Iwi are the largest everyday social units in Maori society. Iwi means 'people' or the 'folk'; in many ways its meaning is analogous to that of tribe or clan, with the distinction that it may sometimes refer to a larger grouping of tribes. Anthropological research however, tends to indicate that in most cases, primary allegiance in pre-European times was to relatively small groups such as whanau (extended family) and hapu (sub-tribes).