The head of the rūnanga").