Within Māori society the whānau encompasses three or four generations and forms the political unit below the levels of hapū (subtribe), iwi (tribe or nation) and waka (migration canoe).
In pre-contact Māori tribal organisation the whānau historically comprised a family spanning three to four generations, and would number around 20 to 30 people.
[1] The kaumātua (tribal elders), senior adults (pākeke) such as parents, uncles and aunts, and the sons and daughters together with their partners and children.
The whānau would look after children and grandchildren collectively, so the loss of a parent was less likely to be devastating to a child's upbringing.
In the case of orphaned children, the child would be taken in by the process of whāngai adoption.