Iwi and Communities

Waikato-Tainui

Tainui was the name of an infant who did not survive childbirth. At the child's burial site grew a great tree. This tree was used to build the voyaging waka (canoe), Tainui.

Led by the chief Hoturoa, the Tainui waka was one of the migratory canoes that voyaged from Hawaiiki across the Pacific Ocean to Aotearoa over 800 years ago.

There are four principal tribes that comprise the Tainui waka. They are Hauraki, Ngaati Maniapoto, Ngaati Raukawa and Waikato(source: www.tainui.co.nz).

Waikato-Tainui holds a unique status as tangata whenua of the Waikato region. 

The Waikato-Tainui iwi comprises 33 hapu (sub-tribes) and 68 marae. 36 of these marae are located within the Waikato District Council boundaries.

In the 2006 census, 33,429 people in New Zealand indicated they were affiliated with Waikato (including those affiliated with more than one tribe).  However, the Waikato-Tainui tribal register, administered by the iwi, has over 60,000 registered members.

Key information 

 *67 per cent reside in Waikato, 28 per cent reside in the rest of New Zealand and five per cent are overseas. More than 35,000 people residing in the Waikato Region are members of the Waikato-Tainui tribe.

Waikato-Tainui are the kai-tiaki (guardian) of the Kiingitanga. See http://kiingitanga.com/

Waikato Tainui Tribal Structure  

Waikato-Tainui's governing body is Waikato-Tainui Te Kauhanganui Incorporated, (WTTKI or Te Kauhanganui for short) comprising of 204 tribal members – three members from each of the 68 marae. WTTKI is the mandated iwi authority for Waikato-Tainui and successor to the Waikato Raupatu Trustee Company Ltd, and the Tainui Maaori Trust Board.

WTTKN Inc. became the official tribal authority following the 1995 land settlement. WTTKN Inc. manages and distributes income for the collective benefit of all the registered Waikato-Tainui tribal members. Income is distributed in the areas of education, health and well-being, Marae, social and cultural development.

The executive board is Te Arataura, which has 10 representatives elected from the tribal parliament, Te Kauhanganui and an 11th member appointed by the Maaori king.

The tribal administration centre is at 451 Old Taupiri Road, Hopuhopu in Ngaruawahia (Private Bag 542, Ngaruawahia 3742, phone 0800 TAINUI).

Waikato-Tainui organisational structure (source www.tainui.co.nz).

The Waikato Region

The Region is described in the following tongi (saying):

Mokau ki runga, Tamaki ki raro, Mangatoatoa ki waenganui
Pare Waikato, Pare Hauraki.

(From Mokau in the south to Tamaki in the north, Mangatoatoa is at the centre, From the mouth of Waikato River in the west to all of Hauraki).

The natural and physical resources within the tribal area of Waikato-Tainui are of significant cultural and historical importance to  iwi. Waikato-Tainui’s relationship with the Waikato River and West Coast harbours, in particular, has extended over many generations since the time of the first inland explorations of their ancestors.

The Waikato-Tainui relationship with the river is unique. The Waikato River is regarded as a tuupuna awa, the ancestral river of the people representing the mana and the mauri of the people. It is central to tribal identity, and to the spiritual and physical wellbeing of the people. Its power is both protective and healing.

The importance of this relationship is evident in many whakatauki (tribal sayings) and waiata (songs), and in oral histories, which record the association of the ancestors with places, events, daily activities, thoughts, emotions, and everything that touched their lives.

Over the generations Waikato-Tainui have developed tikanga (protocol) that embody a profound respect for the river and all life within it. Their tikanga recognises that if we care for the river, the river will continue to sustain the people. Waikato-Tainui has mana whakahaere (authority) over the river. Accordingly, Waikato-Tainui has a duty to past, present and future generations to protect the river and Waikato-Tainui is obliged to satisfy that duty.

It is important to recognise that for Waikato-Tainui the Waikato River means the whole river. Waikato-Tainui regard the river as an entire living entity, which includes not just its banks, beds and waters but also its many streams, lakes and tributaries, its catchments and flood plains, and its flora and fauna, as well as its metaphysical being.  Information about the Waikato River Settlement and the Councils co-management agreement with Waikato Tainui can be found on the Waikato River Settlement page.

As with the Waikato River; the West Coast harbours of Manukau, Whaingaroa, Aotea and Kawhia have significant historical and cultural importance to Waikato-Tainui; particularly for the mana whenua (local people) who reside around them.