Whānau () is

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

for

extended family An extended family is a family that extends beyond the nuclear family of parents and their children to include aunts, uncles, grandparents, cousins or other relatives, all living nearby or in the same household. Particular forms include the stem ...

. It is also used in everyday

New Zealand English New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...

, as well as in official publications. In Māori society, the whānau is also a political unit, below the levels of

hapū In Māori and New Zealand English, a ' ("subtribe", or "clan") functions as "the basic political unit within Māori society". A Māori person can belong to or have links to many hapū. Historically, each hapū had its own chief and normally opera ...

(subtribe) and iwi (tribe or nation), and the word itself has other meanings, i.e. as a verb: ''to be born or give birth''.

Whakapapa Whakapapa (, ), or genealogy, is a fundamental principle in Māori culture. Reciting one's whakapapa proclaims one's Māori identity, places oneself in a wider context, and links oneself to land and tribal groupings and the mana of those. Exp ...

is Māori genealogy. First on the whakapapa comes the

waka Waka may refer to: Culture and language * Waka (canoe), a Polynesian word for canoe; especially, canoes of the Māori of New Zealand ** Waka ama, a Polynesian outrigger canoe ** Waka hourua, a Polynesian ocean-going canoe ** Waka taua, a Māori w ...

, the canoe on which the people first arrived in New Zealand. Second is the iwi (tribe), then the hapū (subtribe) and then whānau.

Early Māori society

In the

tribal organisation the whānau comprises a family spanning three to four generations. It forms the smallest partition of the Māori society. The Encyclopedia of New Zealand
15 May 2013. In the ancient Māori society, before the arrival of the

Pākehā Pākehā (or Pakeha; ; ) is a Māori term for New Zealanders primarily of European descent. Pākehā is not a legal concept and has no definition under New Zealand law. The term can apply to fair-skinned persons, or to any non-Māori New Z ...

, a whānau consisted of the

kaumātua A kaumātua is a respected tribal elder of either sex in a Māori community who has been involved with their whānau for a number of years. They are appointed by their people who believe the chosen elders have the capacity to teach and guide both ...

(tribal elders), senior adults such as parents, uncles and aunts, and the sons and daughters together with their partners and children. Large whānau lived in their own compound in the

pā The word pā (; often spelled pa in English) can refer to any Māori village or defensive settlement, but often refers to hillforts – fortified settlements with palisades and defensive terraces – and also to fortified villages. Pā sites ...

. Whānau also had their own gardening plots and their own fishing and hunting spots. The whānau was economically self-sufficient. In warfare, it supported the iwi (tribe) or a

(sub-tribe).

Contemporary conceptions

Contemporary conceptions offer whānau in one of two ways: # An “object or construction based on descent, cause or a mix of the two”; or # “A collection of ideas”. As a descent construct, ‘whānau’ has been variably described as “the extended family”, “the extended family or community”, or simply "family".

References

Iwi and hapū Māori words and phrases Māori society Family in New Zealand {{Maori-stub

Early Māori society

Contemporary conceptions

See also

References