Classified as once a true right of passage taking perhaps years to complete due to the facial trauma and swelling caused by the procedure, New Zealands’ ta Moko body/art traditions are indeed fascinating. The artworks’ placement and segmentation conveying highly detailed information about the wearer, Captain Cook considered their practices as ‘one of the most unique and beautiful of all tattoo traditions‘. The latest encyclopedia entry offers a short overview of the islands’ cultural inking genesis
| ‘Unlike tattoos in Polynesia and elsewhere which have designs that are worn by everyone of the same tribe, clan, or rank, Maori tattoos were totally individual. While they did indicate a man’s social and kinship position, marital status, and other information, each moko was like a fingerprint, and no two were alike. Maori chiefs even used drawings of their moko as their signature in the nineteenth century. Because the moko in part signified rank, different designs on both men and women could be read as relating to their family status, and each of the Maori social ranks carried different designs. In addition, some women who, due to their genealogical connections, were extremely high status, could wear part of the male moko
As in Marquesan tattooing, Maori facial designs were divided into four zones (left forehead, right forehead, left lower face, and right lower face) and these further divided, giving an overall symmetry to the design. The right side of the face conveyed information about the father’s rank, tribal affiliations, and position. The left side of a face, on the other hand, gave information about the mother’s rank, tribal affiliations, and position. Each side of the face is also subdivided into eight sections, which contain information about rank, position in life, tribal identification, lineage, and more personal information, including occupation or skill
Tattooing styles varied from tribe to tribe and region to region, as well as over time. Captain Cook, for example, noted during his expedition in 1769 that the men on one side of an inlet were tattooed all over their faces, whereas the men on the other side of the inlet were only tattooed on the lips. He also noted that some moko did not include the forehead but only extended from the chin to the eyes. Also, Cook’s men noted that there was at least one man at that time who had straight vertical lines tattooed on his face, combined with spirals, as well as two elderly men with horizontal lines across their face. Tattoos of this sort were never again seen on subsequent visits. And by the nineteenth century, different styles of moko were seen, including both the classic curvilinear style as well as vertical and horizontal parallel lines
…… | full article
New Zealand Moko Body Art appeared first on Tattoo Concierge
