Ngāi Tahu is the iwi, or tribal group, of the southern islands of New Zealand – Te Waipounamu. Ngāi Tahu whānau can trace their ancestry back to the tribe’s founder Tahu Pōtiki, son of Paikea, who originally landed in the Bay of Plenty area.
 
The first people to arrive in the southern islands, migrating here from Hawaiki, were a people known as Waitaha. They arrived here under the leadership of Rākaihautū and Waitaha explored and inhabited the South Island.
 
The second wave of migration was undertaken by the descendants of Whatu Māmoe who came down from the North Island’s east coast. These descendants came to be known as Kāti Māmoe and, merging with the resident Waitaha, took authority over Te Waipounamu.
 
Ngāi Tahu are the third and largest wave of Māori migration to move to the South Island, arriving over two generations from the North Island’s east coast. Ngāi Tahu integrated with the existing South Island people through intermarriage and treaties. They also learned the traditions and customs of these tribes and by the mid eighteenth century a common allegiance to Ngāi Tahu was forged.  Within Ngāi Tahu there are five primary hapū (sub-tribes) being Kāti Kurī, Ngāti Irakehu, Kāti Huirapa, Ngāi Tūāhuriri and Ngāi Te Ruahikihiki.