Hapu

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The hapū was the most important political entity in pre-European Māori society . A Hapū could be between a hundred and several hundred people and include several Whanau (large families). The members of a Hapū controlled a clearly defined part of the tribal area and ideally had access to the sea or to lakes, rivers and forests.

Task and function

Many Hapū had a certain independence and were able to agree with other Hapū across tribal boundaries about the disposal of land. When land agreements could not be reached through negotiations or marriage, the conflicts were resolved through armed conflicts. The defense of one's own country was one of the essential tasks of a Hapu community . The most important social function of a Hapū was to support its own members, to do business together and to ensure the survival of the community. A hapu was a include or more, however, could one well as several smaller hapu accommodate. The construction of the waka (canoe) and wharenui (meeting house) was always organized collectively. Children whose parents belonged to different Hapū had rights to membership of both Hapū and these could be inherited over three generations. They decayed if they were not redeemed by living in the community of a hapu .

Tribal affiliation

Several Hapū belonged or counted themselves to an Iwi (tribe), which had arisen through clan formation or referred to the descent of a waka (canoe), with which their ancestors had come from the Polynesian islands to New Zealand. Marriage and tribal feuds changed the structure and expansion of the Iwi over the centuries. Likewise, some newly formed or mixed with existing tribes.

The fact that Iwi is generally translated as “tribe” or in English as “ tribe ” often leads to the assumption that an Iwi was the core of a Maori society in political and sociological terms. But an iwi was a loose and flexible connection.

See also

literature

  • Toon van Meijl : Conflicts of Redistributen in Contemporary Maori Society: Leadership and the Tainui Settlement . In: University of Auckland (Ed.): The Journal of the Polynesian Society . Volume 112 No. 3 . Auckland 2003, p. 260–279 (English, online PDF 177 kB [accessed on March 31, 2016]).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. a b c Rāwiri Taonui : Tribal organization - The significance of iwi and hapū . Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand , September 22, 2012, accessed March 31, 2016 .
  2. Meijl : Conflicts of Redistribution in Contemporary Maori Society: Leadership and the Tainui settlement . 2003, p.  261 .