The three-day festival, being staged in the Dunedin Town Hall and across the city, will be the largest Maori-focused event in the city in 15 years, co-ordinator Kitty Brown says.
''It's the biggest since the year 2000 when we had our [Treaty of Waitangi] settlement festival,'' Mrs Brown says.
Up to 500 Ngai Tahu are expected to attend.
Saturday's programme will be open to the public. All events are free.
The celebration, which has been two years in the planning, is a diverse mix of dozens of arts and culture workshops, tours, exhibitions, forums, stalls and performances.
Included in the programme is a discussion about Polynesian voyaging by historian Atholl Anderson and seafarer Hoturoa Barclay Kerr, moderated by Runanga o Ngai Tahu representative Tahu Potiki; the play Hell and bullets by John Broughton based on the World War 1 diary of Private Hohepa Teihoka; a presentation on the history and excavation of the totara waka unearthed at Papanui Inlet last year; live ta moko demonstrations; whakaahua dance workshop with Louise Potiki Bryant; and a Saturday showcase with performances by, among others, Dunedin kapa haka group He waka kotuia, the Modern Maori Quartet and X-Factor winner Beau Monga.
''I think people will be surprised by how busy the programme is and the range of things people are doing that they want to share,'' Mrs Brown says.
The $250,000 festival has been funded by Te Runanga o Ngai Tahu. The three hosting runaka are Otakou, Moeraki and Kati Huirapa ki Puketeraki. Assistance has been given by Dunedin civic institutions and government departments.
''This Hui-a-Iwi is very significant for the three hosting runaka and their relationships with the Dunedin community ... I think that's what everyone is so excited by.''
• For more information, visit online at www.ngaitahu.iwi.nz/ngai-tahu-events/hui-a-iwi-2015/
