Moko: Essence of a Culture

The woman's hazel eyes pierces you with their look of pride and defiance. Crowning her lips and chin with all its glory is a moko tattoo. These tattoo designs have been created by the Maori, people of Polynesian descant who live in New Zealand. The moko tattoo tradition have been preformed for thousands of years by the Maori; the designs express not only the owners personality, but their tribe, and ancestors. For men, their mokos cover their arms, backs, or face with fish scales, whales, spirals, and other symbols and words of the Polynesian culture. For women is either their arms, legs or chin. The Moko is a window, a key to a person's spirit and mana (meaning strength, power).



Before the Europeans took over the island, the Maori used ink made of different plants, making chisels of fish or whale bones to cut the skin, literally craving the image into their flesh. Today regular tattoo needles are used. Only warriors, Chiefs, and high ranking Maori men were able to have them. For women mokos was like a rite of passage, usually done when they reached womanhood. Men stopped tattooing themselves in the 19th century, trading their tribal traditions for European clothing and customs. But the women stood their ground, protesting the invasion by keeping up the moko tradition, thus saving their entire culture and language from disappearing. In the late 20th and now 21st century men have picked up the old ways, by wearing their mokos, showing their connection with the past and the struggles they face in their communities: racism, domestic violence, alcoholism.

Mokos represent the spirit of the Maori, a sign of hope and fight against oppression, keeping the traditions alive for younger generations.






For more information about the Maori culture check this website out: www.pbs.org/skinstories