Once upon a time in history when it came to getting a tattoo the maori used the bones of albatrosses to do their inking or they used brutal chiseling tools that would make any modern man cry by cutting deeply into the flesh then painting or coloring. This was used to distringuish the family history and the final part was the actual pattern which would then tell you the story of this maori tribe. This would allow like an elder to look at the pattern and tell you some ones family history based on design, the moko and pattern!
See, there is more than meets the eye with a maori tattoo design. Most people think that the maori tattoo designs are limited to the face only though this is not true. It was only done on certain peoples faces within the maori tribes, these people were significant within their maori circles.
Maori Tribal Tattoos found here
It is now common for westerners to have maori tattoo designs and this can be seen as a way of promoting the maori culture. However do you know that this is a form of stealing maori tradition and culture? One should never just take words, images or symbols from the maoritanga or Maori culture with out knowing what they are doing. As for the Maori, this is seen as an insult. Can you imagine walking around with some maoris family history? One thing not to do is to go out into the world of maori tattoo designs and just start copying any design, this could lead to a situation of stealing some maoris family tree
The sad fact is that this is what maoris think of people that steal the maori tattoo designs.
The word “pakeha” might not mean anything to you as a westerner however in the maoris language it is associated with negativity, those that never asking for anything and simply take without asking! Wouldn’t you say that this sounds more like stealing someones culture? Well this is what the maori think of other people and especially the western world for taking their tattoos, they feel that not only did they lose their land but also now they are losing their culture of tattoo designs
tattoo-me-now review found insider.
One thing that is annoying many traditional maoris as mentioned is the stealing of these tattoo designs and the reason that it is annoying them, is the fact that they foresee a day when the maori will have lost everything. They believe they have lost their land, now they are losing something that makes the maori for who they are today, and that is the maori through their tattoo designs. They feel that this is the last thing to go in terms of spirituality before they have lost all to the west, which is quite sad as all cultures on earth are only bound as a culture through their individual rituals and unique flair such as tattoos in the maoris case.
Ok so I have written this article in the hope that it hasn’t dampened your spirit about getting a maori tattoo, but now what are you going to do in terms of finding and getting the perfect maori tattoo design?
Well I hope that this article hasn’t made you change your mind about maori tattoo designs, no this article was intended to help you get a better maori tattoo design, so now how are you going to go about getting a maori tattoo and how will this help or affect you going foreword with your designs?
The simplest thing you can do is not to go out and copy the first maori tattoo design that you see on a maori in new zealand for starters, you would be surprised how many people have done this!
Rather approach a tribe if you can and ask them if you may use their design or if this is not an option when choosing a Maori tattoo design, then try to design your own design. It may look like a Maori tattoo but in reality it will not offend anyone. It is only when Maori tattoo designs are copied when someone else has already gotten that Maori tattoo already within a Maori tribe that make them feel that their spirituality is being stolen
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