Why does there need to be a leader?

Are there still chiefs in Maori culture?
I'm Maori but i was brought up in Australia and we always had a matriarch which was my nan until she passed a few years ago.
Basically she was someone to look upto. Kept the family together. Showed us our culture and kept us in line
I know the Islanders still have chiefs but it doesn't take much to become a chief anymore. I think it's just a label to be honest.

Well, if you keep a primitive stone age culture alive, tribes do need chiefs and witchdoctors. The head hunters are optional.

All "groups" have leaders no matter how they are put in place. Leaders are needed to set the standards, guide the cultural practices, and make any decisions for the group whether based on group input or not.

It is called sociology/psychology. Very interesting things we humans do, need, and seek all because of socio-psycological motivators.

I must agree. While it is nice that people are trying to preserve their culture, I really didn't understand what the old chief in this film was trying to achieve.

Maori culture is stone age. Cannibalism, warfare, slavery, etc are all traditional aspects of it. The cannibalism is largely gone, slavery and warfare have devolved into gang culture and prostitution. Maori have little to be proud of about their "culture". Tribal chiefs, and inherited power is one primitive element that they preserve to a limited degree.