Ngāi Tahu Pounamu

Official iwi authority for authentic Ngāi Tahu pounamu, providing certified West Coast greenstone sourced and carved with cultural guardianship.

Ngāi Tahu the people
Ngāi Tahu is the largest Māori iwi (tribe) of the South Island of New Zealand - Te Waipounamu, (which means ‘the Greenstone Isle’). We hold the rangatiratanga to over 80 per cent of the South Island. Ngāi Tahu means "people of Tahu" and all Ngāi Tahu whānui can trace their ancestry back to the tribe's founder, Tahu Pōtiki.

Ngāi Tahu is the result of the interweaving of three whakapapa lines from Waitaha, Ngāti Māmoe and Ngāi Tahu. We are a resilient, entrepreneurial people who made our home in Te Waipounamu over 800 years ago.