HomeChoosing Maori Tattoo Designs
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So you think that getting a tattoo by today’s standards is painful, well traditionally the maori made deep cuts into the skin using brutal tools and yes also the bones of albatrosses, for the maori to be able to distinguish themselves from the other tribes they used the color of the ink to tell the family history and the patterns on the skin would then allow someone to interpret the family history of these patterns 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 Many people teach that or tell other that maori tattoos in their original roots of tattoo designs were only done on the face and now they have moved to other parts of the body now, however this is utter rubbish they have been done for centuries on maoris bodies, it was only people high up in maori circles who tended to get these tattoos
These are the best Maori Tribal Tattoos
Many westerners like to imitate Maori tattoo designs and as the saying goes, imitation is a form of flattery, but not in all cases especially when getting a Maori tattoo design. You should never go and copy anything in the form of tattoos from the maoirtanga without having a clue as to what it means, there could be a chance that a certain design belongs to a maori family The only way you might find yourself in such a situation is if you go out into the world and start copying any and every maori tattoo design that you come across
How would you like to know what maoris really think about other cultures and especially now the western cultures stealing their identity and culture?
White people are know as “pakeha” and are know for never asking but just taking (in terms of culture and land) they also see most westerns as close minded never seeing other cultures, what is amazing is that the native Americans also said this about the white man in America.
One thing that is annoying many traditional maoris as mentioned is the stealing of these tattoo designs and the reason that it is annoying them, is the fact that they foresee a day when the maori will have lost everything, they believe they have lost their land, now they are loosing something that makes the maori for who they are today, and that is the maori through their tattoo designs, they feel that this is the last thing to go in terms of spirituality before they have lost all to the west, which is quite sad as all cultures on earth are only bound as a culture through their individual rituals and unique flair such as tattoos in the maoris case.
Ok so i have written this article i hope it hasn’t dampened your spirit about getting a maori tattoo, but now what are you going to do in terms of finding and getting the perfect maori tattoo design? Well i hope that this article hasn’t made you change your mind about maori tattoo designs, no this article was intended to help you get a better maori tattoo design, so now how are you going to go about getting a maori tattoo and how will this help or affect you going foreword with your designs?
The easiest thing to do is to copy a design, however like i have mentioned this should be avoided, never ever go out and just copy a design that you see on a maori in new zealand
The best thing to do in this case when seeing a traditional maori tattoo design that you like would be to contact someone in new zealand that actually deals with maori tattoo designs and ask them what they think, yes i know this doesnt seem logical or easy but it is for the sake and request of this culture it is what makes the maori the maori! They need these designs and they need you to respect their requests or you could be contributing to their doom as a culture that might not be around in the next 300 years!It is only when Maori tattoo designs are copied when someone else has already gotten that Maori tattoo already within a Maori tribe that make them feel that their spirituality is being stolen
One of the primary reasons that the maori tattoo was so important and formed a solid role within their culture was that they would be able to trace their ancestry over generations and this would also allow them while they were on the battlefield to know who they were fighting as their lives literally depended on these traditional maori tattoo art
These maori tattoos are still used by Some maori chiefs to recall their history and ancestorysome chiefs can look at a Maori tattoo design, read it like a book, they do this by feeling the texture, looking at the design and the precision that went into getting the tattoo and will be able to trace back some of these Maori family trees.Some of these tattoos go back 2000 years, yes that right all through just looking at the design and finishing of the tattoo they will be able to tell certain maoris families origins.You see all Maori tattoos have a story and tell a story.
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