Despite still being a rare sight in national politics, facial opportunities are increasingly seen in contemporary New Zealand society. Tattoos often have huge cultural significance for wearers, telling a visual story that connects indigenous peoples with their ancestors.
At the Papa Museum in Wellington in 2012, a member of the Mauryan group Tainui Waka Alliance, the museum welcomed 20 mummified tattooed heads, which were taken to Europe in the 1700s and 1800s. Deposit: Getty Images by Marty Melville / AFP
For Kahatu Maxwell, an associate professor at Waikato University (and the great-grandson of the Moko artist), getting a facial tattoo about 10 years ago was to reclaim his legacy.
“It’s about my heritage and my place in society as a historian, an academic and a speaker for my people.” “It brings me a sense of pride and it brings a sense of pride to my people.
“It also tells the history of my life,” he added. “It’s something that is very sacred and precious to me.”
Spread in tradition
The practice of tattooing – known as moko – is believed to have been named after the Mમોori god of earthquakes and volcanoes, Ramoco. A common original story is the myth of Matoro, who falls in love with and marries Nivarka, the daughter of an underworld ruler.
Matero went to the underworld to apologize to his wife after he angrily hit her. While there, Niverka’s father taught him the art of Moko and allowed him to return to the “upper” world, marking him with tattoos to avoid future evil deeds.
A woman with lips and chin marks called Moko Cow at the Alte National Gallery in Berlin in 2014. Deposit: By Tobias Schwartz / AFP Getty Images
The Moko ceremony is historically surrounded by rituals and ceremonies. They were always housed in makeshift outdoor shelters, in which the person was only allowed to eat through a carved funnel, which also helped reduce the likelihood of infection. The recipient will be expected to abstain from sexual contact or washing when they recover.
Traditionally, men would have scars on the face, buttocks and thighs, while women usually put them on the lips and chin.
Although tattooing has been practiced in Polynesian societies for centuries, Mઓori groups developed their own specialized techniques and tools. Organic pigments – by burning resin from the Kauri tree, and mixing it with soot and oil or other liquid – will be chipped under the upper layers of the skin using tools made from bird bones, usually albatrossis. (Around the turn of the 20th century, the use of needles became more common, while today, modern tattooing machines are also used.)
The prevalence of facial hair decreased after the arrival of Europeans – not because the preserved heads of tattooed Mરીori warriors became very popular among immigrants. The association of facial tattoos with gangs or crime in other cultures may also contribute to their reduction.
Finally, a Nangapuhi elder, Kingi Taurua, gives a talk at Te Ti Mare in Vaitangi, New Zealand in 2012. Deposit: Kenny Roder / Getty Images
But with renewed interest in traditional Mરીori art forms such as wood carving and the growing acceptance of tattoos in New Zealand’s wider society, Taco Moko’s art has seen something of a resurgence in recent decades. Maxwell, aged aged, said the “normalization” of traditional tattoos in New Zealand began in the 1990s and 2000s, with subsequent PAs distancing themselves from the practice.
“There was a lot of negativity, not only from non-Mઓori communities but also from our own communities, because our parents and grandparents had a mind that the past should be missed.
“But we were not ready to let the young pay generation of that time, the art form, become a memory, (so we chose) to bring it back as a living art form and to declare to the world that we are M માori.”
Opportunities to educate
However, high-profile figures with facial marks are also on the rise in New Zealand society, such as journalist Orini Capara, who became the first woman with Moko Cowe to present the news on a mainstream TV station last year.
Journalist O’Reilly Capara speaking at the Power of Inclusion Summit 2019 in A Cland, New Zealand. Deposit: Michael Bradley / Getty Images
With increasing visibility have come examples of alleged cultural uniqueness. Mike Tyson, Rihanna and British pop star Robbie Williams have been criticized for adopting Mઓori-style tattoos in recent years. Fashion designer Jean-Paul Goulier also sparked controversy in 2007 when he applied moko-inspired designs to the faces of Caucasian models for a fashion campaign.
Maxwell, however, welcomes the interest of other cultures, seeing it as an opportunity to educate people about Mઓori traditions. He described Mahuta’s recent appointment as one such opportunity, seeing it as a “significant moment” for indigenous communities.
“It will take Moko to places it has never been before – in consulates, embassies and government offices, around the world,” he said.
Nanaiya Mahuta, the first woman member of parliament wearing a Mona Cow, pictured in February 2020. Deposit: Mark Tantrum / Getty Images
The appointment “shows that our culture has an international place,” said Rukui Tipne-Lenlan, a political journalist with Mori television who wore a face mask.
CNN told CNN earlier this week, “The first face people see internationally speaks, looks and sounds like Maori, adding:” Wearing the marks of his ancestors shows that Maori has no boundaries and wherever they go. Can. “
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