Maori society remains tribal to a large extent, though the deracination resulting from the widespread move from the tribal homelands to the cities has eroded some of the closer ties. In urban situations the finer points of Maoritanga are having to be re-discovered, but the basic tenets remain strong and formal protocol still reigns for ceremonies as diverse as funeral wakes, meetings and Maori exhibition openings.

The most fundamental and tightest division in Maori society is the extended family or whanau (literally "birthing"), which extends from immediate relatives to cousins, uncles and nieces several times removed. A dozen or so whanau jointly form a localized sub-tribe or hapu (literally "gestation or pregnancy"), perhaps the most important tribal group, comprising dozens of extended families of common descent. Hapu were originally economically autonomous and today continue to conduct communal activities, typically through their marae . Neighbouring hapu are likely to belong to the same tribe or iwi (literally "bones"), a looser association of several thousand Maori spread over a fairly large geographical area. The thirty-odd major iwi are even more tenuously linked by their common ancestry traced back to semi-legendary canoes, or waka . In troubled times, especially during the eighteenth-century New Zealand Wars, iwi from the same waka would band together for protection. Together these are the tangata whenua (literally "the people of the land"), a term that may refer to Maori people as a whole, or just to one hapu if local concerns are being aired.

The literal meanings of whanau, hapu and iwi can be viewed as a metaphor for the Maori view of their relationship with their ancestors or tupuna , who are considered to exist through their genetic inheritors; the past is very much a part of the present. Evidence of this is seen in the respect accorded the whakapapa , an individual's genealogy tracing descent from the gods via one of the migratory waka and through the tupuna . The whakapapa is often recited at length on formal occasions such as hui (meetings).

Maori traditional life is informed by the parallel notions of tapu (taboo) and noa (mundane, not tapu ). These are not superstition but a belief system designed to impose a code of conduct: transgressing tapu brings ostracism and ill fortune and is thought to cause sickness. Objects, places, actions and even people can be tapu , demanding extra respect - for example, the body parts of a chief, especially the head; menstruating women; sacred items to do with ritual; earrings, pendants and hair combs; burial sites; and the knowledge contained in the whakapapa are all tapu . There is a practical aspect too, with the productivity of fishing grounds and forests traditionally maintained by imposing tapu at critical times. The direct opposite of tapu is noa , a term applied to ordinary items which, by implication, are considered safe; a new building is tapu until a special ceremony renders it noa .

People, animals and artefacts, whether tapu or noa , possess mauri (life force), wairau (spirit) and mana , a term loosely translated as prestige, but embodying wider concepts of power, influence and charisma. Birthright brings with it a degree of mana which can then be augmented through battle or brave deeds, and lost through inaction or defeat. Wartime cannibalism was partly ritual but by eating an enemy's heart a warrior absorbed his mauri ; likewise personal effects gain mana from association with the mana of their owner, accruing more as they are passed down to descendants. Any slight on the mana of an individual was felt by the whole hapu , which must then exact utu (a need to balance any action with an equal re-action), a compunction which often led to bloody feuds, sometime escalating to war and further enhancing the mana of the victors. Pakeha found this a hard concept to grasp and deeds which they considered deceitful or treacherous could be correct in Maori terms.

The responsibility for determining tapu fell to the tohunga (priest or expert), the most exalted of many specialists in Maoritanga , who is conversant with tribal history, sacred lore and the whakapapa , and considered to be the earthly presence of the power of the gods