Bar says sorry for moko snub
A Havelock North bar that turned away a Ma¯ori woman for having a traditional moko kauae has apologised and asked to be educated on the matter.
Atawhai Tuki took to social media on Saturday night, when a bouncer at Diva Bistro and Bar refused her and her partner entry. That is despite a man with a neck tattoo being already inside.
The now-deleted video drew hundreds of messages of support and condemnation at the incident.
Speaking to Hawke’s Bay Today, she said such an incident had never happened before.
“What hurt the most is hearing an individual say, ‘wear Thin Lizzy [makeup] to cover it and you can go in’,” she said.
“I was like ‘no, that’s not even right’, and we left straight away.”
She said she decided to go public, not for any financial gain, but rather to bring awareness to the issue, and why people wear moko.
Tuki had her moko kauae done by Nare Brooking in January 2017 at a mokopapa wa¯nanga. A year later, Nare’s sister Joni Brooking, a moko practitioner and consultant, did her ngutu pu¯rua (lips).
“Wearing this, to me, is my whakapapa ... it represents my mother, she passed away, and my kids. So when someone tries to take that away from me . . . I take 10 steps back and realise no you can’t take this away from me.
“I went to school out in Havelock and it was never an issue while I was in school in Havelock, discrimination was never ever done.”
However, less than 24 hours after the incident, she met with bar owner Carl Leipst and his partner, who were alerted by family members who had seen her video on Facebook.
“I had already slept on it and discussed it with family and when we went to see them, I could just see they were so embarrassed and the pure shock of what had happened in them.
“What was worse for him is that he said no one had told him that it had happened, and he was inside.”
Tuki says the couple apologised profusely and said they would “never ever do that about someone’s whakapapa” — a comment which made her feel like they were genuine.
“We treated them with respect and they treated us with respect.”
While there is a policy around facial tattoos, Tuki says a moko is completely different.
“When I went live, I didn’t realise it was going to go that widespread, I didn’t realise people were going to share it. But I feel better now that people know, not about the incident, but more so that the culture is not going to die out, and people have just got to accept that it is what it is, we wear moko for our families, our kids.
“After that ko¯rero we had, we came to a resolution where they actually asked us to come in and give them personal development about tikanga, about moko and how prominent it is.”
Leipst said Diva Bar had “acknowledged an error made on our behalf on Saturday night”.
“We have worked with those who are affected and rectified the situation. We have invited the family to help with staff training in the future.”
Brooking said while the incident was “not the ideal situation to find yourself in at either end”, it was great to see and hear that both parties have met and a positive outcome reached.
“In my own personal opinion, you could not ask for more positive advocates, role models and wearers of moko kauae (female chin moko) and mataora (male face moko).”
Brooking said the past 10 years of her 15-year career have been dedicated to the resurgence and revival of facial moko, moko kauae in particular. “Also when you consider that my tohunga and mentors who have been practising both body and facial moko for 30 years plus, with facial moko being a significant part of their moko careers, it’s hard to even think or believe that discrimination still exists when it comes to facial moko.”
Brooking said while it was “not a new concept”, as other indigenous people in the world also had their own facial markings, it was “one of tradition that carries a lot of cultural and indigenous significance”.
She said it was about “identity — keeping the traditions of our tipuna (ancestors) alive, the normalisation of facial moko in today’s society and the resurgence, revival and most importantly survival of such a significant art form”.
Brooking said the decision to take on and wear facial moko “doesn’t come easy nor is it taken lightly”.
“The many mokopapa wa¯nanga (facial moko wa¯nanga) that I facilitate are usually hapu¯ and iwi organised, therefore each and every recipient is endorsed by the support of their wha¯nau, hapu¯, iwi and marae as receivers of moko kauae and mataora alike.
“At these specific mokopapa wa¯nanga, recipients and the wha¯nau that support are educated around facial moko and its entirety as a wearer. And basically at the end of the day it’s an individual’s choice — their journey in life with their reasons.”