I really enjoy your writing – you have a fine sense of humour. I’m a European of NZ descent living in Australia and admit to having a fascination with moko which stems from exposure to Goldie’s paintings as a child. I was also fortunate to see two elderly women with moko. As I am not tangata whenua (people of the land), I haven’t got a moko or in fact, any tattoos which is a minor miracle considering I served in the navy.

I recently borrowed this book from the library and thought you might be interested. Here are the bibliographic details:

Moko : Maori tattoo / photographs by Hans Neleman ; texts by Tame Wairere Iti, Pita Turei and Nicole MacDonald. Zurich : Edition Stemmle, c1999. Neleman, Hans, 1960- 3908161967 (hbk.)

If you conduct a search for Hans Neleman you will locate some of the book’s images.
They are very powerful, poignant and distinguished portraits of a proud people.

Kind regards,
Steven

I find this post very interesting mainly because I am of Maori descent. It was our tribe which first introduced the moko with scarification. My great+++ grandfather, a whaler, was captured by the local Maori in the 1830s, and forced to marry the daughter of the chief… however he was not forced to receive Ta Moko, and lived to have many children!

Another point of interest is that one of my sources of income is copying Goldie paintings. I only do one or two a year, as it gets tiresome copying other people’s work. It all started with Peter Jackson buying a copy of “All the same to E Pakeha” while he was filming Lord of the Rings, and since then I’ve had to have an unlisted phone number just to keep people at bay.

Regarding “All the same to E Pakeha”. This title has been subject to some controversy. When I was growing up, this was a figure of speech used as a sort of taunt by Maori against Pakeha… kind of a joke, with a touch of menace (bearing in mind that “pakeha” does not mean European, but is a derogatory term).

Thanks for your prompt and honest reply – I didn’t mean the comment as a personal attack; if there was any misunderstanding?

The male moko was outlawed by the government (Tohunga Suppression Act) which forbade the act of Maori tattoing. This meant that besides the increasing pressure for many Maori to assimilate into the world of the European; it was also illegal to wear your family crest. The moko is a name, your name, carried by you till you die and this Tohunga Suppression Act denied a number of our forefathers the ‘right’ to display who they were.

The moko, like many other cultural practices from around the world is not well understood by outsiders. Also, the inference that the moko is worn by criminal elements as depicted in the movie ‘Once Were Warriors’ has not helped. It is unfortunate that sometimes the ‘wrong’ elements choose to take on a specific practice for the ‘wrong’ reasons. The moko is a sacred thing and should be respected by those who receive it, those who apply it, and also by those who view it.

The resurgence of the moko is in direct relation to the resurgence and acceptance of the Maori culture within greater New Zealand society. Thank the lord that the Tohunga Suppression Act is not enforceable today – or I would be perceived a criminal, for doing nothing more than carrying my family history.

Hope that provides you with another perspective on the matter.

Cheers
Brent

Interesting site with a much more interesting comment ‘There’s a bit of a renaissance in moko these days, some tough-looking Maori have them now. High street fashion.’

I am an ex-soldier (Para-trooper & Military Policeman) of 10 years, a university graduate, school teacher and writer; and I wear a facial moko.

I can’t change or update my moko to suit any changes in style, nor do I wish too – ‘High street fashion’ indeed!

I find this comment to be quite shallow and uninformed. The moko is a sacred and meaningful thing and to describe ‘modern moko’ as you have; lessens the cultural significance of both the ‘ta moko’ process and of the moko itself.