Tā Moko — The Sacred Tattoo

The tā moko is not decoration. It is autobiography. Each line, spiral, and pattern on a Māori face carries specific information about the wearer's genealogy, tribal affiliation, social rank, and life accomplishments. In the 18th and 19th centuries, European traders asked Māori chiefs to sign documents with their tā moko patterns — because the chiefs understood that their face-signature was more binding and more individual than any written name. No two tā moko are alike. No tā moko can be worn by someone who has not earned it. It is the most permanent, most personal, and most culturally loaded mark a human being can carry.

These signs carry the spiral patterns of tā moko, the chisel tool of the tohunga tā moko, and the ancestral genealogy encoded in every line.