May 01, 2019
Interest in moko birthright grows
A tāmoko tattoo artist who specialises in moko kauae says she’s proud of wāhine who choose to wear the moko on their face.
Joni Brooking of Ngāti Porou did a three year apprenticeship with Mark Kopua before dedicating herself to the moko kauae revival, and says in the dozen years since it has grown to more than 80 percent of her practice.
She often works through mokopapa wānanga, where iwi and hapū put up candidates to get the ancient marks.
While they are open to tāne, it is predominantly women seeking facial moko.
"They have more courage and wāhine are stepping up and taking the markings and that's what we say, toto Māori, it's your birthright, it’s your whakapapa," Ms Brooking says.
Moko kauae is not just for older women, and in ancient times Māori started getting moko relatively young.
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