Māori chief, late 18th century

Māori Moko in 1908

Tā moko is the permanent body and face marking by Māori,the indigenous people of New Zealand. Traditionally it is distinct from tattoo and tatau in that the skin was carved by uhi (chisels) rather than punctured. This left the skin with grooves, rather than a smooth surface.

Captain Cook wrote in 1769:

The marks in general are spirals drawn with great nicety and even elegance. One side corresponds with the other. The marks on the body resemble foliage in old chased ornaments, convolutions of filigree work, but in these they have such a luxury of forms that of a hundred which at first appeared exactly the same no two were formed alike on close examination.^[1][2]

The Tohunga tā moko (or tattooists) were considered tapu, or exceptionally inviolable and sacred.^[3]

Background[link]

Tattoo arts are common in the Eastern Polynesian homeland of Māori, and the traditional implements and methods employed were similar to those used in other parts of Polynesia (see Buck 1974:296, cited in References below). In pre-European Māori culture, many if not most high-ranking persons received moko, and those who went without them were seen as persons of lower social status. Receiving moko constituted an important milestone between childhood and adulthood, and was accompanied by many rites and rituals. Apart from signalling status and rank, another reason for the practice in traditional times was to make a person more attractive to the opposite sex. Men generally received moko on their faces, buttocks (called raperape) and thighs (called puhoro). Women usually wore moko on their lips (kauae) and chins. Other parts of the body known to have moko include women's foreheads, buttocks, thighs, necks and backs and men's backs, stomachs, and calves.

Instruments used[link]

Originally tohunga-tā-moko (moko specialists) used a range of uhi (chisels) made from albatross bone which were hafted onto a handle, and struck with a mallet. The pigments were made from the awheto for the body colour, and ngarehu (burnt timbers) for the blacker face colour. The soot from burnt kauri gum was also mixed with fat to make pigment.^[4] The pigment was stored in ornate vessels named oko, which were often buried when not in use. The oko were handed on to successive generations. Men were predominantly the tā moko specialists, although King records a number of women during the early 20th century who also took up the practice. There is also a remarkable account of a woman prisoner-of-war in the 1830s who was seen putting moko on the entire back of the wife of a chief.

Changes[link]

King (see below) talks about changes which evolved in the late 19th century when needles came to replace the uhi as the main tools. This was a quicker method, less prone to possible health risks, but the feel of the tā moko changed to smooth. Tā moko on men stopped around the 1860s in line with changing fashion and acceptance by Pākehā (white New Zealanders).

Women continued receiving moko through the early 20th century^[5] with Michael King in the early 1970s interviewing over 70 elderly women who had been given the moko.^[6] Women were traditionally only tattooed on their lips, around the chin, and sometimes the nostrils.^[7]

Tā moko today[link]

Since 1990 there has been a resurgence in the practice of tā moko for both men and women, as a sign of cultural identity and a reflection of the general revival of the language and culture. Most tā moko applied today is done using a tattoo machine, but there has also been a revival of the use of uhi (chisels).^{[citation needed]} Women too have become more involved as practitioners, such as Christine Harvey of the Chathams, Henriata Nicholas in Rotorua and Julie Kipa in Whakatane.

Te Uhi a Mataora was recently established by practitioners^[8][9] to discuss issues facing the art form.

Use by non-Māori[link]

Starting with Moehanga in 1805^[10] then Hongi Hika and Te Pehi Kupe,^[11] and followed by several Pākehā Māori such as Barnet Burns, Europeans were introduced to the form early, but until relatively recently the art had little global impact. However, in recent years several high-profile uses of Māori designs by Robbie Williams, Ben Harper and a 2007 Jean Paul Gaultier fashion show were controversial.^[12][13][14] True moko is not taken lightly, and is considered to be sacred; this is why misappropriation by non-Māori is seen as a grave offence.^[15][16]

To reconcile the demand for Māori designs in a culturally sensitive way, the Te Uhi a Mataora group promotes the use of the term kirituhi, which has now gained wide acceptance:^[17][18][19]

"...Kirituhi translates literally to mean - "drawn skin." As opposed to Moko which requires a process of consents, genealogy and historical information, Kirituhi is merely a design with a Maori flavour that can be applied anywhere, for any reason and on anyone..."^[9]

Gallery[link]

• 

  Tāme Iti, Ngāi Tūhoe

• 

  Tukukino Te Ahiātaewa, Ngāti Tamaterā

• 

  Tāwhiao, Tukaroto Matutaera Potatau Te Wherowhero

• 

  Te Aho-o-te-rangi Wharepu, Ngati Mahuta

• 

  Barnet Burns, European

• 

  Riperata Kahutia, Te Aitanga-a-Mahaki

• 

  Rewi Manga Maniapoto, Ngati Maniapoto

• 

  Guide Susan

• 

  Tamati Waka Nene, Nga Puhi

• 

  Tomika Te Mutu, Ngāi Te Rangi

• 

  Unidentified Māori woman

• 

  Unidentified Māori man

• 

  Unidentified Māori man

• 

  Unidentified Māori man

• 

  Hariota Hull

• 

  Unidentified Māori woman

• 

  Unidentified Māori woman

• 

  Unidentified Māori woman

Notes[link]

See also[link]

• Mokomokai, preserved Māori heads
• Pe'a, tradition male Samoan tattoo

References[link]

• Hiroa, Te Rangi (Sir Peter Buck)(1974). The Coming of the Maori. Second Edition. First Published 1949. Wellington:
• Jahnke, Robert and Huia Tomlins Jahnke, ‘The politics of Māori image and design’, Pukenga Korero (Raumati (Summer) 2003), vol. 7, no. 1, pp. 5–31.
• King, M., and M. Friedlander, Moko: Māori Tattooing in the 20th Century, (1992) 2nd ed., Auckland: David Bateman.
• Robley, Major-General, Moko, or Māori Tattooing, (1896) digital edition from New Zealand Electronic Text Centre
• Nikora, Linda Waimarie, Mohi Rua and Ngahuia Te Awekotuku, 'Wearing Moko: Māori Facial Marking in Today's World', in Nicholas Thomas, Anna Cole and Bronwen Douglas (eds.), Tattoo. Bodies, Art and Exchange in the Pacific and the West, London: Reacktion Books, pp. 191–204.
• Te Awekotuku, Ng., ‘More than Skin Deep’, in Elazar Barkan and Ronald Bush (eds.), Claiming the Stone: Naming the Bones: Cultural Property and the Negotiation of National and Ethnic Identity (2002) Los Angeles: Getty Press, pp. 243–254.
• Te Awekotuku, Ng, ‘Tā Moko: Māori Tattoo’, Goldie, (1997) exhibition catalogue, Auckland: ACAG and David Bateman, pp. 108–114.

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Tattoos in Polynesia

• Ta Moko A website about Māori body art
• Maori Tattoos A website about Māori tattoos and symbolism
• Ta Moko Another website about Māori body art
• Maori Tattoo Art Chisel (uhi) used for Māori tattooing
• Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa Online Resources on Moko
• Images relating to moko from the collection of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
• Links from Māori arts site
• New Zealand Electronic Text Centre collection on Ta Moko, mokamokai, Horatio Robley and his art. A bibliography provides further links to other online resources.
• Ta Moko: Culture, body modification, and the psychology of identity, Ngahuia Te Awekotuku
• Maori Tattoo Gallery A website about Māori tattoo designs and tattooing art.

In the mythology of Mangaia in the Cook Islands, Moko is a wily character and grandfather of the heroic Ngaru. (Gill 1876:234).

Moko is a ruler or king of the lizards, and he orders his lizard subjects to climb into the basket of the sky demon Amai-te-rangi to spy on him. When Amai-te-rangi pulls up his basket, he is disappointed to find it full of miserable little reptiles, which escape and overrun his home in the sky (Gill 1876:234).

References[link]

• W.W. Gill, Myths and Songs from the South Pacific (H.S. King: London, 1876).

Tiki Taane is a New Zealand musician and former member of leading New Zealand band Salmonella Dub. Taane left Salmonella Dub on 1 January 2007 to pursue a solo career.^[1] His debut album, "Past, Present, Future", was released on 22 October 2007 in New Zealand and has gone two times platinum, achieving a number one single, "Always On My Mind", which is the most successful single of all time in New Zealand. Taane is also the live sound engineer for New Zealand drum and bass act Shapeshifter.

History[link]

In 1996, Taane was asked to become live soundman to Christchurch band Salmonella Dub, who were becoming one of NZ’s most popular acts. Through this role, Tiki began to earn himself a reputation for his ability to bring a staggeringly powerful live sound to whatever equipment, venue or environment he was faced with. His time with his metal band Braaspadeak had become minuscule and irregular, and while on tour with the Dub, Tiki had composed a dub-reggae track in his hotel room. Once he shared it with Salmonella, they recorded it straight away, and Tiki and his whanau and friends set to work making a music video featuring Tiki on tour at The Gathering that year. This track, "For the Love Of It", shot to the NZ charts, and so he became faced with not only being soundman for the band, but also the public expectation that he perform his hit song at all their gigs.

In both 1998 and 1999, Tiki won the Best Live Audio Engineer award at the NZ B-Net awards and though in popular demand, it was clear that Tiki’s success lay with his friends Salmonella Dub. Also winning an award for Best Song for 'For the Love Of It', Tiki’s confidence grew in his song-writing abilities and so he went on to create more hits. By 2000, Tiki was beginning to spend the majority of the Dub gigs mixing the first part of the set, then jumping on stage to perform.

Taane played his final gig with Salmonella Dub on New Year's Eve 2006.

Describing his decision to leave Salmonella Dub, Taane said, "I felt like I'd gone as far as I could with Salmonella Dub." He described his time since leaving Salmonella Dub as "very lonely" and "very intense".^[2] Describing the band in an interview after the release of his album, Taane said, "I have so much love and respect for (Salmonella Dub) because if it wasn't for them I wouldn't be where I am now. I wouldn't be here."^[2]

On April 2011, Taane was arrested on charges of "disorderly behaviour likely to cause violence to start or continue" while chanting "fuck the police" at a gig in Tauranga, claiming he was singing lyrics from N.W.A's "Fuck tha Police".^[3] On his web site, Taane posted the message, "Freedom of speech is a human right"^[4] Tiki later stated that he "loves police" and was "not angry with them".^[5] On 13 April Tiki told Marcus Lush on Radio Live that the lyrics often feature in his performances and his arrest came as a complete surprise.^[6] Senior police stated they supported the arresting officers actions, and are confident they acted appropriately.^[7] In early September, the charges against Taane were dropped after mediation; charges remain against promoter Patricio Alvarez-Riveros from the same incident.^[8] Taane later invited the Police to perform with him at the 2011 Vodafone NZ Music Awards at Auckland's Vector Arena, where he was nominated for three awards, they declined.^[9]

Past, Present, Future[link]

His debut solo record "Past, Present, Future" was released 22 October 2007 and debuted at #9. The album's first official solo single, "Always On My Mind", was released 28 April 2008. The song has been certified 2x Platinum and made it to #1 in New Zealand, knocking Chris Brown off the top spot after a seven week reign. The song spent nineteen non-consecutive weeks in the top ten, including two weeks at number one, and a total of forty-eight weeks in the chart so far.^[10] "Always On My Mind" has also become the most successful single of all time in New Zealand, landing at number one on the Best of All Time Singles Chart, a chart that has been tracking singles since 1994. The title was previously held by "Bathe in the River" by Hollie Smith.^[11]

Past, Present, Future has also been certified Platinum in New Zealand and peaked at number four. The album was certified 2x Platinum after fifty-five weeks, selling over 30,000 copies. It has so far spent over sixty-six weeks in the chart.

Use of music by Sea Shepherd[link]

Before taking out his vessel Ady Gil on an anti-whaling cruise to the Southern Ocean with the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, Pete Bethune noted that he had installed a large set of speakers, and intended to play the songs like Tangaroa from Tiki Taane to the whalers, describing it as a "growling big sort of a song about the God of the Sea who looks after us".^[12]

Music Timeline[link]

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

Singles[link]

References and notes[link]

• Tiki Taane inthemix.com.au Interview
• Tiki Taane Bebo Fansite
• Tiki Taane Profile, Muzic.net.nz
• 'Dub king Tiki Taane goes solo', Stuff.co.nz
• Past, Present, Future at Real Groovy

External links[link]

• tikidub.com