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 What this would essentially do for some one is that they would if they were an elder be able to tell the history by looking at the design the moko and of course the patterning of the skin There is a common misconception around the world thinking that maori tattoos in their original sense were only done on the faces, however this is not true, they were also done on peoples bodies, what this allowed them to do was distinguish their chiefs or leaders by having these marking on their faces
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. At first it might not seem apparent when taking symbols and images from the maori culture without having an idea of what they mean, but you should never do this as they might belong to a family who have had this maor tattoo designs in their family tree for years 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?
If you were ever to hear the word "pakeha" said to you while in new zealand i am sure that the tone that you would hear it in would indicate to you that this is not how maoris greet in their own language! No this word is associated with westerners in particular that have stolen maori culture and now more than ever are taking some original tattoo designs that have been in their families for over a thousand years and all without asking, this is what the word "pakeha" means those that take without asking!
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 quickest way to get a traditional maori tattoo design would be to contact someone in new zealand who is in charge of a tribe or a tribal tattoo artist and ask if the design that you are looking at is not someones design already, though this might seem dumb as mentioned we have to be sensitive to a culture that has shrunk over the last 200 years, with the internet this could be done in a matter of hours The only time anyone will run into problems with these tattoos is going to copy them straight from one of the elders, big corporations dont like it when someone makes "knock offs" of their merchandise and so it is with this special maori culture, Dont copy rather ask, its easier.