HomeIm going to let you in on something, this is going to let you know what maoris think about the western world when they steal their tattoo designs and especially their maori tattoo designs.
Maori Tribal Tattoos found here
If you were ever to hear the word “pakeha” said to you while in new zealand i am sure that the tone that you would hear it in would indicate to you that this is not how maoris greet in their own language! No this word is associated with westerners in particular that have stolen maori culture and now more than ever are taking some original tattoo designs that have been in their families for over a thousand years and all without asking, this is what the word “pakeha” means those that take without asking!
The simplest thing you can do is not to go out and copy the first maori tattoo design that you see on a maori in new zealand for starters, you would be surprised how many people have done this!
Rather approach a tribe if you can and ask them if you may use their design or if this is not an option when choosing a Maori tattoo design, then try design your own design, it may look like a Maori tattoo but in reality it will not offend anyone.
The only time anyone will run into problems with these tattoos is going to copy them straight from one of the elders, big corporations dont like it when someone makes “knock offs” of their merchandise and so it is with this special maori culture, Dont copy rather ask, its easier.
zodiac signs tattoos found here.
There are many errors people make when getting traditional maori tattoo art and i hope that by the end of this article you will avoid the most common mistakes made today
As millions of people get tattoos in this ever increasing culture of expressiveness, we find that maori tattoo designs are being selected by many
If you are serious on getting a traditional maori tattoo art and this is what you have set your heart on then it would and should be great for you to learn about the lingo that goes with Maori Tattoo Art
Just like in every field on life there are terms associated with the way people do things, so it is with traditional maori tattoo designs. Whakapapa is the maori family groups that is associated and forms part of the ta moko family identification
The reason identification through tattoos was important for the maori was that they were able to distinguish each other on the battle fields by having a look at the tattoos on their body, this also allowed them to know their family history if they moved places over centuries
Once upon a time in history when it came to getting a tattoo the maori used the bones of albatrosses to do their inking or they used brutal chiseling tools that would make any modern man cry by cutting deeply into the flesh then painting or coloring which was used to distringuish the family history and the final part was the actual pattern which would then tell you the story of this maori tribe
So lets say you were an elder in a maori circle someone who knew a lot about maori history if, if some one brought you a design, you would be able to by looking at the design the moko and the maori tribal tattoo pattern be able to trace their family history, much like someone using computers to find out their ancestry, they would be able to do the same
There is a common misconception around the world thinking that maori tattoos in their original sense were only done on the faces, however this is not true, they were also done on peoples bodies, what this allowed them to do was distinguish their chiefs or leaders by having these marking on their faces
zodiac signs can be seen here.
