You do not find much more powerful and striking tattoos than Maori tattoo designs, they are imbued with powerful significance that comes from Maori culture and history, as well as being amongst the most beautiful designs of tattoo you can find. These days Maori tattoos are so popular and good looking that many people get them purely for the way they look, but in the case of maori tattoos it is not a good idea to get yourself inked with one before you have fully investigated the meaning behind the image, because these tattoos hold such strong significance in Maori culture.
It’s a good idea to look into the cultural history behind certain Maori symbols and their meaning before you settle for any particular Maori tattoo. To know a little about the Maori people is a good idea too – the Maori are the indigenous people of New Zealand. They first arrive in Polynesia just before the 14th century, Where they selltled in and developed their society and way of life into something unique. The lives of the maori went relatively undisrupted on any large and dramatic scale until the arrival of Europeans in the 1700s, which unfortunately led to the maori tribes declining in number throughout the 1800s. But Maori culture and tattoos have undergone a popular revival in the last 40 years around the world.
At the forefont of this popular revival of Maori culture are Maori tattoo designs, which have becoem incredibly popular in many countries around the world. Because of their uniquely dramatic and powerful shapes and curves.
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The story in Maori culture about the origins of Maori tattoos says that tattooing began with a love affair – between a young man named Mataori and a princess of the underworld called Niwareka. According to the legend, one day the lovers argued and Mataora beat Niwareka, causing Niwareka to flee back to her father’s kingdom in the underworld, called ‘Uetonga’.
Filled with regret, Mataori followed her into to Uetonga, trying to get her forgiveness, on the way he had to face many tasks and challenges. Before he finally arrived in Uetonga. But when he got there Niwareka’s father and family laughed at him because of his appearance, which was bedraggled. His clothes and face paint had been all but wiped from him. Mataora begged for along time the forgiveness of his lover, and after a while Niwareka forgave him. Then before they returned to the real world, Niwareka’s father, impressed by Mataori, decided to teach his the art of tattooing.
Read a more indepth article about the meanin of Maori tattoos here: Maori Tattoo Designs
If you’d rather read about Tribal tattoos in general, go here: The Meaning of Tribal Tattoos
