Maori tattoo, a real piece of art depicting past history


Maori tattoo designs a way to trace the natural geography of the person’s facial features

Truly the most distinctive of all tattoo designs in the world of tattoo art, the Maori tattoo designs have their own renowned place in the crop of Maori tattooPolynesian tattoos. A sacred art or so-called a ritual among the Maori people living in New Zealand, this traces back its existence or deciphering to the islands of east Polynesia.

Traditionally known as ta moko, this literally means to strike or to top. Being curvilinear in form they are based on the spirals and are truly one of its kind and incomparable from all the other popular tattoo patterns. Not only unique in its pattern this also is different on the tools, which are utilized for tattooing from the traditional tattooing art.

The Maori artist using a knife or chisel instead of a needle, which are smooth and serrated, the ink is applied by the use of incisions. The uhi or the tattoo is made from the bone of an albatross.

Tattooing a scared art and not just a symbol inked on the body, in Maori community this holds a very significant meaning itself and the process requiring time and inducing pain is considered as a procedure related to being sacred and being moreover a ritual.

The inks that are used for Maori tattoos designs also being truly unique; they used two kinds of inks to design a tattoo. The body color being made from an animal, which is half vegetable and caterpillar, the outline was made by using a darker black ink made from burned wood.

The tattooing starting at adolescence this was used to celebrate important events and happenings in one’s life. The art being an inevitable part of the culture and tradition, the first tattoo marked the transition of childhood to adulthood and was done during a series of rituals and rites being performed alongside.

Maori tattoo, considered a mark of status, the people, who did not have a tattoo on their bodies, were considered as non-worthy and without any status in the community. More than just an ornament of decoration, which you can wear at all times all through your life, these Maori tattoo designs are a symbol of strength, status and courage altogether. Both the genders being tattooed, the women mostly got the tattoo designed on their lips and chins and in some rare cases on their neck and the back. While men consisting of getting bold spiral designs, they usually got the tattoo made covering the face, legs and also their buttocks.

Not just an art and body decoration procedure, the Maori tattoo was a ritual performed with music, chanting hymns and fasting. Fasting, a necessity was something, which was practiced for the face getting swelled up post the tattooing process. The tattooist mostly men but sometimes even women were master in this great art form.

Being rich in history, they are a way of proffering a story to your tattoo rather than just a superb art piece and is a compliment enhancing your body’s beauty. Sure to give you a towering presence these Maori tattoo designs are the biggest and largest of all tattoo designs.

Being a unique, customized piece of art, choosing this one can help you make great move so as to known what the real tattoo art mean.

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March 2010
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