Maori Tribal Tatoos: Tattooing Ritual
In the past, getting Maori (Māori) Tribal Tatoos was a ritual process, it included traditional music and required fasting. Before the nineteen hundreds, the Moko specialists, (tohunga-ta-moko), usually male, used a range of chisels, (uhi), made from albatross bone.
A handle was attached to the uhi and struck with a light mallet to produce incisions. The pigments were made from the awheto for the body colour, and burnt timbers (ngarehu) for the blacker face colour.
It was a painful process.
The use of Knives and chisels in the tattooing process, gradually tapered out during the early nineteen hundreds. Needles replaced the uhi as the main tool.
It was a quicker, less painfull method,and there were far less health risks, that were part of the traditional method, due to the incisions.
The feel of the Moko, (Tribal Tatoo) which was slightly ridged, due to the scaring effect of the healed incisions, changed to smooth.
Traditional Maori tattoos were more than decorative, they were a show of strength, courage and status and in more recent history, defiance. Both men and women were tattooed, but women normally had less of their body decorated.
Traditional Maori tattoos consisted of curved shapes and spirals in intricate patterns. Tattooing would usually start at adolescence, and was used to celebrate important events throughout the life of the individual.
Traditional Maori tribe tattooing or ta moko was all but extinct, but Maori tattoos are making a comeback, with the Maori culture revival, which has been gaining momentum.
It is important to not mix up Traditional Maori tribal tatoos with Maori-inspired tattoos.
A Traditional Maori tribe tatoo is sacred and is owned by the individual that wears it and should never be copied without permission.
Modern Maori tattoos are usually found on the body rather than the face, and for non Maori decendents, are purely decorative.
