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Māori iwi (tribe) in Aotearoa New Zealand

Pōtatau Te Wherowhero, the first Māori king, was a member of the Waikato hapu (sub tribe) of Ngāti Mahuta, and his descendants have succeeded him. The king movement is based at Tūrangawaewae marae (meeting place) in Ngāruawāhia. 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).