Tā moko is the permanent marking or "
tattoo" as traditionally practised by
Māori, the indigenous people of
New Zealand. It is one of the five main Polynesian tattoo styles (the other four are
Marquesan, Samoan, Tahitian and Hawaiian).[1]
Tohunga-tā-moko (tattooists) were considered tapu, or inviolable and sacred.[2]
Historical practice (pre-contact)
Tattoo arts are common in the Eastern
Polynesian homeland of the
Māori people, and the traditional implements and methods employed were similar to those used in other parts of Polynesia.[3] In pre-European
Māori culture, many if not most high-ranking persons received moko. Moko were associated with mana and high
social status; however, some very high-status individuals were considered too tapu to acquire moko, and it was also not considered suitable for some tohunga to do so.[4]
Receiving moko constituted an important milestone between childhood and adulthood, and was accompanied by many rites and
rituals. Apart from signalling status and rank, another reason for the practice in traditional times was to make a person more attractive to the opposite sex. Men generally received moko on their faces, buttocks (raperape) and thighs (puhoro). Women usually wore moko on their lips (kauwae) and chins. Other parts of the body known to have moko include women's foreheads, buttocks, thighs, necks and backs and men's backs, stomachs, and calves.[5]
Instruments used
Historically the skin was carved by uhi[6] (chisels), rather than punctured as in common contemporary
tattooing; this left the skin with grooves rather than a smooth surface. Later needle tattooing was used, but, in 2007, it was reported that the uhi currently was being used by some artists.[7]
Originally tohunga-tā-moko (moko specialists) used a range of uhi (chisels) made from
albatross bone which were
hafted onto a handle, and struck with a mallet.[8] The pigments were made from the awheto for the body colour, and ngarehu (burnt timbers) for the blacker face colour. The soot from burnt
kauri gum was also mixed with fat to make pigment.[9] The pigment was stored in ornate vessels named oko, which were often buried when not in use. The oko were handed on to successive generations. A kōrere (feeding funnel) is believed to have been used to feed men whose mouths had become swollen from receiving tā moko.[10]
Men and women were both tā moko specialists and would travel to perform their art.[11]
Changes with European colonisation
The pākehā practice of collecting and trading mokomokai (tattooed heads) changed the dynamic of tā moko in the early colonial period. King (see below) talks about changes which evolved in the late 19th century when needles came to replace the uhi as the main tools. The needle method was quicker and presented fewer possible health risks, but the texture of the tā moko became smooth. Tā moko on men stopped around the 1860s in line with changing fashion and acceptance by pākehā.[citation needed]
Women continued receiving moko through the early 20th century,[12] and the historian
Michael King in the early 1970s interviewed over 70 elderly women who would have been given the moko before the 1907
Tohunga Suppression Act.[13][14] Women's tattoos on lips and chin are commonly called pūkauae or moko kauae.[15][16]
Contemporary practice
Since 1990 there has been a resurgence in the practice of tā moko for both men and women, as a sign of
cultural identity and a reflection of the general revival of the
language and
culture. Most tā moko applied today is done using a
tattoo machine, but there has also been a revival of the use of uhi (chisels).[7] Women too have become more involved as practitioners, such as
Christine Harvey in Christchurch, Henriata Nicholas in
Rotorua and Julie Kipa in
Whakatāne. It is not the first time the contact with settlers has interfered with the tools of the trade: the earliest moko were engraved with bone and were replaced by metal supplied by the first visitors.[17]
The most significant change was the adjustment of the themes and conquests the tattoos represented. Tā moko artist Turumakina Duley, in an interview for Artonview magazine, shares his view on the transformation of the practice: "The difference in tā moko today as compared to the nineteenth century is in the change of lifestyle, in the way we live. [...] The tradition of moko was one of initiation, rites of passage – it started around that age – but it also benchmarks achievements in your life and gives you a goal to strive towards and achieve in your life."[18] Duley received moko to celebrate his graduation from a bachelor in Māori studies.[18]
A large proportion of New Zealanders now have tattoos of some sort,[19] and there is "growing acceptance ... as a means of cultural and individual expression."[20]
In 2016 New Zealand politician
Nanaia Mahuta received a moko kauae. When she became foreign minister in 2020, a writer said that her facial tattoo was inappropriate for a diplomat. There was much support for Mahuta, who said "there is an emerging awareness about the revitalisation of Māori culture and that facial moko is a positive aspect of that. We need to move away from moko being linked to gangs, because that is not what moko represent at all."[21]
On 25 December 2021, Māori journalist
Oriini Kaipara, who has a moko kauae, became the first person with traditional facial markings to host a prime-time news programme on national television in New Zealand.[22]
In 2022,
Ariana Tikao published a book called Mokorua: Ngā kōrero mō tōku moko kauae: My story of moko kauae detailing her tā moko journey; her artist was Christine Harvey.[23][24]
To reconcile the demand for Māori designs in a
culturally sensitive way, the Te Uhi a Mataora group promotes the use of the term kirituhi,[32] which has now gained wide acceptance:[33][34][35][36]
...Kirituhi translates literally to mean—"skin writing." As opposed to moko which requires a process of consents, genealogy and historical information, kirituhi is merely a design with Māori flavour that can be applied anywhere, for any reason and on anyone...[32]
^Higgins, Rawina (20 December 2016).
"Tā Moko Technology". Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu Taonga. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
^
abCrispin Howarth and Turumakina Duley. Maori Markings: tā moko. Other. Artonview, no. 98, Winter, 2019.
Nikora, L. W., Rua, M., and Te Awekotuku, Ng., "Wearing Moko: Māori Facial Marking in Today's World", in Thomas, N., Cole, A., and Douglas, B. (eds.), Tattoo. Bodies, Art and Exchange in the Pacific and the West, London: Reacktion Books, pp. 191–204.
Te Awekotuku, Ngahuia, "Tā Moko: Māori Tattoo", in Goldie, (1997) exhibition catalogue, Auckland: Auckland City Art Gallery and David Bateman, pp. 108–114.
Te Awekotuku, Ngahuia, "More than Skin Deep", in Barkan, E. and Bush, R. (eds.), Claiming the Stone: Naming the Bones: Cultural Property and the Negotiation of National and Ethnic Identity (2002) Los Angeles: Getty Press, pp. 243–254.