Portal:New Zealand/Selected article/Week 21, 2006
Tā moko is the cultural practice of tattooing practiced by the Māori, the indigenous people of New Zealand. It was brought by the Māori from their Eastern Polynesian homeland, and the implements and methods employed were similar to those used in other parts of Polynesia.
It is thought that in traditional society many or most high-ranking persons were tattooed, and those who went without tattoos were seen as persons of lower social status, although servants were tattooed with patterns that signalled that they were the slave of a high ranking chief.
The receiving of tattoos constituted an important milestone on a person's journey to maturity and was accompanied by many rites and rituals. The patterns used were highly significant of a person's rank, skills, knowledge, personal life history, tribal affiliations and genealogy. Another reason for the practice in traditional times was to make a person more attractive to the opposite sex.