Rangatira (pronounced Rung-uh-tee-rah) are the hereditary Māori chieftains, descended from the chieftain of a waka, a boat of the first Māori settlers. These chieftains were men of great leadership and wisdom, each of whom commanded their own retinue of Māori Toa. They were the holders of power (land, that is) and established strict boundaries between their own land and that of other rangatiras. In other words, chiefs in Maori Society.
Maori when speaking to each other seldom mention their chief except as 'our friend', or if he be an old man as 'our elder'. Speaking to Europeans however, they often say our Rangatira, that having become the only word among the Europeans to signify the chief of a tribe, though it may also mean many other ranks according as it is applied.
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