Maori Tattoo Design

Maori tattoos have a history that dates back to the ancient times. People believe that the Maori tattoo design originated in New Zealand, but it is not known for sure. At that time, human settlements lived as tribes and groups. People of those tribes wanted a way to differentiate the people of their tribes from those of other tribes and make the process of identification easier. Hence, the Maori tattoos were invented.

Apart from differentiating between people belonging to different tribes, Maori tattoo designs were also used to identify people belonging to the same family. These tattoos were a way to determine the origin of a person or history linked to his family. They also used to indicate all the events in the life of a person and that of his family.

Maori tattoos were initially done on the face only. Tattooing was done with dark ink and sharp chisel. However, these tattoos were later done on the entire body. Maori tattoo design was a popular method used by the tribes to remind themselves of their past. These tattoos would remind the person about the culture of his ancestors and the tribe to which they belonged.

Maori tattoos were extremely painful to take. Since they were done on the face, there was a high probability that a person’s facial features might get disfigured. Many people have cited concerns regarding the whole process of tattooing where there is a chance that the person might get infected easily and also leave huge scars on his face.

Since these tattoos are extremely difficult to do, the person should get a skilled artist to do it for him. He must also make sure that he likes the tattoo design because these tattoos take up a large part of the body space and getting rid of them might be nearly impossible.