Māori Culture, People and Tattoo Language in New Zealand
The Māori people arrived in New Zealand from Polynesia and their mythical homeland, Hawaiki, around the 1200s. The migrating people consisted of distinct subtribes whose culture varied slightly in language, body art, dancing expression and other practices.
The Māori people in New Zealand today have their Polynesian background in common with both the indigenous culture on Easter Island, as well as the indigenous culture on Hawaii. These three locations are the three vertices of the Polynesian Triangle: New Zealand (Aotearoa), Easter Island (Rapa Nui) and Hawaii.
Nevertheless, these countries are located far from each other and have very different climates. Out of all Polynesian countries, only New Zealand experiences four seasons! Therefore, the lifestyle and houses here vary from the Polynesian way of life on the tropical islands. Nevertheless, all the Polynesian cultures can trace their origin back to the same cultural roots. The people were all excellent mariners and travelled the ocean – settling on different islands way apart.
The Meeting House in Whakarewarewa is still for reunions and performances | Photo: Travel In Culture
So, although dispersed over a considerable area today, the Polynesian communities are united through their language background and ancestral roots. They are considered to be a part of the Austronesian people, the prehistoric sea-migrating people originating from Taiwan around 3000 to 1500 BC – reaching as far as New Zealand, Easter Island and Madagascar.
Today, the Māoris in New Zealand make up about 14% of the population, and the Māori culture still infiltrates the society with its traditions, myths, legends, and tattoo and language heritage. Before arriving in New Zealand, the Māori people had a matriarchal culture but soon developed into a patriarchal society here!
The Māoris’ Catholic church in Whakarewarewa | Photo: Travel In Culture
Moreover, when the European settlers (many of them Irish Catholics) arrived in New Zealand, most of the Māori people ended up converting to Catholicism!
When visiting one of the living Māori villages in New Zealand, you will get the opportunity to gain some insight into the indigenous culture and practices here.
How different is Hawaiian to Māori language? The Māori language is one of the major Polynesian languages, similar to Hawaiian, Samoan, Tahitian, and other Polynesian island languages, all sharing words with similar sounds and meanings. Māori (meaning ‘true people’) is an Eastern Polynesian language belonging to the Tahitic subgroup (including Cook Islands Māori and Tahitian). Other major Eastern Polynesian languages include Hawaiian, Marquesan, and the Rapa Nui language of Easter Island.
The Māori cemetery at Whakarewarewa | Photo: Travel In Culture
Māori is known as ‘te reo’ (meaning ‘the language’). You will notice that the Māori language is visible in names across New Zealand. Aotearoa (“land of the long white cloud”) is the Māori name of New Zealand.
Māori is considered one of the endangered languages, and both the government and the native tribes try to do something about this. There has been an increasing focus on teaching the native language in many New Zealand schools.
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An example of the Māori language you often hear is kia ora – meaning ‘good health’.
After the Second World War, urbanisation changed the previous Māori language predominance to English. Therefore, the Māori people are most often bilingual today. Only about 9,000 people speak exclusively in Māori in New Zealand.
Historically, there was no writing in the Polynesian language. Instead, the Polynesians used tattoo art and distinct signs to communicate and express their identity (Polynesian writing tattoo), personality, status and rank in society. Nearly everyone had tattoos in ancient Polynesian society!
The round eyes and the tongue are important symbols in the New Zealand Māori culture and war dance | Photo: Travel In Culture
The local Māori people have a strong dancing tradition characterised by storytelling while performing. They dance the rituals related to everyday life.
To a large extent, the Māori culture is preserved by living according to what the Māori traditions and norms prescribe, using the tools and methods used for centuries and by producing and wearing the traditional dress. The long-established performing arts like carving, weaving and tattooing are still practised among the Māori people. Today, handmade products and craft artefacts are sold to visitors as part of the tourist industry.
A traditional Māori dress | Photo: Travel In Culture
The Māori tattoo traditions and techniques were brought to New Zealand from Eastern Polynesia.
The Māori culture tattoos are produced by carving the skin with chisels – as opposed to needles as in conventional tattooing. Traditionally, the chisels were made of Albatross bones. Later on, metal utensils became more common. The body and face are marked by the symbols and messages which should be conveyed depending on who you are. The creative body art is part of the language, and the intricate symbols are unique to the Māoris. Through ta moko symbols, identity, role and social status can be communicated.
The Māori tattoo practice went a bit down during colonisation and the adoption of Christianity in the 1900s. After being less popular for some years, a renaissance of ta moko tattooing was seen around the 1980s. Again, it became a cultural practice that was widely accepted in New Zealand.
The Māori people still practice the old art of tattooing – Tattoo New Zealand | Photo: Travel In Culture
In the Māori culture, the body and face can be divided into areas with a ritual meaning. What is marked under the eyes is the physical world, and over the eyes, the spiritual. The left and the right sides symbolise the mother and the father, respectively.
The markings are part of a visual language that shows the person’s cultural identity. Men commonly wear ta moko drawings on their face, thighs and arms, whereas women usually wear them on specific parts of the face: the chin and the lips.
The Māoris live in small village communities around Rotorua | Photo: Travel In Culture
The Māori people still live in small communities in New Zealand, practising their unique culture. They have tribal grounds in several places across the North Island – for instance, in Rotorua, the volcanic area with eye-catching thermal activity.
Rotorua sulphur lake | Photo: Travel In Culture
For a modest fee, you can visit their small, local villages. Visitors are invited to attend their singing, dancing and traditional nose-pressing rituals at their sites and try the culinary Hāngi feast cooked in special earth ovens or the boiling thermal pools just outside their houses. By contributing financially to the Māori culture, visitors help the Māori people to hold on to their original identity and lifestyle.
Traditional way of cooking with the use of thermal sources | Photo: Travel In Culture
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