In MÃÂori and New Zealand English, a ' ("subtribe", or "clan") functions as "the basic political unit within MÃÂori society". A MÃÂori person can belong to or have links to many hapà «. Historically, each hapà « had its own chief and normally operated independently of its iwi (tribe).
The word literally means "pregnant", and its usage in a socio-political context is a metaphor for the genealogical connection that unites hapà « members. Similarly, the MÃÂori word for land, , can also mean "placenta", metaphorically indicating the connection between people and land, and the MÃÂori word for tribe, iwi, can also mean "bones", indicating a link to ancestors.
As named divisions of (tribes), hapà « membership is determined by genealogical descent; a hapà « consists of a number of (extended family) groups. The MÃÂori scholar Hirini Moko Mead states the double meanings of the word hapà « emphasise the importance of being born into a hapà « group. As a metaphor this is "the members being born of the same womb", and "conveys the idea of growth, indicating that a hapà « is capable of containing many whÃÂnau."
In the 1870 census the Whakatà Âhea iwi had five named hapà « ranging in size from 51 to 165 people. Some were apparently overlooked, as an iwi register from 1874 showed two more hapà «, but these had only 22 and 44 members respectively. The hapà « of this iwi ranged in size from 22 to 188. In 1874, hapà « still had a small male-female imbalance overall with 6 of the 7 iwi having far more males than females. In the four-year period between the census and the register, all the hapà « had grown significantlyâÂÂat a time when popular opinion had it that the MÃÂori population was in decline. NgÃÂti Rua gained 8, NgÃÂti Patu gained 28, NgÃÂti Tama gained 63, NgÃÂti Ira lost 4, and NgÃÂti Ngahere gained 17. These population gains were at a time when the iwi had land confiscated by the government for their support of various anti-government movements. Some hapà « in other iwi were larger.
Before the arrival of PÃÂkehÃÂ, the normal day-to-day operating group in MÃÂori society seems to have been the smaller whÃÂnau. Each hapà « had its own chief and normally operated independently of the tribe (iwi) group. By the 1820s MÃÂori had realised the economic benefits of working in larger groupsâÂÂespecially when it came to trading with ships. The larger hapà « 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 hapà « operated as the standard grouping for warriors during the period of the Musket Wars (1807âÂÂ1842). Hapà « would unite politically under their own chief, to form much larger armies of up to several thousand warriors, although it was common for hapà « to retain independence within the larger group.
Te Maire Tau noted in his study of NgÃÂi Tahu migrations that hapà « size and names were volatile, with hapà « splitting into sister groups when they grew in size or when migrating. New hapà « often adopted names from events associated with the migration. Likewise the same group of people would change their name according to different circumstances. Name changes primarily asserted rights to resources given to a named hapà «, or emphasised a link to an ancestor with mana in a particular area. Tau states that hapà « names and locations have become more stable in more recent times.
Missionaries such as Henry Williams noted that even in times of war against another iwi, hapà « usually operated independently. In the period of the Musket Wars (1807âÂÂ1842) many of the battles involved fighting between competing hapà « rather than different iwi. It was not uncommon for two hapà « from the same iwi to clash.
Hapà « were frequently the political unit that sold land to the Europeans: in the 20 years after the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, according to Native Affairs Minister William Richmond, different hapà « or comparatively small groups of individuals sold half of all the blocks sold under the Treaty. Richmond said that hapà « or small groups sold all the land sold north of Auckland, some in Hawke's Bay, in the Wairarapa valley, in the Waikato at Raglan, and in sales by Te ÃÂti Awa in Wellington and Taranaki.