 Maori Tattoos:
Preserving Maori culture is very important
The Maori practice of tattooing has been around for centuries and was probably learned by the Maori people from
Eastern Polynesians. Unlike most tattoos however, Maori tattoos are sacred forms of the Maori people's identity,
the identity of their race, their culture and their history. Because of this several things must be understood
before getting Maori tattoos.
In Maori culture a mans tattoos are not representative of, they are proof of his strength and courage as during
the tattooing process or Ta Moko as it's referred to is extremely painful and unique as the tattoo designs are not
'pricked' as in other traditional tattooing methods, Maori tattoos are chiseled in by the use of a bone chisel made
from albatross bone. The process of getting these tattoos done for a man begins in his adolescence as a symbol of
his transition from childhood to adulthood. Maori men pride themselves on the ability to completely avoid flinching
or making any sound while they are getting their tattoos. The ritualistic side of this process is not only in the
endurance of pain it also involves a necessary practice of fasting, no eating of solid foods (one of the reasons
being that the face actually swells after the tattoo surgery), music, chanting and an abstinence from sexual
activity. The other important purposes of Maori tattoos is in the identification of a mans position of authority
and power as well as his status as a warrior.
The legend behind how Maori tattooing came into practice was that a young warrior by the name of
Mataora fell in love with Niwareka, princess of the underworld and she went to live with him above ground. However,
when Mataora beat her she left him to return to the underworld and rejoin her father, the king. Mataora was
overcome by a his broken heart and his guilt and so with a painted face he travelled through the underworld,
struggling to find Niwareka so he could beg her forgiveness and win her back. In his humbled state and his face
paint smudged she eventually forgave him and her father afterwards, taught him the art of Ta Moko, Maori tattooing.
Then Mataora and Niwareka returned together to the world of humans bringing with them this art of Maori
tattooing.
 The patterns of Maori tattoos are made of beautiful
spirals and curved lines often parallel to each other. These tattoos can often cover the whole face even to
the corners of a mans eyes and on his eye lids as well. Although in Maori culture the head is thought to be
most sacred part of the body Maori men also had tattoos on their buttocks and legs (to the knees). The
placement or rather different areas of Maori tattoo designs that were tattooed on their faces had specific
indications to the mens' identity. The centre of the forehead was where a man's rank was indicated, the area
around the brows were for position, the eyes and nose area were for what's called 'hapu rank' which refers to
the families a man had belonged to, the temples were reserved to represent first or second marriage, the area
under the nose was a man's signature, the cheek was the area to mark his work, the chin was used to symbolize
his 'mana' something that's a combination of his reputation, honor and legacy and the jaw which was reserved
for his birth status identity. The left side of a man's face was generally used to identify his ancestry on
his father's side and the right side of his face was to identify his mother's side. This information was the
most important to the identity purpose of the Maori tattoos. Commoners and slaves were not tattooed, however
women were tattooed although not as intensively. Often they would have their lips tattooed a dark blue which
was considered attractive and they would also tattoo their chin areas.
Since the Maori people hold their tattoos as their people's personal identity it's considered offensive to them for
outsiders to don authentic Maori tattoos for decorative purposes doing this is seen by them as a theft of culture.
To avoid this matter entirely you simply have to find a tattoo artist that is very experienced and knowledgeable
about Maori tattoos and Maori people and culture so that you can have a 'Maori-like' tattoo design created just for
you.
Click here to find the Maori
tattoos you're looking for
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