GRIOTS REPUBLIC - AN URBAN BLACK TRAVEL MAG - OCTOBER 2016

THE INTERSECTION OF
ART & CULTURE
By CosmoLatina
What images come to mind
when you hear New Zealand?
For many, Aotearoa, the Maori
name for the South Pacific Land of
the Long White Cloud, is a country of
pristine natural beauty, an adrenaline
junky’s paradise, a lamb lover’s heaven
and thanks to the All Blacks, a rugby
fan’s source of pride. While these are
indeed the images that are exported,
there is another side to the two-island
nation.
The Māori, or indigenous people of
New Zealand, have achieved international
recognition with the haka. Māori
& Pākehā (white New Zealanders)
alike can be seen performing the haka
on rugby fields, at airports and even
at weddings. However, there are more
traditional art forms that remain distinctively
a Māori tradition. One of those is
the tā moko (permanent body & face
markings). While tribal tattoo designs
have increasingly gained popularity,
the tā moko is much more than a cool
way to get some ink on your body. In
fact, the term kirituhi (drawn skin) was
created to refer to Māori designs used
by non-Māori.
Historically, the tā moko was a sign of
someone’s social status, thus not having
one would signify a lower social
status. The placement of the moko was
also significant. Māori culture has traditionally
been very gendered. Everyone
had their role and followed suit accordingly.
Thus, the men have moko on
their mata (face), raperape (buttocks)
& pūhoro (thighs). Women’s moko is
typically on their kauae (lips and chin).
Moko can also be found on other parts
of the body, depending on their rationale,
such as making oneself appear
more attractive to the opposite sex.
Modern day tā moko has gone through
different stages. In the 1970s and 80s
it was associated with Māori gangs and
seen very negatively. By the 1990s, just
a few years after Te Reo Māori became
Aotearoa’s second official language,
tā moko once again became a sign of
cultural pride. Tā moko artist Paitangi
Ostick, shares what it means to carry
on this tradition, “to wear moko kauae
is not only an honor but very humbling.
I wear the cultural identity of the Māori
people so I have become an ambassador
wherever I am in the world.”
Tā moko are more than just designs.
They, like hieroglyphics, tell a story.
Similar to many indigenous communities
around the world, Te Reo Māori,