GRIOTS REPUBLIC - AN URBAN BLACK TRAVEL MAG - OCTOBER 2016

was an oral language until the 20th Century.
The traditional arts of wood carving,
basket weaving and knots were what
helped the various iwi (tribe) understand
each other. One’s moko, then, is also a
way of communicating with others. It allows
someone to know one’s place within
one’s iwi. For someone like Chief Kingi
Taurua, his moko demonstrates his role
as an orator. For others like Academic
Te Kahautu Maxwell, it is a symbol of his
eternal tears for the loss of his daughter
who passed away suddenly.
There are many influences that go into
a moko. It is not something to be undertaken
lightly. There is a ritual of consent,
whakapapa (genealogy) and history. The
whakapapa is an important component
of Māori culture. It allows individuals to
know and present themselves. A people
connected to nature, Māori have a wider
concept of belonging. Thus, there are
layers to where one is from. In reciting
one’s pepeha (introduction), it is imperative
that one know in the following order
one’s māunga (mountain), awa (river),
waka (canoe)*, tōku tīpuna (founding
ancestor) *, iwi, hapū (sub-tribe), marae
(meeting grounds)*, where one is from,
one’s parents and one’s own name.
Rotorua native, Rawiri Bhana explains
how he had his moko “done on [his marae
[with] permission granted by [his] kaumatua
(elders) in two straight sessions.”
They lasted 11 and six hours, respectively.
His iwi, Te Arawa, takes their name from
the mango pare (hammerhead shark),
who followed and protected his tīpuna’s
waka when they made their initial voyage
from Raaiatea to Aotearoa. Thus, Bha-