著者

秦 玲子

出版者

日本ニュージーランド学会

雑誌

日本ニュージーランド学会誌 (ISSN:18839304)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.18, pp.53-66, 2011-06-18

---

The purpose of this paper is revealing how people revitalized Moko/Maori Tattoo. Maori people have strongly revitalized many cultural aspects in New Zealand from 1960s-70s. Moko is one of the cultural aspects revitalized, and now Moko, especially facial Moko, is acknowledged as an important cultural aspect of Maori and often symbolizes Maori on TV or in Magazines. However, the process of the revitalization of Moko/Maori Tattoo and Ta Moko/Maori Tattooing is unveiled. From the early contact period, the 18th-19th century, Moko have always attracted people's attention. There are many Europeans' writings and drawings on Moko, and some researches which examine those historical records. However, the research on the revitalization is not fully advanced. Though there are some photographic works and academic researches on the revival, it is still unclear that how the revitalization has been progressed and how Ta Moko is practiced now. This paper examines and put in order the history of the revitalization. The main materials to draw the picture are local magazines, news papers and interviews with artists. The key aspect of the revitalization is detaching "Maori Moko" from marginality or stigmatism of "tattoo", which is also parallel to making more positive public view on Maori. After the practice of Ta Moko stopped in the middle of 20th century, tattooing practice was carried out by local gangs and activists. Though gang and global tattoo culture played a great roll to keep the practice, Moko was added marginality. The people who got rid of the stigmatism from Moko are the artists who came in the late 1980s-90s from Maori Arts. Through Ta Moko Wananga/Ta Moko learning or seminar and Ta Moko events, they educated people and reclaimed the positive view of Moko within Maori Culture.