Meaning of Ta Moko - Maori tattooing

by Stephanie - 31/07/2009 16:04:00

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When I lived in Taupo on the North Island, our next door neighbours were a friendly and generous Maori family.

My Dad was a keen fisherman, and when he had caught more than we could eat we would barbecue the fish outside and invite the neighbours over for dinner.   

They were family that were proud of their heritage and had the traditional Maori tattoos; the Mum on her lips and chin, and the Dad on his cheeks.
The Dad also loved to scoop out the fish eyes and chew them thoughtfully, which made me both shudder and laugh. And then he would laugh at me.

The distinctive Maori tattoos have become increasingly popular with the average person; although most tattoo artists in the normal studio don't practice Ta Moko. Kirituhi, meaning skin art, is the new term being used to describe Maori-style tattoos. 

The traditional method of applying Ta Moko was with an albatross bone and natural dyes from dried and powdered caterpillars or a specially prepared tree resin.

The bone blade was dipped in the pigment and then tapped with a mallet to chisel deep incisions into the skin.

hmm, ouch.

But it was also accompanied by many rites and rituals, indicating a step from puberty into adulthood.

Some tattoo artists are reviving the traditional Ta Moko methods, but most tattoos are created using an electric machine and so the skin remains smooth. 

Ta Moko is a national and sacred treasure of the Maori people, a history of a person's achievements and a representation of their status in the tribe. Ta Moko is also a reminder about a man or woman's responsibility in life, and is a huge honour to wear.

It is applied on men to the face and buttocks, and on women to the chin, lips and shoulders and sometimes on their face depending on their ranking.

There are no set patterns to Ta Moko, although the left side of the face related to the father's history and the right to the mother's history.

I've always thought it was a beautiful expression of belonging and history.

Eating fish eyes though? Yeeeck!

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Paua shells: blue and purple beauties

by Giles - 29/07/2009 14:58:00

 

I lived in New Zealand for two years on the North Island, although we did hire a campervan and travelled around both islands for a bit.

One of my favourite things about New Zealand are the beautiful Paua shells, and digging in the backyard we literally found hundreds and hundreds of them just below the surface of the soil. I was told that that area in the past would have been a feasting ground, where the Maori people would harvest the Paua (these are big abalones!) from the sea, cook them and have a giant feast together.

The Paua shell is beautiful on the inside, all purple and blue iridescence, but craggy and rough on the outside unless it is cleaned. And they grow up to 18cm!

Sometimes it's hard to believe that the abalones, basically just a large muscular foot or tongue, can just hang on to rocks in the surf.

 

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What are ewe doing on your NZ working holiday?

by Stephanie - 24/07/2009 16:34:00

I admit, it is a corny start to what we hope will become the world’s best New Zealand working holiday blog.

Do you think you can do better? I certainly hope so, and that pretty soon this blog will be full with amazing photos, stories of adventure and exploration, and lots more.

Perhaps a video of your first bungee jump in Queenstown? Or maybe your trick for packing your shirts in your backpack so that you have something to wear out at night that doesn’t look like a crumpet? 

Whatever you want to blog about while on your New Zealand gap year, make it creative, fun, interesting, or informative.

Best of all, send us your blog entries and connect with a whole bunch of travellers in the same situation as you all while having the chance to win awesome prizes each month.

Every month, starting August 1, every published blog entry has the chance to win a great prize (something you will want to write home about!).   The prize for the winning entry in August will soon be revealed, so watch this space.

Don’t forget to take a look out the Best Blog in the World terms and conditions, just so it’s all good.

And start your blogs!

Visa Bureau takes no responsibility and cannot be held accountable for action taken as a result of any information or comment provided on this blog, and we recommend that you always seek a number of opinions before making a decision regarding your migration or visa application. Please refer to the Visa Bureau terms of use for more information.

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