hapu

plural hapus · alternative hapū

1. New ZealandA subtribe of an iwi or Maori tribe; the basic political unit within Māori society; a subtribe or extended family.First known use 19th c.

   In political terms Māori also organised for war in hapu, groups subordinate to chiefs, fighting as units.

   2020, Sujit Sivasundaram, Waves Across the South, William Collins, published 2021, page 68

   2 more examples

   “I don't know whose family it belongs in. I made enquiries round all my relations, and most Ngai Tahu hapu.”

   1983, Keri Hulme, The Bone People, Penguin, published 1986, page 253

   Sometimes such migrations led nascent hapū to districts well away from those of the tribe's previous habitation.

   2003, Michael King, The Penguin History of Aotearoa New Zealand, Penguin, published 2023, page 67