Kai Tahu
| Ngāi Tahu | |
|---|---|
| Iwi of New Zealand | |
 |
|
| Rohe (region) | South Island |
| Waka (canoe) | Tākitimu, Arahura, Āraiteuru |
| Population | 54,819 |
| Website | ngaitahu |
Ngāi Tahu, or Kāi Tahu, is the principal Māori iwi (tribe) of the southern region of New Zealand. Its takiwā (tribal area) is the largest in New Zealand, and extends from Blenheim, Mount Mahanga and Kahurangi Point in the north to Stewart Island in the south. These are divided into 18 rūnanga (governance areas) corresponding to traditional settlements. Some definitions of Ngāi Tahu include the Waitaha and Kāti Mamoe tribes who lived in the South Island prior to the arrival of Kāi Tāhu. The five primary hapū (sub-tribes) of the three tribes are Kāti Kurī, Ngāti Irakehu, Kāti Huirapa, Ngāi Tūāhuriri and Ngāi Te Ruakihikihi.
The New Zealand Parliament passed the Ngai Tahu Claims Settlement Act in 1998 to record an apology from the Crown and to settle claims made under the Treaty of Waitangi. One of the Act's provisions covered the use of dual (Māori and English) names for geographical locations in the Ngāi Tahu tribal area. The recognised tribal authority, Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu, is based in Christchurch and Invercargill.
Ngāi Tahu trace their traditional descent from Tahupōtiki, the younger brother of Porou Ariki, founding ancestor of Ngāti Porou, a tribe of the East Coast of the North Island. They originated on the east coast of the North Island, from where they migrated south to present-day Wellington. Late in the 17th century they began migrating to the northern part of the South Island. There they and Kāti Mamoe fought Ngāi Tara and Rangitāne in the Wairau Valley. Kāti Māmoe then ceded the east coast regions north of the Clarence River to Ngāi Tahu. Ngāi Tahu continued to push south, conquering Kaikoura. By the 1690s Ngāi Tahu had settled in Canterbury, including Banks Peninsula. From there they spread further south and into the West Coast.
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