Tattoo History - Maori

Like all natives of the island group of Polynesia the Maori, the natives of New Zealand, also mastered the art of tatauing the body perfectly. Especially the artful facial engraving of the men, the Moko, is still kept in it's unique form until today.

The reason for this probably was the intrusion of the Europeans in New Zealand in the 19th century. The Europeans encouraged the martial Maori to behead their enemies from other tribes and to use the heads for trading. A lot of "pakaha", so were the Europeans called by the Maori which means long white pork meat, who had come before the official of the British crown in 1840 were more than happy to trade their weapons for tataued heads. But after some time not only killed enemies became victims of this trading behaviors but also from Europeans chosen extraordinary beautifully tataued individuals. Although the trading with the mummified heads called "Mokomokai" was prohibited since 1830 it didn't stop the english Major General Horatio Gordon Robley (1840 - 1930) from collecting 35 heads which he offered to sell to the New Zealand's government for 1.000 pounds in 1908.

Since 1920 the Moko isn't practiced anymore in New Zealand and with the opening of an additional new building of New Zealand's national museum in Wellington, Te Papa Tongarewa, a separate tomb not available to the public was opened containing the recovered original european and american collections of Mokomokai under "Tapu". This means entry to the tomb is only granted by following strict and ritual regulations. Today the last survivors of the Maori once again acquire the art of the Moko as an memory of their old traditions.

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