Tā moko is the art of marking the face and body permanently. It is similar to tattooing, but whereas with a tattoo the skin is punctured with a needle, with Tā moko the skin is carved by chisels. Having a body a face covered in Tā moko was seen as a sign of status. It was also used to make people more attractive to the opposite sex. A Māori tattoo artist it called a tohunga tā moko. Each moko is unique to the wearer and contains ancestral tribe messages that tell of the wearer’s family, tribe, and place in the … Continue reading Tā moko – the Māori art of tattooing