People and Their Groups

Ariki

person of high inherited rank from senior lines of descent, male or female

Hapū

clan, tribe, independent section of a people; modern usage - sub-tribe; to be born

Iwi

people, nation; modern usage - tribe; bones

Kaumātua

elder or elders, senior people in a kin group

Ngāi Tātou

a way of referring to everyone present - we all

Pākehā

this word is not an insult; its derivation is obscure; it is the Māori word for people living in New Zealand of British/European origin; originally it would not have included, for example, Dalmatians, Italians, Greeks, Indians, Chinese etc.

Rangatira

person of chiefly rank, boss, owner

Tama

son, young man, youth

Tamāhine

daughter

Tamaiti

one child

Tamariki

children

Tāne

man, husband, men, husbands

Teina/taina

junior relative, younger brother of a brother, younger sister of a sister

Tipuna/tupuna

ancestor

Tuahine

sister of a man

Tuakana

senior relative, older brother of a brother, older sister of a sister

Tungāne

brother of a sister

Wahine

woman, wife (wāhine women, wives)

Waka

canoe, canoe group (all the iwi and hapū descended from the crew of a founding waka)

Whāngai

fostered or adopted child, young person

Whānau

extended or non-nuclear family

Whanaunga

kin, relatives