A perfect — and permanent — travel reminder
Once suppressed by European settlers, Maori tattoos come full circle
WELLINGTON, N.Z.—“Tattoo is a perishable art,” Stephen Maddock says. “When a person dies, the art is lost forever.” Maddock is trying to change that. The curator of the tiny National Tattoo Museum of New Zealand has created a two-room ode to an art form he’s been practising for three decades. Paintings, photos, sculptures and tools adorn the museum, illustrating tattoos from around the globe. Yet Maddock’s museum, which started as a personal collection before taking on a life of its own five years ago, primarily focuses on the traditional art of ta moko: the facial and body tattoos the Maori have been donning for centuries.
“It’s like a coat of arms,” Maddock says. “A coat of arms will tell you who your family is and where you’re from.”
Ta moko is different from Westernstyle tattoo insofar as the skin is carved with a bone chisel rather than being punctured with a needle, creating raised grooves instead of smooth inked surfaces. Pigment, created from soot, is put into the open wounds.
Men traditionally wore ta moko on their faces, buttocks and thighs while women wore it on their lips and chins.
Ta moko was seen both as a sign of status and beauty.
But European settlers suppressed the art form, like much of Maori culture, for generations.
These Europeans even collected the inked heads of the Maori, who would preserve them when loved ones died or enemies were vanquished.
“It got banned in the early 19th century and it was only in the 1950s that it re-emerged,” Maddock says of the art form.
“There’d be people, but they’d be reclusive, living in the hills. Now you’ll see moko in town. It’s come full circle.”
The museum is connected to Maddock’s Underground Arts tattoo studio, where you can get your own permanent souvenir.
“There’s an age-old tradition when you cross the equator,” Maddock says of early Pacific sailors and whalers. “You’d get a tattoo once you reached the other side of the world. It’s kind of like taking a photo!”
Maddock only practises modern tattoo techniques, though many of his designs are inspired by the ageold Maori art form.
If you’re after traditional ta moko, pop into the Wellington tattoo studios run by Taryn Beri or Mark Kopua. Both of these Maori artists use contemporary techniques to create classical designs. Daniel Otis was hosted by Tourism New Zealand, which did not review or approve this story.