Maori women facial tattoo

12 Sep When New Zealand was colonized in the s, the ancient Māori practice of moko kauae—or sacred female facial tattooing—began to fade.

Ta moko - traditional Māori tattooing, often on the face - is a taonga (treasure) A woman's moko is worn on the chin, as well as occasionally appearing on the.

"Portrait of a young Maori woman with moko", by Louis John Steele (). Portrait of Tāmati Wāka Nene by Gottfried Lindauer (). Tā moko is the permanent marking of the face and body as traditionally practised by Māori, the Tattoo arts are common in the Eastern Polynesian homeland of Māori, and the traditional.