| Official Name: | Waikato Tainui |
| Settlement Type: | Māori tribal government |
| Flag Size: | 140px |
| Seal Size: | 80px |
| Established Title: | Tribe established |
| Established Date: | ~1350 |
| Established Title1: | Māori King proclaimed |
| Established Date1: | 1858 |
| Established Title2: | Exiled to King Country |
| Established Date2: | 1863 |
| Established Title3: | Te Whakakitenga o Waikato (previously Te Kauhanganui) founded |
| Established Date3: | 1889/1890 |
| Seat Type: | Capital |
| Seat: | Ngāruawāhia |
| Parts Type: | Marae |
| Parts Style: | list |
| Parts: | 68 marae |
| Governing Body: | Te Whakakitenga o Waikato |
| Leader Title: | Māori King |
| Leader Name: | Tuheitia |
| Leader Title1: | Chair |
| Leader Title2: | Executive Chair |
| Leader Name2: | Parekawhia Mclean |
| Area Total Km2: | 8046 |
| Area Total Sq Mi: | 5000 |
| Population Total: | 84,030 |
| Population As Of: | 2018 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Timezone1: | NZST |
| Website: | http://waikatotainui.com/?id=1 |
| Footnotes: |
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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.
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:
Waikato-Tainui's governing parliamentary body is Te Kauhanganui, a governing body of 204 tribal members – 3 members from each of the 68 marae. The marae are spread over a large area from Te Kūiti and Cambridge in the south to Auckland in the north.
The executive board is Te Arataura, which has 10 representatives elected from Te Kauhanganui and an 11th member appointed by the Māori king. The Waikato-Tainui tribal administration (or iwi authority) is the Waikato Raupatu Trustee Company Ltd, which replaced the Tainui Māori Trust Board, and is situated at Hopuhopu, Ngāruawāhia.
The Waikato iwi has been using the name Tainui to describe itself for some time, through the establishment of the Tainui Māori Trust Board by the Waikato-Maniapoto Maori Claims Settlement Act 1946, with many people now referring to the Waikato iwi as "Tainui" or "Waikato-Tainui".
There have traditionally been strong links between Tainui and the University of Waikato, which has strengths in Māori language and modern local history. The university also holds documents and objects related to the tribe.
Waikato Tainui is made up of several iwi (tribes) and hapū (sub-tribes).
Each tribal group has marae (meeting grounds), which usually includes a wharenui (meeting house).
The hāpu of Ngāti Mahuta is associated with 20 marae:
The iwi of Ngāti Te Wehi is associated with 11 marae:
The hapū of Ngāti Tai, Ngāti Kuiaarangi and Ngāti Whāwhākia are associated with 8 marae:
The hapū of Tainui is associated with 7 marae:
The hapū of Ngāti Tāhinga is associated with 6 marae:
The hapū of Ngāti Apakura is associated with 6 marae:
The hāpu of Ngāti Tiipa and Ngāti Āmaru are associated with 6 marae:
The hāpu of Ngāti Hauā is associated with 5 marae:
The hapū of Ngāti Korokī and Ngāti Raukawa are associated with 5 marae:
The hapū of Ngāti Māhanga and Ngāti Tamainupō are associated with 4 marae:
The hapū of Ngāi Tai, Ngāti Koheriki, and Ngāti Tamaoho are associated with 5 marae:
The hapū of Ngāti Hine, Ngāti Naho and Ngāti Pou are associated with 4 marae:
The hapū of Ngāti Te Ata and Ngāti Paretaua are associated with 4 marae:
The hapū of Ngāti Te Ata and Ngāti Paretaua are associated with 4 marae:
The hapū of Ngāti Makirangi has no marae of its own, but is associated with 4 marae:
Ngaati Wairere is associated with 2 marae: