An ariki (New Zealand,

Cook Islands ) , image_map = Cook Islands on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , capital = Avarua , coordinates = , largest_city = Avarua , official_languages = , lan ...

), ꞌariki (

Easter Island Easter Island ( rap, Rapa Nui; es, Isla de Pascua) is an island and special territory of Chile in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, at the southeasternmost point of the Polynesian Triangle in Oceania. The island is most famous for its nearl ...

), aliki ( Tokelau,

Tuvalu Tuvalu ( or ; formerly known as the Ellice Islands) is an island country and microstate in the Polynesian subregion of Oceania in the Pacific Ocean. Its islands are situated about midway between Hawaii and Australia. They lie east-northeast ...

), ali‘i (

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands (Manono Island, Manono an ...

Hawai‘i Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...

), ari'i (

Society Islands The Society Islands (french: Îles de la Société, officially ''Archipel de la Société;'' ty, Tōtaiete mā) are an archipelago located in the South Pacific Ocean. Politically, they are part of French Polynesia, an overseas country of the F ...

Tahiti Tahiti (; Tahitian ; ; previously also known as Otaheite) is the largest island of the Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia. It is located in the central part of the Pacific Ocean and the nearest major landmass is Austr ...

), aiki or hakaiki (

Marquesas Islands The Marquesas Islands (; french: Îles Marquises or ' or '; Marquesan: ' ( North Marquesan) and ' ( South Marquesan), both meaning "the land of men") are a group of volcanic islands in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France in th ...

), akariki (

Gambier Islands The Gambier Islands ( or ) are an archipelago in French Polynesia, located at the southeast terminus of the Tuamotu archipelago. They cover an area of , and are made up of the Mangareva Islands, a group of high islands remnants of a caldera alo ...

) or ‘eiki (

Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...

) is or was a member of a hereditary chiefly or noble rank in

Polynesia Polynesia () "many" and νῆσος () "island"), to, Polinisia; mi, Porinihia; haw, Polenekia; fj, Polinisia; sm, Polenisia; rar, Porinetia; ty, Pōrīnetia; tvl, Polenisia; tkl, Polenihia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania, made up of ...

New Zealand

Political leadership or governance in Māori society has traditionally come from two overlapping groups of people – the ariki and the

rangatira In Māori culture, () 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 ...

. The ariki are the "persons of the highest rank and seniority". As the "high-ranking first-born children of first-born children", ariki inherit their positions from their forebears. In particular, their "supreme rank

omes The branches of science known informally as omics are various disciplines in biology whose names end in the suffix ''-omics'', such as genomics, proteomics, metabolomics, metagenomics, phenomics and transcriptomics. Omics aims at the collective ...

from the conjunction of a number of senior descent lines from founding ancestors, and ultimately from the gods". In Māori culture ariki were men or women. A modern example of a woman in this leadership role is Te Atairangikaahu the paramount head or

Māori Queen Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

of the Waikato federation of tribes.See also: Ballara, A. (1998). ''Iwi: The dynamics of Māori tribal organisation from c.1769 to c.1945''. Wellington, New Zealand: Victoria University Press. Ariki do not operate in simple hierarchical organisations; despite what "government officers were inclined to believe", ariki have never been "the apex of a structured hierarchy of institutionalised tribal authority". Many positions overlap with ariki holding multiple roles, including "head of an

iwi Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori roughly means "people" or "nation", and is often translated as "tribe", or "a confederation of tribes". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, an ...

, the rangatira of a hapu and the kaumatua of a whanau". Similarly, in times past, "a

tohunga In the culture of the Māori of New Zealand, a tohunga (tōhuka in Southern Māori dialect) is an expert practitioner of any skill or art, either religious or otherwise. Tohunga include expert priests, healers, navigators, carvers, builders, teache ...

may have also been the head of a whanau but quite often was also a rangatira and an ariki".Mead, S. M. (1997). ''Landmarks, bridges and visions: Essays''. Wellington, New Zealand: Victoria University Press. (p. 197). The

Māori King Movement The Māori King Movement, called the in Māori, is a movement that arose among some of the Māori (tribes) of New Zealand in the central North Island in the 1850s, to establish a role similar in status to that of the monarch of the British c ...

is headed by the Māori King or Queen, who bears the title ''Te Arikinui'', literally "The big (leading) Ariki".

Cook Islands

Each island in the

Cook Islands ) , image_map = Cook Islands on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , capital = Avarua , coordinates = , largest_city = Avarua , official_languages = , lan ...

was ruled by a number of ''ariki'' (high chiefs).

Rarotonga Rarotonga is the largest and most populous of the Cook Islands. The island is volcanic, with an area of , and is home to almost 75% of the country's population, with 13,007 of a total population of 17,434. The Cook Islands' Parliament buildings a ...

had about five or six, and most of the other islands had about three. Each ''ariki'' ruled an ''ivi'' or ''ngati'' (tribe). Beneath each ''ariki'' in the social hierarchy were a number of '' mataiapo'' and ''

'' (minor chiefs) of noble rank. Ariki are either men or women. In 2009 a group of ariki challenged the legitimacy of the government. A chief's control over their people was related to their '' mana'' (power), which came not only from their birth but also from their achievements and status, and could be gained or lost. An ''ariki'' who lost popularity with their people could also be seen as having a decline in ''mana'', which could have led to their loss of control. Having a control of '' tapu'' (sacred matters) was a powerful weapon for the ''ariki''. For supernatural reasons, certain activities were forbidden and since the ''ariki'' had control over what was or was not forbidden, this gave their considerable power. It was the people's strong belief in an ariki's ''mana'' and control over all things ''tapu'' that allowed them to take control of their people without the need for physical enforcement. The ''ariki'', ''mataiapo'' and ''rangatira'' titles are passed down through the family to the present day. Some of the ancient ceremonies and traditions are still being practiced in the Cook Islands. The House of Ariki ('''Are Ariki'') is a

parliamentary A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democracy, democratic government, governance of a sovereign state, state (or subordinate entity) where the Executive (government), executive derives its democratic legitimacy ...

body in the Cook Islands. It was established in 1967 shortly after self-government and is composed of the Cook Islands high chiefs. Scholars

Ron Crocombe Ronald Gordon Crocombe (8 October 1929 – 19 June 2009) was a Professor of Pacific Studies at the University of the South Pacific. His reputation was such that he was described as the "father of Pacific Studies". Biography Ron Crocombe was born in ...

and Jon Tikivanotau Jonassen have argued that it was created to marginalize the ''ariki'', giving them dignity but very limited power.Ron Crocombe and Jon Tikivanotau Jonassen. "Political culture, representation and the electoral system in the Cook Islands". Political Culture, Representation and Electoral Systems in the Pacific conference paper, Port Vila, Vanuatu, 10–12 July 2004

References

External links

Arai-te-tonga, the ancient marae at Rarotonga
Journal of the Polynesian Society
Tribal organisation - Social rank
Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand {{Nobility by nation Titles Titles of national or ethnic leadership Royal titles Noble titles Polynesian titles Tribal chiefs