Did the Maori Had Tattoos for Fun Not for Art or Spiritual Meanings
Tattoos have never been more popular than today. As a birthday nowadays, to celebrate the end of academy or to seal an eternal friendship. Occasions of getting your first tattoo are numerous. And getting tattooed later on important life events was the existent meaning of Maori tattoos. Coming from Tahiti and surviving in New Zealand, this art has a broad range of patterns with a strong symbolic dimension.
History of Polynesian tattoos
When nosotros talk about Māori tattoos, we tend to refer to the tattoos worn by impressive rugby players in New Zealand. The Māoris are part of Polynesian civilization. Originally coming from Southward East Asia, these populations are now located in the Marquesas Islands, Samoa, Cook Islands, Hawaii, Tahiti and New Zealand.
Mata Mata Arahu and Tu Ra'i Po'
Tahiti is the about important isle of French Polynesia. The first type of tattoo came from this island. Historically, Polynesia did non have a writing system. The tattoo was a way to present the personality, social rank and genealogy of a person. It was as well a proof of sexual maturity. Therefore, this power symbol protects its bearer from the loss of Mana, the Polynesian source of free energy found within everything.
Tattoos originate from Polynesia's genesis, during a dark menses called Po'. Ta'aroa, the nifty god of Tahiti, had 2 sons: Mata Mata Arahu and Tu Ra'i Po'. They were both attracted by the kickoff daughter of humanity, Hina Ere Ere Manua. In order to preserve her honor, her mother made her live reclusively. To seduce her, the 2 brothers invented the "TATAU" and trimmed themselves with the Tao Maro pattern. Hina Ere Ere Manua fled away with the brothers and became the showtime tattooed woman. Mata Mata Arahu and Tu Ra'i Po' became the tattoo's gods and taught this art to men.
The tattoo art got better until reaching perfection in Tahiti. Missionaries banned the do in the 18th century. It survived in the Marquesas Islands, the Cook Islands and New Zealand.
The Legend of Mataora and Tā Moko
Mataora was a young warrior who fell in love with Niwareka, a princess living in the underworld realm of Rarohenga. She climbed to the upper world, where she met and married Mataora. But ane mean solar day, he turned jealous and slapped her. Then, Niwareka fled back to her father, Uetonga, in Rarohenga. Broken hearted, Mataora decided to go get her. Arriving in the Uetonga realm, he noticed his journey made the drawings on his face disappear. Niwareka's family unit made fun of him for that. He begged his married woman to forgive him and she accepted.
Then, he met Uetonga, who was tattooing someone's face. He erased Mataora'southward face drawings to show him that real tattoos are permanent. But it provoked more mocking from Niwareka's family. Accusing Uetonga for ruining his tattoo, Mataora got all the patterns of the underworld drawn on his confront. Then, Uetonga tattooed him, using a sharp tool to pierce his skin. Mataora discovered the hurting of tattoos and Uetonga taught him the art of Tā Moko (the Māori tattoo technique). Once Mataora mastered this art, he went dorsum to his globe with Niwareka.
In the 19thursday century, the Moko became very popular during the New Zealand Wars in 1845. It was referred equally the "fine art of the Devil". First because of Mataora'due south legend and because it made its bearer's faces await scarier.
The Moko was Māoris' identity card, showing their social rank and the story of their family. Even if the Moko was traditionally on the face, it could exist tattooed on buttocks, thighs, back, tum and calves for men. Women could become a Moko too. It was express to their chin and lips. Just other parts of the body known to accept Moko for women are the foreheads, buttocks, thighs, neck and back.
Tattoos Symbols
Tahitian Symbols
The Tiki
The Tiki is a Māori symbol, representing a half-god, half-human existence. Mutual to all Polynesian cultures, it'due south a lucky charm against evil spirits and symbolizes power and masculinity.
Shells
Shells, in Tahitian culture, are precious, especially the turtle'south shell. They are symbols of protection, well-being and peace, but besides of intimacy, fertility and femininity.
The Turtle
The almost important animal in Tahitian civilisation. The turtle represents wisdom, every bit information technology can live more than than a hundred years. Local populations believe that the ocean is the path to some other life, where the soul goes afterward death. And turtles are the merely independent creatures able to cross this path, between earth and body of water. Therefore, they are seen as spiritual guides.
The Sun
Most of the time, the sun, associated with other patterns, accentuates a sense of greatness. Information technology's a symbol of wealth, magnificence, leadership and revival, rising up every day.
The Ocean
Polynesian populations have a very close relationship with the ocean. Information technology represents the land where ancestors live. Both representing death and life, the ocean is a complement to another design, like the lord's day. Information technology represents obstinacy.
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Shark teeth
The ocean and its inhabitants are recurrent in Tahitian tattoos. And shark teeth take an important identify in this fine art. Named niho mao in Tahitian, they stand for adaptability, shelter, security and ferocity. The pattern looks like triangles and can change depending on the tattooer'southward style.
The Gecko
Fifty-fifty if it'south cute to some and scary to others, the gecko is an endemic lizard of Polynesian islands and also…a representation of Gods. Like the turtle, the gecko is an animal living between globe and ocean for a very long fourth dimension. This fiddling guy is a symbol of luck and protection.
The Enata
The Enata is a frequent pattern in Marquesas Islands. Information technology represents men and Gods and is a symbol of free energy. Depending on the bearer's life experience and combination with other symbols, its pregnant changes. The Enata illustrates life moments, like births and marriages. A reversed Enata represents an enemy.
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The Manta Ray
Most of the time, Polynesia lovers choose this animal every bit a tattoo for its beauty. In Tahitian culture, information technology symbolizes liberty, gentle strength and wisdom.
Māori Symbols
To tell the story they're supposed to tell, Māori patterns tin be single or combined.
The Pakati
Typical of male tattoos, information technology symbolizes the bravery and strength of warriors.
The Hikuaua
This design comes from Taranaki area in New Zealand, known for its prosperity
The Unaunahi
These fish scales represent health and abundance
The Ahu Ahu Mataroa
This is the symbol of an achievement, or sometimes, a new challenge
The Manaia
The Manaia is a spiritual guardian. It has the caput of a bird, a human body and a fish tail. He protects the heaven, earth, and sea.
The Koru
Symbolizing new beginnings, this spiral is the most allegorical design in Maori tattoos.
The Hei Matau (Fish Hook)
Fish is Maoris' most traditional nutrient and the hook symbolizes the strength of Māori people. Therefore, the Hei Matau pattern is another symbol of prosperity.
The Unmarried Twist
It represents the trail of life. Like the symbol we know as Westerners, it is the symbol of eternity
The Double or Triple Twist
This pattern is a favorite in Māori symbols. These twists represent the union of two people or ii cultures for eternity. Persons who get this tattoo will experience life's ups and downs together.
The Pikorua
This tattoo features the sea and the world and is an analogy of life.
The Nga Hau Eastward Wha
This combined pattern shows the four corners of the earth and the four winds. It's a bulletin to respect the Gods and their deportment.
The Timatanga
This pattern represents parents and children together until their paths carve up.
Tattoo Procedure
The Tahitian Ritual
The very name "tattoo" comes from the term "TATAU", meaning "to hit". When an initiate proved himself in trials, he could get new tattoos and proceeds more prestige. For women, tattoos were seen more equally jewelry. Therefore, the execution of the tattoo was more precise, and the design more elegant. At that place are four types of tattoos in Tahiti: those reserved for gods, priests and kings, those reserved for chiefs, those reserved for neat warriors, dancers and oarsmen and those for people with no notable ancestry.
Boys can get their showtime tattoo at the age of 12. When reaching puberty, the tattoo volition make them wait more attractive. For girls, the showtime tattoo could be an 8th birthday present. Information technology was a mode to show they'd reached puberty.
As the tattoo included rituals, ceremonies preceding the procedure were frequent. While the priest was doing the tattoo, women and men would trip the light fantastic toe, play music and accident in conch shells for support. This function gave the tattooer the name of Tahu'a Tatau. He could sing to the rhythm of the stick he used to tattoo the beau. The Tahu'a Tatau had ii instruments to do the tattoos: a bradawl (to pierce the skin) and a stick. The bradawl contained 36 shark teeth. It entered the peel thanks to the stick, which worked like a hammer. Crushed and burned Kekuna tree's nuts and monoi were the ingredients for the ink (Tia iri).
A human being covered in tattoos had the greatest prestige. His numerous tattoos meant this man had many virtues. When someone dies, the Gods will judge him through his tattoos.
The Pain of Māori Tattoo
For the Māori tattoo, the process can be complex equally information technology includes a code. The face was divided into eight areas, for each important moment in a person's story. For example, the forehead shows the person'southward rank. Under the olfactory organ, the tattoo was the signature of the person. Chin was for the prestige of this person and the jaws showed his birth status. On top of being circuitous, the Māori tattoo is extremely painful and dangerous. The uhi was the chief tool for Māori tattoos. These sharpened scissors, fabricated of bird bones, were used to incise the skin. And then, ink made of dried plants and oil will make full the cuts.
With Europeans' inflow, gunpowder became the tattoos' ink to accentuate the patterns, and later would be replaced by Indian ink. In the xixth century, Māori replaced these traditional tools with metal ones. It gave the Māori tattoo more than recognition. Considering of the pain the tattoo process could represent, this recognition was important. A man who got a Moko on his confront could not eat annihilation during the healing process, which could final several days, sometimes weeks. He could only potable liquids given to him through a wooden funnel.
Appropriation of tattoos by Westerners
In 1771, helm James Melt was the first explorer to discover the Polynesian Islands. He was the outset who introduced tattoos in Europe.
Today, Polynesian tattoos have never been more popular. Celebrities like Robbie Williams, All Blacks rugby players, or Dwayne The Rock Johnson, proudly testify their tribal tattoos. The young Polynesians desire to reconnect with their traditional values. This is why they insist on getting tattooed with traditional tools. Today, for these youngsters, tattoos are a existent sign of regained identity. If y'all are not-Polynesian and planning on getting The Rock's tattoo on your arm, yous'd ameliorate recollect twice. Copying a Māori tattoo is a great insult.
For instance, Robbie Williams' tattoo was controversial as he doesn't accept a Māori genealogy (instead of Dwayne Johnson, who is Samoan-American). Every bit a upshot, the Te Uhi a Mataora grouping created the term kirituhi, meaning, "drawn skins", for a pattern which can exist used by anyone for any reason.
Maori and Polynesian tattoos today
In 1986, tattoos, through traditional do, were forbidden in Tahiti. The tools, made of forest and bones, were non-sanitary and getting infections could exist frequent. Only today, the Polynesian tattoo has gained more popularity in the terminal decades. Younger generations in the Polynesian triangle and around the world tend to pay attention to their origins. Therefore, one of the greatest ways to evidence this original pride is to get a tribal tattoo.
Some youngsters of Polynesian civilization tend to regain this identity with a tattoo that volition tell their personal story. Their enthusiasm is so that the do of tattoos with traditional tools has a stiff revival equally well.
The respect for this traditional practice grows with the contempo awareness of principal civilizations' legitimacy. Today, people tend to notice the real significant and symbolism of Polynesian tattoos. It is well-known today that a non-Polynesian person getting a Māori tattoo can be disrespectful. Hopefully, native societies will endeavour to find a mutual footing to make the tradition accessible to the largest possible number.
Source: https://www.yoair.com/blog/tahitian-and-maori-tattoos-the-discovery-of-a-mystery/
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