What is "iwi"

n. (context NZ English) A Maori tribe.

Iwi are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. The Māori language word iwi means "people" or "nation", and is often translated as " tribe", or a confederation of tribes. The word iwi is both singular and plural in Māori.

Most Māori in pre-European times gave their primary allegiance to relatively small groups such as hapū ("sub-tribe") and whānau ("family").