adorned with
carved poles that relate the tribes ancestry and history.
Over time these master carvers translated their skills
to the skin. Traditional Maori tattooing was actually achieved by
carving the skin and flesh with a sharp stick and natural pigments were
used to accentuate the designs carved into the skin. After the arrival
of the Europeans, gunpowder was also used for pigment, and sticks were
abandoned in favor of chisels!
Tattooing was tied closely to rank, and the
higher the rank, the more the body was tattooed. In New Zealand, the face tattoo
(ta moko) could only be worn by those of high rank, principally
tribal chiefs. Maori women of
rank had their chins and lips tattooed. The Maori chief Te Pehi Kupe
said during a visit to England in 1826, "Europee man write with pen his
name — Te Pehi's is here," pointing to his tattooed face. The completion
of the moko could take up to a year of painful and dangerous work.
The
lower back through the buttocks and down to the knees were frequently
tattooed as well in what is called puhoro. The shape of the
tattoo on the buttocks was invariably a swirling pattern.
The colonizing British and Europeans brought with them Christian missionaries
who considered tattooing "the devil's art". The missionaries
successfully outlawed tatau and the art form almost died out.
Fortunately the tattoos of the Maori at this time in New Zealand's early
history were
beautifully chronicled by the painter
