What Everyone should know before getting a maori tattoo design
Would you like to avoid the most common mistakes when getting a Maori Tattoo Art? Well then read this article to discover the most common mistakes made by people these days
You will find it helpful when going ahead and eventually deciding on what maori tattoo designs you want to get
There are plenty errors people make when getting traditional maori tattoo designs and i hope that by the end of this article you will avoid the most common mistakes made today
It seems as many people are choosing to be tattooed today and you will notice that maori tattoo designs are often the choice made by people looking for tribal tattoos
traditional maori tattoo art seems to be at the forefront of tattoos when it comes to choosing a tattoo and no wonder when you see traditional maori tattoo art, it makes perfect sence
Click here for maori tribal tattoos
A lot of modern tattoo artists and tattoo enthusiasts looking to for tattoo art will often page through or browse through traditional tribal tattoo designs with the hope of coming up with their own designs. This is understandable in this world where there is no need to re-invent the wheel and especially with tattoo designs, however saying this, it should be avoided when choosing maori tattoo designs
To understand Maori Tattoo Art you need to understand maori tattoo designs terminology. In all walks of life there are phrases and terms that are unique to that particular endeavour and so it is with Maori Tattoo Art Whakapapa is the maori family groups that is associated and forms part of the ta moko family identification
The reason it is important for maoris to know their family history is important especially when they were waring amongst each other over the centuries on and before their arrival of the shores of new zealand
There are still Maoris that can trace their history with these maori tattoossome chiefs can look at a Maori tattoo design, read it like a book, they do this by feeling the texture, looking at the design and the precision that went into getting the tattoo and will be able to trace back some of these Maori family trees.Some of these tattoos go back 2000 years, yes that right all through just looking at the design and finishing of the tattoo they will be able to tell certain maoris families origins. What might not be apparent at first sight to you or i when looking at traditional maori tattoo designs is that each one is an actual story, and each story tells a tale of where this tribe goes back to, their beliefs, spirituality and more.
So you have learnt about the “ta” form of the maori language now its time to introduce the “moko” part that is the important part as it involves the chiseling of the tattoo into the skin
Once upon a time in history when it came to getting a tattoo the maori used the bones of albatrosses to do their inking or they used brutal chiseling tools that would make any modern man cry by cutting deeply into the flesh then painting or coloring which was used to distringuish the family history and the final part was the actual pattern which would then tell you the story of this maori tribe So lets say you were an elder in a maori circle someone who knew a lot about maori history if, if some one brought you a design, you would be able to by looking at the design the moko and the maori tribal tattoo pattern be able to trace their family history, much like someone using computers to find out their ancestry, they would be able to do the same Many people teach that or tell other that maori tattoos in their original roots of tattoo designs were only done on the face and now they have moved to other parts of the body now, however this is utter rubbish they have been done for centuries on maoris bodies, it was only people high up in maori circles who tended to get these tattoos
Maori Tribal Tattoos found here
Many westerners like to imitate Maori tattoo designs and as the saying goes, imitation is a form of flattery, but not in all cases especially when getting a Maori tattoo design. You should never go and copy anything in the form of tattoos from the maoirtanga without having a clue as to what it means, there could be a chance that a certain design belongs to a maori familyThis is what will happen if you just go out there and start copying maori tattoo designs
Would you like to know what maori`s think of white people and other cultures that steel their maori tattoo designs?
The word “pakeha” might not mean anything to you as a westerner however in the maoris language it is associated with negativity, those that never asking for anything and simply take without asking! Wouldn’t you say that this sounds more like stealing someones culture? Well this is what the maori think of other people and especially the western world for taking their tattoos, they feel that not only did they loose their land but also now they are loosing their culture of tattoo designs
The Maori see maori tattoo designs that are not done right as weakening their spirituality, their culture, and see the west as thieves for not having their own originality when getting maori tattoo designs.
So now that you understand some of these ideas and concepts how is this going to help you in finding the right maori tattoo?
The safest thing for anyone like you to do is to perhaps look at a few designs for inspiration but try never ever to copy the design like it is on maoris in newZealand.
The best thing to do in this case when seeing a traditional maori tattoo design that you like would be to contact someone in new zealand that actually deals with maori tattoo designs and ask them what they think, yes i know this doesnt seem logical or easy but it is for the sake and request of this culture it is what makes the maori the maori! They need these designs and they need you to respect their requests or you could be contributing to their doom as a culture that might not be around in the next 300 years! Maoris are really only annoyed when you just take, they might even grant you a special maori tattoo for asking, do you want to know how many people would actually ask for a design? Not many! That’s right if you ask you will more likely be given the go ahead for a special maori tattoo design, this way it will be even more unique and you will have a one of a kind maori tattoo design that you can be proud of