Waipounamu Māori
Waipounamu Māori are the Māori people of the South Island of New Zealand. The main iwi (tribe) is Ngāi Tahu. Historically, Kāti Māmoe and Waitaha also lived on the island, especially in the southern areas.
The South Island also has many iwi from Te Tau Ihu, the upper South Island, including Ngāti Toa, Te Atiawa o Te Waka-a-Māui, Ngāti Apa ki te Rā Tō, Rangitāne, Ngāti Kuia, Ngāti Rārua, Ngāti Kōata and Ngāti Tama. Some of these groups also have traditional lands in the North Island, such as Ngāti Toa and Ngāti Tama.
The name Te Waipounamu comes from Ngāi Tahu, who valued greenstone (jade) and used it to make tools and ornaments. They prized a paler nephrite called inanga found near what is now the Dart Valley. People called the area wāhi pounamu, meaning "place of greenstone," and the South Island became Te Wāhi Pounamu. Later, it was called Te Wai Pounamu, meaning "the waters of greenstone," though that meaning is not the original one.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 14:34 (CET).