Maori Culture by John Huria - New Zealand's South Island - page 649

The Arts
There are many collections of Maori taonga (treasures) around the country. Some of the
largest and most comprehensive are at Wellington's Te Papa Museum and the Auckland
Museum. Canterbury Museum in Christchurch also has a good collection, and Hokitika
Museum has an exhibition showing the story of pounamu (nephrite jade, or greenstone).
You can stay up to date with what is happening in the Maori arts by reading Mana
magazine (available from most newsagents), listening to iwi stations ( www.irirangi.net ) or
weekly podcasts from Radio New Zealand ( www.radionz.co.nz ) . Maori TV also has regu-
lar features on the Maori arts - check out www.maoritelevision.com .
Maori TV went to air in 2004, an emotional time for many Maori who could at last see
their culture, their concerns and their language in a mass medium. Over 90% of content is
NZ-made, and programs are in both Maori and English: they're subtitled and accessible to
everyone. If you want to really get a feel for the rhythm and meter of spoken Maori from
the comfort of your own chair, switch to Te Reo, a Maori-language-only channel.
See Ngahuia Te Awekotuku's Mau Moko: The World of Maori Tattoo (2007) for the big picture, with powerful,
beautiful images and an incisive commentary.
Ta Moko
Ta moko is the Maori art of tattoo, traditionally worn by men on their faces, thighs and
buttocks, and by women on their chins and lips. Moko were permanent grooves tapped in-
to the skin using pigment (made from burnt caterpillar or kauri gum soot), and bone
chisels: fine, sharp combs for broad work, and straight blades for detailed work. Museums
in the major centres - Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch - all display traditional im-
plements for ta moko.
The modern tattooist's gun is common now, but bone chisels are coming back into use
for Maori who want to reconnect with tradition. Since the general renaissance in Maori
culture in the 1960s, many artists have taken up ta moko and now many Maori wear moko
with quiet pride and humility.
Can visitors get involved, or even get some work done? The term kirituhi (skin inscrip-
tions) has arisen to describe Maori motif-inspired modern tattoos that non-Maori can
wear.