The art of tattooing has been widely popular in the Polynesian region for hundreds of years now. Tattoo has been a part of their culture and their tribal lives. Considerably one of the most popular Polynesian tattoo designs is referred as the Maori tattoos.
Photo thanks to flickr
This kind of Polynesian tattoo designs is renowned by the practice of using bold lines and the duplication of distinctive patterns that are well-known and notorious both in ‘moko’ of the Maori people of New Zealand as well as in other cultural work of arts like curving, sculpting and interweaving. The tohunga ta moko, a name called for a traditional and customary Maori tattoo artist, could create two distinctive types of designs; one is founded on a pigmented fashion and; two is founded on blackening the background and leaving the motif somewhat blanched which often referred as the puhoro.
Polynesian tattoo designs usually have a legend source behind every bold line. In the case of Maori tattooing, the legend is said to come from the underworld. According to the story, a young warrior named Mataora and the princess of the underworld named Niwareka fell in love with each other. Mataora asked Niwareka to marry him and she agreed. Niwareka left her underworld kingdom and went above ground to wed the love of her life, Mataora. Unfortunately, the marriage became strenuous and tough. Maraora wronged Niwareka in several occasions so she decided to leave him and returned in the kingdom of her father in the underworld.
Not long after, Mataora, full of remorse and with a smudged painted face, followed in the underworld kingdom to win the love and favor of his wife again. After several hardships and adversities, Mataora received forgiveness from his wife and the two went back to each other’s arms. As a sign of the renewal of their life together, the ruler of the underworld kingdom, Niwareka’s father, thought his son-in-law the art of Maori tattooing. Mataora then brouung the art and Maori tattoos called ta moko, above ground when he and his wife returned to their home. From then on Mataori started to spread the art of Maori tattooing.
The primary difference of Maori tattoos in other Polynesian tattoo designs is that instead of puncturing, the designs are etched and carved in the skin using a bone chisel. This makes Maori tattooing extremely painful hence it is often referred as an act of sacrifice. The local name for Maori tattooing is ta moko. The literal translation of ta moko is to strike and to rap. To strike and to rap is the exact process in acquiring a Maori tattoo. Moko, on the other hand, is the finished product- the design of the tattoo itself.
Photo courtesy of flickr
The Maori men are normally covered in Maori tattoos with bold spiral designs in their faces, legs and buttocks. Alternatively, the Maori women have their tattoos on generally on their lips and chin but can sometimes extend to their necks and backs.
Polynesian tattoo designs are enrich with cultural significance and are exotically beautiful. This may be the reason why Polynesian tattoo designs are popular in the world of tattooing.
Popularity: 4% [?]
