Maori Chiefs & Warriors - ebook

Introduction

Cook and many after him described the Maori and their customs extensively. Artists such as Gottfried Lindauer (1839-1926) portrayed over a hundred Maori, mostly tribal leaders (pp. 38-41).

Chiefs would spend a great deal of time on their appearance. Their hair was usually tied up in a knot, with one or more feathers stuck into it; preferably those of the huia, which are velvety black and tipped with white. They wore green stones in their ears, but large shark’s teeth – status enhancing yet difficult to find – were highly coveted. Chiefs wore a human figure, hei tiki, also made of

green stone, around their neck (pp. 38, 52).

But the grand ornament was the moko, or tattoo. Chiefs had their faces and thighs completely covered, the women only their lips and chins, with the wakatehe, a design resembling an inverted crown.

The Maori were excellent wood carvers who carved beautiful designs into their canoes, utensils and houses. They worked the skin in much the same way as they did wood. Grooves would be tapped into the skin using a chisel, uhi, and a small hammer, mahoe, after which red or blue dye would be pushed into the freshly made wounds.

When Captain Cook reached New Zealand he saw, from afar, the fierce Maori perform a wild war dance, the Haka. The deep grooves in the faces of the warriors, their synchronised movements, defiant facial expressions and their intimidating harmonious singing filled the hearts of Cook and his companions with terror.

maori chiefs & warriors

designs from the pacific

Because the procedure was incredibly painful and resulted in fierce swelling, only a small part of the design could be done at a time. Because of the grooves and tattoos on the lips, freshly tattooed warriors had to eat using a special feeding funnel.

According to legend, a chief named Mataora brought the moko back from the underworld. But the prevailing theory is that young warriors drew lines on their faces with charcoal before going into battle to instil fear in their enemies. Over time these lines evolved into permanent designs that gave a man a noble, masculine and warlike appearance.

The facial tattoo or moko became so specific to each bearer that the English colonists required a drawing of his facial tattoos as a seal when concluding a contract with a Maori chief (p. 49). Besides the face, also the back, thighs and buttocks were tattooed with large spirals in the style known as puhora.

A person without a moko was a papatea, a ’bare-face’ and a disgrace. With a moko a man was more attractive to girls and more conspicuous in battle. The tattooing itself, or ta-moko (ta = strike), was accompanied by many rituals, and everyone involved was tapu (subject to taboos).

The tattooist, or tohunga-ta-moko, could achieve the status of a priest and some of them became very wealthy and famous. One of them was Aranghie (pp. 54-55), a former slave who worked his way up the ranks with his immaculate skills. He was considered a natural genius, a perfect master in the art, for he produced the most beautiful designs with the greatest precision. Chiefs would travel from far and wide to be tattooed by him. His work was so highly appreciated that even the tattooed skins of fallen warriors were treasured. Of course, the most highly prized of these grisly keepsakes were the heads of chiefs tattooed by Aranghie. They were carefully cut off by either the enemy or a friend, preserved, and placed on the turuturu, a large pole with a cross.Cook and many after him described the Maori and