Ngāti Maniapoto is an iwi (tribe) based in the Waikato-Waitomo region of New Zealand's North Island.

[1] Ngāti Maniapoto trace their lineage to their eponymous ancestor Maniapoto, an 11th generation descendant of the people who arrived on the Tainui waka and settled at the Kawhia Harbour.

[2] There are many marae (area in front of a wharenui) in the Ngāti Maniapoto area, one of the notable ones being Te Tokanga Nui A Noho[3] at Te Kuiti (the narrowing) in King Country.

This whare was given to Ngāti Maniapoto by Te Kooti, a Rongowhakaata guerilla fighter who lived in the region for the period while on the run from colonial forces which undertook searches for him during the New Zealand Wars.

It stood on the hill of the same name and commanded a panoramic view of the Mokau River valley across the Maraetaua block.