Once upon a time in history when it came to getting a tattoo the maori used the bones of albatrosses to do their inking or they used brutal chiseling tools that would make any modern man cry by cutting deeply into the flesh then painting or coloring which was used to distringuish the family history and the final part was the actual pattern which would then tell you the story of this maori tribe 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
Im going to let you in on something, this is going to let you know what maoris think about the western world when they steal their tattoo designs and especially their maori tattoo designs.
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!
From the maoris point of view taking from their culture without asking them or having a design on you that is a replica is a weakening of their identity in terms of their culture, westernising them further through the stealing of their heritage and also they feel that they will eventually have nothing left that is sacred and original for them to hold onto in the future.
So what does this mean for you when getting a moari tattoo?
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 hoursIt is only when Maori tattoo designs are copied when someone else has already gotten that Maori tattoo already within a Maori tribe that make them feel that their spirituality is being stolen
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