Choosing Maori Tattoo Designs
Click here for maori tribal tattoos
In this maori tattoo design report i am going to let you know a few things about Maori Tattoo Art and what you should try not do.
You will find it helpful when going ahead and eventually deciding on what traditional maori tattoo art you want to get
There are so many mistakes made by people when choosing traditional maori tattoo designs that i see everyday, you will be able to avoid these common pitfalls by following these simple pointers
Right Now with the ever growing popularity of tattoo designs amongst all cultures through our increasing multi cultural society Maori Tattoo Art seem to be the choice of tattoo
traditional maori tattoo designs seems to be at the forefront of tattoos when it comes to getting a tattoo and no wonder when you see Maori Tattoo Art, it makes perfect sence
maori tribal tattoos click here
Many tattoo artists and those looking to get tattoos on them, will often steal other cultures tattoo designs to try come up with their unique designs. This can be seen as originality or artistic flair when looking at other non traditional tattoo designs but should be avoided when looking at maori tattoo designs.
If you are serious on getting a traditional maori tattoo art and this is what you have set your heart on then it would and should be nice for you to learn about the lingo that goes with maori tattoo designs 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 For the family identification part of the maori culture, those that form part of the ta moko family group are known as whakapapa
The reason identification through tattoos was important for the maori was that they were able to distinguish each other on the battle fields by having a look at the tattoos on their body, this also allowed them to know their family history if they moved places over centuries
There are still Maoris that can trace their history with these maori tattoos Amongst the maori of today live a few maori chiefs or maori leaders that would actually be able to tell you which tribe a certain maori tattoo belongs too, when it was done and the history of that tribe There are maori walking around right now in new zealand that have maori tribal tattoos that date back 2,000 years, if one of these chiefs looked at these designs, they would be able to tell how far back they go and yes some of these designs go back over 2,000 years There is a story in each maori tattoo that you see, each one tells a little bit about this maoris tribe and is unique like a finger print to each tribe
So far we have dealt with the ta form but the other part or missing word is moko, and the moko part of any Maori tattoo is the actual carving out of 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 There is a common misconception around the world thinking that maori tattoos in their original sense were only done on the faces, however this is not true, they were also done on peoples bodies, what this allowed them to do was distinguish their chiefs or leaders by having these marking on their faces
Click here for the best Maori Tribal Tattoos
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. At first it might not seem apparent when taking symbols and images from the maori culture without having an idea of what they mean, but you should never do this as they might belong to a family who have had this maor tattoo designs in their family tree for yearsThis 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
From the maoris point of view taking from their culture without asking them or having a design on you that is a replica is a weakening of their identity in terms of their culture, westernising them further through the stealing of their heritage and also they feel that they will eventually have nothing left that is sacred and original for them to hold onto in the future.
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 easiest thing to do is to copy a design, however like i have mentioned this should be avoided, never ever go out and just copy a design that you see on a maori in new zealand
The quickest way to get a traditional maori tattoo design would be to contact someone in new zealand who is in charge of a tribe or a tribal tattoo artist and ask if the design that you are looking at is not someones design already, though this might seem dumb as mentioned we have to be sensitive to a culture that has shrunk over the last 200 years, with the internet this could be done in a matter of hours 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
black tribal dragon tattoos found here
Technorati Tags: maori tattoo designs, maori tribal tattoos, tribal maori tattoos