From the Tattoo Files

Seen at the 10th AFFIRM Aranui Family Festival,

Aranui, Christchurch

December 3, 2011.

From the Tattoo Files

Ta Moko

(Tattoo)

at

Takahanga Marae

Kaikoura Feb.2010, Ajr

Ta Moko - A Glimpse

One of the defining traditions of Maori is the art of Ta Moko - Tattoo.

And over the last two decades there has been a huge revival of interest in adorning the body with traditional designs that reflect a person's personal ancestry.

It was no light operation in the old days, when designs were carved into the skin with a small bone chisel (uhi) that was tied to a handle and tapped with a piece of wood. A bluish pigment was rubbed in and when the face (or other body parts) healed, the tattoo furrowed the skin. These days, although it is arm, back, shoulder and thigh tattoos that are the most common, some are also applying Ta Moko to their faces in the traditional male manner.

Ta Moko - A Glimpse

Ta Moko - Tattoo

A Traditional Art

A Traditional Adornment

Nov.2010. Ajr

One Man, One Tattoo

Waiting for the Whanau

(family)

Riccarrton Rotary Market

Christchurch

October 2010. Ajr

Tattoo - Another View

TATTOO

Times Two

Kaikoura

Feb.2010. Ajr

More from the Tattoo Files

One Man

Two Tattoos

An Incomplete Picture
Takahanga Marae, Kaikoura.

Feb.2010. Ajr

Modern Moko

In a modern age of moko (tattoo) rennaissance, it seems only fair that I occasionally be allowed to play (with permission) with a few contemporary designs on Photo Shop - purely in the name of creativity. I photographed this Ngai Tahu man's tattooed arm recently - just small sections of it - and I was much taken with the marriage of pattern and background. Tattoo has always been the most personal of Maori arts - each one designed specifically to reflect a person's whakapapa (ancestry). In the old days, no Maori - man or woman - of rank went without a tattoed adornment of some kind. It is rare to see a full face tattoo today - although there are some - but arm and leg tattooing has become increasingly popular over the last decade. For many, it is a statement about their reconnection to their Maori ancestry and tribal culture; for others (usually non-Maori) is more about being part of a popular trend, about making some sort of design statement, or marking themselves in a distinctly New Zealand way - sometimes, sadly, with little thought to the meaning of the designs they adorning themselves with.

Ta Moko - Glimpsed Details

Ta Moko

Traditional Designs

Etched on Skin

A Swirl of Patterns

I am seldom without my camera. This means I can almost always try and capture some pleasing visual encounter; and invariably, that is as much about the small, often overlooked details of things as much as it is the wider view. Other people for instance, photograph the bigger scene of the Maori cultural performance; I home in on the small vignettes, the little peeps into the bigger picture - the fabrics and fibres, the tattoos, the traditional jewellery and in this case, at Te Puia in Rotorua, the traditionally, patterned carpet. For me it makes a richer picture. It alludes to the unseen and it makes you consider something that might otherwise never have been seen.

Market Wares

Old Postcards

Traditional Moko

@

Riccarton Rotary Market
September 2009. Ajr

Tattoo Stories

Christchurch. July 2009. Ajr

My eye is always caught by striking pattern and colour and in this photograph they come together with the beauty of traditional Maori ta moko (tattoo) - an art that translates a person's individual and unique ancestry and life story onto their body, which is why you should never copy ta moko. I especially love this tattoo. It's beautifully designed and it has a clarity that appeals to me; and I love the way its organic curves contrast with the hard-edged geometric shapes of the wearer's clothing.

Meet the People - 20

Another in the Series Meet the People – Contemporary Maori Doing Ordinary and Extraordinary Things – Jo Tito (Taranaki, Ngati Pikiao Tuhourangi-Ngati Wahiao), grew up in the small village of Waipa, 5km south of Rotorua and now lives in Gisborne with her partner, Todd (Taranaki, Te Ati-Haunui-a-Paparangi) and two of his children. Both are fluent Maori speakers. “I learned a little Maori while I was at school – maybe an hour a week – but it wasn’t until I experienced total immersion back home in Taranaki that I became fluent. It’s definitely the best way to learn,” she says. Jo is very much driven by her passion for Maori language. It is at the root of everything she does – including in her work as an artist and photographer. “I am inspired by the patterns of nature as my ancestors were, but my work is not solely based on Maori culture. The spiral for instance, appears in my work regularly and while it is a common Maori design element, it is also seen in many other cultures. But I am very much driven by our Maori language and wherever I can incorporate this into my work I will. It’s a whole different world when your whakaaro, your way of thinking, is in Maori. This inspires me to create.”

"Kohatu (rock)" Painted rock by Jo Tito
Jo works in a number of mediums including photography, which she has been doing professionally and as a love for 15 years. Much of her artwork also focuses on natural materials like the kohatu (rock), which she hand-paints and the paper she makes from harakeke (flax). Many of her photographs are printed on her own handmade harakeke paper. “I’m passionate about the land and sustainable living; and by working in rock and flax, I feel very connected to the land and its stories,” she says. Her work has been exhibited in Rotorua, Taranaki, Gisborne, America Samoa and Arizona; and she travelled with a New Zealand delegation of artists to Palau in 2004 and American Samoa in 2008, for the International Festival of Pacific Arts. She’s won awards for both photography and fibre work; and while she was living in Taranaki, she curated an exhibition called “Wahine,” for the Taranaki District Health Board, to highlight the importance of cervical screening for women. “I love hauora (personal health and wellbeing).”

"Whariki (Mat)" Photo by Jo Tito
Factor in the writing of “Matarakau – Healing Stories of Taranaki,” a collection of Taranaki whanau stories on traditional Maori healing; research for another collection of stories looking at the effects of colonisation on indigenous peoples around the world; her own marketing business; digital storytelling, reading and self-development and you begin to see why Jo, 35, is a terrific role model for young Maori women everywhere. You can read more about her online here. - http://inspirationalwebsite.net/ Jo’s wrist moko (tattoo), shown in the top photograph, were created by Mark Kopua. The moko on her feet, legs and back (not shown) were created by Julie Kipa.

One Tattoo, Two Views

Rotorua. May 2009. Ajr

I photographed this beautiful ta moko (tattoo) when I visited Te Puia in Rotorua last month. Several women in the performing kapa haka group had large and striking tattoos on their backs. I appreciate that these photographs are a little blurry but I’m rather pleased about that because it precludes anyone copying the design. Readers of this blog – particularly those from overseas – should be aware that someone else’s tattoo should never be copied, for each tattoo is designed specifically for the wearer and invariably tells the story of their ancestry. If you copy a ta moko design, you are basically wearing someone else’s family tree, which is highly inappropriate in Maori culture - and should be in any culture!

Traditional Tattoo Techniques

Image Supplied by Tamaki MaoriVillage.

The Tamaki Maori Village in Rotorua is a great place to get a good understanding of traditional Maori arts, crafts and tattoo practices. Notice the two beautiful traditional mere (clubs) in the foreground - one in whalebone, one in pounamu or greenstone. www.maoriculture.co.nz

The Rennaisance of Maori Tattoo

Okains Bay, Banks Peninsular. 2007 Ajr

Back by Popular Demand

I'm reposting this little piece on Maori Tattoo because in a year of blogging it has had more readers than any other single post I've written. Clearly there is a massive interest - not only nationally but internationally - in Maori tattoo and its history.

There’s been a resurgence of the art of Ta Moko (tattoo) as Maori seek to reclaim their heritage and cultural traditions; and every tattoo is customised to reflect an individual’s own beliefs, ancestry and spirituality. Sharon Henderson of Okains Bay thought long and hard about the sort of tattoo she wanted and she sought out one of our best Ta Moko artists to do it. Te Rangitu Netana, now living in Kerikeri is famous for having custom designed tattoos for British rock star, Robbie Williams. It paid off. This beautiful, delicate, highly personalised work on her arm – which includes reference to her family’s whaling ancestry – won Best Female Ta Moko at the 2008 South Island Tattoo Show.

Kotane Culture

Another shot from the Kotane Maori Cultural Experience

@

Willowbank Wildlife Reserve

www.willowbank.co.nz www.kotane.co.nz

For other shots from this performance scroll down

Tattoo Graphics

Christchurch store windows. March 2009. Ajr

Two separate tattoo studios in Otautahi (Christchurch)

Advertising

Contemporary Maori Tattoo

There was a time not so many years ago when, if you saw a kapa haka group performing, most of the traditional tattoos you saw on the performers were drawn on for the occasion. Not so now. There’s been a huge resurgence in traditional Maori tattoo - though few women actually tattoo their lips (kauae) and chins – chin moko are still largely drawn on, as with the performers shown above.

All images Mareikura Kapa Haka performers, Waitangi Day, Christchurch Feb 2009. Ajr

However, increasing numbers of both men and women are getting real tattoos to their body - like the two above. Some of them are very beautiful too. I snapped these photographs at the Waitangi Day kapa haka performance in Christchurch a week or so ago. I came away almost tempted to get a tattoo of my own. It’s just a pity I’m a total coward.

A Time For Tattoo

Image Supplied by Rotorua Tourism

Rotorua’s Henriata Nicholas is a renowned Ta Moko (tattoo) artist, who works with both locals and visitors. Moko, or tattoo is a visual language that connects the wearer to their whakapapa (genealogy) and all tattooed symbols have a meaning – usually a tribal link that tells the background and stories of the wearer. Henriata, a passionate painter and sculptor who has exhibited nationally and internationally, achieved her dream of becoming a Ta Moko artist in 2002, when she spent three months in Hawaii working with traditional tattoo practitioners of Kakau – tapping ink into the skin with traditional tools. That experience broadened her horizons and kick-started her confidence to practise Uhi Ta Moko fully and she’s been creatively inspired ever since. Henriata says her clients bring a vision with them and that inspires her designs for their tattoo. “We spend time talking about who they are, what makes them unique and special and where they’re from. I do the same. I share myself with them so they know they can have control over what we create. This can go on for a couple of weeks, or months – sometimes years – before they have reached a time in their life when they want to complete it by putting the pattern on their skin,” she says.