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Download AudioWāhine in Heretaunga held a wānanga supporting Havelock North’s mother Jay Scott, who was told to leave a play area because of her moko kauae.
About 400 people gathered at the Havelock North reserve, with many of them sharing their own stories about getting and wearing the facial tattoo.
Kuia Raina Ferris, from Pōrangahau, says they wanted to flip a negative incident into something positive.
The underlying thread was to support Jay and help her overcome the pouriness of it all and that was not a problem because she was such a beautiful, positive young wahine and she was ready to help educate those whine and everyone else who had their ideas about moko kauae,” she says.
Raina Ferris says the hui was about celebrating the sacredness and beauty of moko kauae and whanaungatanga and celebrating being Māori.
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