Waikato Tainui | |
---|---|
Māori tribal government | |
Tribe established | ~1350 |
Māori King proclaimed | 1858 |
Exiled to King Country | 1863 |
Te Whakakitenga o Waikato (previously Te Kauhanganui) founded | 1889/1890 |
Capital | Ngāruawāhia |
Marae | 68 marae |
Government | |
• Body | Te Whakakitenga o Waikato |
• Māori King | Tuheitia |
• Executive Chair | Parekawhia Mclean |
Area * | |
• Total | 8,046 km2 (5,000 sq mi) |
Population (2018)* | |
• Total | 84,030 |
• Density | 10/km2 (17/sq mi) |
Time zone | NZST |
Website | http://waikatotainui.com/?id=1 |
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Waikato Tainui, Waikato or Tainui is a group of Māori iwi based in Waikato Region, in the western central region of New Zealand's North Island.[1] It is part of the larger Tainui confederation of Polynesian settlers who arrived to New Zealand on the Tainui waka (migration canoe). The tribe is named after the Waikato River, which plays a large part in its history and culture.[2][3]
Pōtatau Te Wherowhero, the first Māori king, was a member of the Ngāti Mahuta hapu (sub-tribe) of Waikato iwi, and his descendants have succeeded him. The king movement is based at Tūrangawaewae marae (meeting place) in Ngāruawāhia.[3]
The Waikato-Tainui iwi comprises 33 hapū (sub-tribes) and 68 marae (family groupings), with around an estimated population of 84,030 tribal members who affiliate to Waikato-Tainui.[4] Hamilton City is now the tribe's largest population centre, but Ngāruawāhia remains the tribe's historical centre and modern capital.
This is how the iwi describes its origins and tribal area:
Ko Waikato te awa |
Waikato is the river |