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🖋️ Tattoo
New Zealand: the Māori tā moko
Tā moko is far more than decoration: the sacred Māori skin art, traditionally carved with chisels into grooved patterns, inscribes a person's lineage, status and story, with the moko kauae (chin moko) marking women. In Rotorua, the New Zealand Māori Arts and Crafts Institute at Te Puia is a living cultural centre where carving, weaving and tā moko are taught and practised. Approached respectfully, it reveals tattooing as genealogy made visible, a tradition revived with…
Tā moko, the sacred Māori facial tattoo, tells the lineage, status and story of the person who bears it.
The Māori tā moko is not merely aesthetic: it inscribes identity and genealogy into the skin itself.
See the Māori cultural centres in Rotorua. With a data eSIM, book, translate and learn about it respectfully.
Visit Rotorua's cultural centres with a guided tour to learn the protocols. With a data eSIM, book Te Puia entry, translate Māori terms and read up on moko etiquette before engaging respectfully.
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