A hapū ("subtribe", or "clan"[1]) is sometimes described as "the basic political unit within Maori society".[2]
A named[3] division of a Māori iwi (tribe),[4] membership is determined by genealogical descent; a hapū is made up of a number of whānau (extended family) groups. Generally hapū range in size from 150-200 although there is no upper limit. A Maori person can belong or have links to many different hapū.
Before the arrival of Europeans the normal day to day operating group seems to have been the smaller whānau (extended family). By the 1820s Maori had learnt the benefit of working in larger groups especially when it came to trading with ships. 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. In warfare the hapū was the standard grouping for warriors during the musket war period. Hapū would united politically under their own chief, to form much larger armies up to several thousand warriors, although it was common for hapū to retain independence within the larger group.
The literal meaning of the word is "pregnant"[5] which is a metaphor for the genealogical connection that unites the members of the hapū.
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