In Māori culture, rangatira are tribal chiefs, the hereditary Māori leaders of a hapū. Ideally, rangatira were people of great practical wisdom who held authority on behalf of the tribe and maintained boundaries between a tribe's land and that of other tribes. Changes to land ownership laws in the 19th century, particularly the individualisation of land title, undermined the power of rangatira, as did the widespread loss of land under the colonial government. The concept of rangatira and rangatiratanga, however, remain strong, and a return to rangatiratanga and the uplifting of Māori by the system has been widely advocated for since the Māori renaissance. Moana Jackson, Ranginui Walker and Tipene O'Regan are among the most famous of these advocates.
Ihaia Te Kirikumara, a 19th-century rangatira
A sign explaining the tangata whenua history of The Bricks, Christchurch
A tribal chief, chieftain, or headman is the leader of a tribal society or chiefdom.
A portrait of Koli tribal chief of Dahewan in Gujarat, India
Arminius, a chieftain of the Germanic Cherusci tribe who defeated three Roman legions in the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest.
Badge of office of Chief Gambo, Rhodesia c. 1979.
