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New hapū often adopted names from events associated with the migration. Te Maire Tau noted in his study of Ngāi Tahu migrations that hapū size and names were volatile, with hapū splitting into sister groups when they grew in size or when migrating. Hapū would unite politically under their own chief, to form much larger armies of up to several thousand warriors, although it was common for hapū to retain independence within the larger group. In warfare the hapū operated as the standard grouping for warriors during the period of the Musket Wars (1807-1842). The larger hapū could work more effectively to produce surplus flax, potatoes, smoked heads and pigs in exchange for blankets, tobacco, axes and trade muskets.
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By the 1820s Māori had realised the economic benefits of working in larger groups-especially when it came to trading with ships.
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Each hapū had its own chief and normally operated independently of the tribe (iwi) group. ( September 2021) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message)īefore the arrival of Pākehā, the normal day-to-day operating group in Māori society seems to have been the smaller whānau. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. This section needs additional citations for verification. These population gains were at a time when the iwi had land confiscated by the government for their support of various anti-government movements. Ngāti Rua gained 8, Ngāti Patu gained 28, Ngāti Tama gained 63, Ngāti Ira lost 4, and Ngāti Ngahere gained 17. In the four-year period between the census and the register, all the hapū had grown significantly-at a time when popular opinion had it that the Māori population was in decline. In 1874, hapū still had a small male-female imbalance overall with 6 of the 7 iwi having far more males than females. The hapū of this iwi ranged in size from 22 to 188. Some were apparently overlooked, as an iwi register from 1874 showed two more hapū, but these had only 22 and 44 members respectively. In the 1870 census the Whakatōhea iwi had five named hapū ranging in size from 51 to 165 people. As a metaphor this is "the members being born of the same womb", and "conveys the idea of growth, indicating that a hapū is capable of containing many whānau." The Māori scholar Hirini Moko Mead states the double meanings of the word hapū emphasise the importance of being born into a hapū group. Similarly, the Māori word for land, whenua, can also mean " placenta", metaphorically indicating the connection between people and land, and the Māori word for tribe, iwi, can also mean "bones", indicating a link to ancestors.Īs named divisions of iwi (tribes), hapū membership is determined by genealogical descent a hapū consists of a number of whānau (extended family) groups. The word hapū literally means "pregnant", and its usage in a socio-political context is a metaphor for the genealogical connection that unites hapū members.