Perpetuating the art of traditional tattooing almost erased by colonization


In December, journalist Oriini Kaipara became the first Maori woman to present the primetime news while sporting traditional symbols on her chin.

They are called moko kauae.

A few months earlier, in 2020, New Zealand MP Nanaia Mahuta had become the first Maori woman appointed as foreign minister. And therefore, the first to display a moko kauae on the international political scene.

the moko kauae is a sacred tattoo traditionally worn by Maori women. It covers most of the chin and lips. The male equivalent is mataorawhich can cover most of the face.

The increasing visibility of these tattoos is the realization of a dream for Julie Paama-Pengelly, Maori activist and artist who contributed to its resurgence in the 1990s.

When we started this period of rebirth several years ago, that’s what we had hoped for. »

A quote from Julie Paama-Pengelly, Maori artist

But I didn’t think it would come out so bigshe confided to the microphone of Rosanna Deerchild, the host of the radio show Unreservedon CBC.

In the Canadian Far North too

From the Maori of New Zealand to the Inuit of Canada, indigenous peoples around the world are reviving traditional tattoos and designs, after being stigmatized under the effects of Western colonialism.

In Canada, former Nunavut MP Mumilaaq Qaqqaq was the first elected official on Parliament Hill to wear designs on her face and chin. In a 2019 interview, she said she preferred to call them symbols. traditionally inspired.

Incumbent Member of Parliament for Nunavut, Mumilaaq Qaqqaq.

Former Nunavut MP Mumilaaq Qaqqaq.

Photo: The Canadian Press/Justin Tang

In Canada, the recent revival of Inuit tattoos (including face tattoos, called tunniit) was notably led by Hovak Johnston, designer of the Inuit Tattoo Revitalization Project.

The young Inuk from Nunavut learned the tattoo technique called hand poke (using a manual device rather than an electric one), after noticing that this ancient practice was about to die out.

She has since traveled to communities across Canada’s North to teach the techniques and their historical significance.

Aedan Corey attended such an event in his hometown of Cambridge Bay, Nunavut in 2016. Before that, she hadn’t seen anyone in the community with a traditional Inuit tattoo. She describes the experience as a incredibly special moment.

A woman poses for the photo

Inuk artist Aeden Corey.

Photo: Courtesy Aeden Corey

The tattoo on the chin of the young lady has a special meaning. Her great-great-grandmother wore the same designs.

In the Inuk culture, it is said that some of the people whose names we keep remain within us. So I thought it would be appropriate to receive the same tattoo as my ancestor portrait. »

A quote from Aedan Corey

But it’s not just a personal gesture. By reviving the art of Inuk tattooing, the young artist is helping to revive a practice largely erased from collective memory.

During the process of assimilation to Christianity, we as Inuit were not allowed to practice tattooing. It was considered wrong by the missionaries and it became something of an underground practiceexplains the young woman.

Countering the effects of colonization

Anishinaabe singer and storyteller Isaac Murdoch has 17 tattoos on his body. Many of them depict adult and baby thunderbirds, which play a central role in a story his father often told him as a child.

In history, thunderbirds fought serpents, and baby thunderbirds represent the next generation of life on the planet. He says he only shares the details of the story at ceremonies, to keep her the respect and integrity she deserves.

It’s a very, very beautiful story of how our people are going back to the land and back to their traditional way of life.says Isaac Murdoch, who sees an analogy between this story and the revival of ancestral tattooing.

A man poses for the photo with three small bird tattoos on his face.

Singer and storyteller Isaac Murdoch

Photo: Courtesy Alex Usquiano

Wearing these stories on a more permanent medium, like one’s own skin, makes them a symbol of strength and integrity, according to this member of the Serpent River First Nation in Ontario.

Because the Canadian government has deliberately suppressed this knowledge, it feels good to wear it on our bodies. »

A quote from Isaac Murdoch, Anishinaabe singer and storyteller

It’s just a beautiful feeling to come into society, to say, “Hey, I’m Native. I have Native tattoos. They tell a story. We’re still here. We’ve survived. Our story has survived”.

The ransom of success

Juile Paama-Pengelly recounts that the same attempt at erasure had happened to the Maoris. The 1907 law had banned all traditional practices, including medicine and art.

For nearly a century, the your momo was practiced underground, Ms. Paama-Pengelly worked alongside politically motivated artists, language and culture experts in the 1990s to bring about its renaissance.

Thanks in part to their efforts, the stigma surrounding the your moko started to fade in New Zealand, but not entirely. Shortly after being promoted to the post of Foreign Minister of New Zealand, Nanaia Mahuta faced criticism from some public figures and on social media.

Another challenge: to face the ransom of glory. As tā moko have gone from obscurity to light, Julie Paama-Pengelly fears that they are suffering from the phenomenon of cultural appropriation.

Some non-Maori people, she says, have chosen to get tattoos in the Maori style. They are often called kirituhi. I don’t have much tolerance for it.

Based on text by Jonathan Ore, CBC from the radio show Unreserved.



Reference-ici.radio-canada.ca

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