Something related to Andrew's Maori style of engraving ...

This History Channel featured a program on the Maori people of New Zealand ... specifically the rebirth of their facial tattoo tradition. I don't know when it will be on again, however I found the segment posted on YouTube.

Since we get see such great engraving on the subject ... thought this would be of related interest to the engraving community. Enjoy ... it's 9 minutes long but worth every minute!!

(can't seem to embed the video so here's the link )

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGsWIbdNCBQ

[youtube]SGsWIbdNCBQ[/youtube]

Hi Chris

Thanks for the link. That's great............Eye watering stuff!!!

The ta moko history is a fascinating one and is making a resurgence back in New Zealand. The mixture of traditional and modern design is making some stunning examples of modern Maori art, especially with the younger designers. The story of the heads is interesting as Maori were also known to capture slaves, feed and tattoo them and cut off their heads for trade with the early Europeans. Most of which ended up in private collections or museums. There is a movement now to have them returned which has been quite successful.

Ta moko was also a way of identifying your own tribal and family genealogy and bloodlines along with your status within the tribe. They can also vary quite a bit from region to region and there are some very distinctive styles. When you look at the old photos and paintings by Goldie and Lindauer you can see that the moko scarring gives it a deep set carved and chiseled look.

It's a fascinating subject alright!!

Cheers
Andrew

Andrew,

Is Maori history and culture taught in school in New Zeland or do you have to learn this all on your own?

Hi Roger

Some of it was and most of it wasn't. When I was at school we had Maori studies but they were pretty basic and on a superficial level and sometimes factually wrong. It's always been there in the background kept alive by the elders and older people, especially in some of the more rural areas, but in the 70's there was a strong Maori resurgence/renaissance, especially amongst the younger generation, to bring a lot of it back before it died off, particularly the language. Maori schools were set up teaching the language and many of the younger generation rediscovered or wanted to connect with their roots.

What also helped was in the 80's a process was set up to try and redress past grievances where land was confiscated by the early Europeans. This brought a lot of issues to the headlines and started creating a lot of controversy and awareness to our history as a country. Perhaps one of the hardest things to reconcile is what was standard practice of the time of the earlier settlers and what is now considered to be unacceptable. This is a problem that is being addressed all over the world. Maori had inter tribal war, slaves and cannibalism and Pakeha (Pakeha is a New Zealander of European decent) had international war, stole land and suppressed indigenous tribes. At the time this was all fairly normal procedure. Depending which side of the fence you were on it was either a good thing or a bad thing.............but of course everything has consequences further down the line and unless certain things are addressed then old wounds just continue to fester.

About that time historians also started realizing that some of the things we were taught at school weren't exactly accurate. A plethora of books started coming out and art exhibitions and a general awareness that we had a rich and vibrant culture that had by and large been ignored in many parts of the country.

Today the culture flourishes in language, television the arts and business. Many Maori words, terminology and cultural practices are now commonplace amongst Maori and pakeha alike. It's taught in schools a lot better and probably at a much deeper level than when I was at school and there is a far better understanding of the Maori culture in general amongst both Maori and pakeha.

It can also be a geographic thing as well. For instance I live in the South Island where there isn't a overly large Maori population and it is well spread out. So there wasn't a lot of exposure to it when I was growing up and it was mainly stories of myths and legends. The North Island however has a much higher Maori population and the further north you drive the more you can see evidence of it and the more it is ingrained in local ceremonies and the like.

My generation is perhaps the one that missed out the most as there was a big blank void for so many years. But with books, television and language skills now so widespread and commonplace it's a lot easier to catch up and learn.

Cheers
Andrew

Thanks for the link Christopher, indeed it is interesting knowing some of other cultures. And a pity all of the other cultures where inferior for the “white men”.

arnaud

Hi Arnaud

The superiority complex was not exclusive to the white man and never has been. History is littered with every kind of "ism" that you can possibly think of................Every country in the world has it based on things like the colour of your skin, the shape of your eyes, what religion you practice, what sex you are, what tribe you belong to, where you were born and so on. It is broken down to country, state, province, tribe, family and individual.

Just as history is filled with all sorts blind hatred.................... it is also filled with enlightened people that have actively campaigned and fought against it, and still do, in every culture. We can't change history but how we think, behave and act today will effect our future just as the enlightened people of our past changed things for the better.

Knowing your history and where you came from is important....and the arts is a very good place to start. As you start looking at indigenous art/design and understand the relevance of the meaning behind it, your understanding of the culture is enhanced and a lot of the preconceptions and prejudices start falling away in is replaced with knowledge and acceptance.

I've just purchased a second hand book "Looking at Indian Art of the Northwest Coast" by Hilary Stewart.............that goes into the design, structure,symbolism and stories of the native Americans. Bob Evans has been engraving some of this style of work on guns to great effect. It could easily be adapted within traditional scroll and carried onto a unique art form.

Cheers
Andrew

I knew you'd like that Andrew. I would have channel surfed right by it if you had not introduced the engraving community to it through your work.


Arnaud ... I believe you are referring to "cultural genocide". We won't hear it mentioned in politically correct television programs. It's becoming more common in books. I see it a lot in reference to Southern and Appalachian culture. It's happening everywhere and still to this day.

Great stuff Andrew!! Ain't it amazing how when we learn the truth we realize how much those school books lied to us!!!!

Thank-you Sam for embedding the video for me

Andrew, I agree that all human, whatever colour or culture, first of all took care of themselves. So all over the world there where tribal wars.
But to me the difference is that these tribal wars never damaged the whole culture, as it is a way of surviving. And it worked for some thousand years.
When the Romans started their imperia by conquer half Europe that was different from a tribal war. The Spanish fleets who where out after treasures and faced the old American culture did not have much respect for the locals. They also conquered half of Europe.
Even the Vikings they where “white people”,
I don’t think Africans nor American Indians nor the Aboriginals, Eskimo, ever started a world conquest.
And in a way Christianity was used to justify domination of the white people over all other cultures. As for the emperors, the “others” where the “wild men” without any religion that had to be converted.

Of course head rush and cannibalism look weird if one is not familiar whit it, but it survived for thousands of years, and the white men culture, from the last 2000 years made it possible to change the world in a very short time that now we have to re discover about what was common over the last 500 years.

So sometimes, although it is not my fault, I’m ashamed being a “white man” as there is no other human race that ever build that much of destruction weapons, only to rule the world!

arnaud

I was thinking of the Romans when this topic first started to go in this direction. The mongols, chinese, and the Japanese all had ethnic cleansings and territory grabbing wars that rivaled or surpassed anything the Europeans had commited. Let's not forget that other group that is still hell-bent on world domination, permited slavery, and has supported many ethnic purges as recently as the last century alone, which would be the radical muslim. Its a human thing. I'm sure the Aztecs would have done the same thing to the Spaniards if the technological balance swung the other way. I wouldn't diminish the horrors of tribal warfare either. Just look at what is happening in Africa today.

Chapi, that what is happening in Africa today is a result of what white people did there.
Sure they also had tribal wars, but after almost all Africa was divided by its European owners, we have exploited the African people and told them: “look, you are not that black as your neighbour, you are better than him as long as you work for me”

I only want to say, that Africa is the cradle of man kind, but again it are the white men who disturbed their habitat.
For instance, Congo was property of Belgium, if the black didn’t want to work for the white men on the rubber plantings, they simply cut of their hands.
And now we try to educate the black African that he could live like we want them to do, and the old culture of the African does not exist anymore, so what is the alternative for the black Africans?
And the Muslim, you forgot about Crusaders?
But perhaps it is better not to talk about politics, as it is far from topic.

arnaud

OK.......We could argue the wrongs of the world till the cows come home.

So......lets try and keep this one on track please, otherwise I can see it going pear shaped.

Chris started with a simple and very interesting clip from youtube about tattooing and indigenous design............so lets stick to that. It's a far better topic

Cheers
Andrew

Picture

Chistopher, I have this drawing of a Maori chief on leather from new zealand, it was sent to a friend of my wife's by here fiance in 1942. It was given to me by her before she passed. Just sent a picture to Andrew, he sent me back a great history on it, will post a picture.

Hi Knobs, That's beautiful. What a fantastic bit of history. Thank-you for posting it.

Here's the e-mail I sent to Deane that tells you what the item is. I've also attached a picture of the huia bird that became extinct around the 1920's. Also attached are couple of Charles Goldie paintings that show traditional moko and a photo.............. You can see the "carved" texture of it.

Cheers
Andrew

That is a very nice item you have there. I would say that it's a souvenir item that was very popular right up till the 1970's.

The Maori chief is wearing Huia (who-e-ah) feathers in his head. The Huia bird was a particularly beautiful bird and it's feathers highly prized by Maori, but sadly the Huia is now extinct.

The tattoo's are called Moko and if done properly will tell the lineage of the wearer. It was common for Maori men to have their faces fully covered like this and the women just had their chins done. Not in common practice now but some Maori still get it done to identify with their cultural roots.

Around his neck is a pounamu (po-nah-moo) (greenstone/jade) tiki which was another highly prized possession of Maori. Early missionaries thought it to be a symbol of fertility but in fact Tiki was the first man created by the God Tane lord of the forest.

The words "Kia-Ora" (Key-or-ah) is a traditional Maori greeting...........it's literal translation is "be well" or "be healthy" and it is in very common use in new Zealand as a greeting...........basically used as "hello"

Rotorua is a place in the central North Island of New Zealand famous for it's lakes and it is also a thermal region with geysers and hot mud pools. It has a constant smell of sulpher in the air. It is a large tourist attraction because of all this.