moko

/ ˈməʊkəʊ /

noun

1. Also called: nanua. a Māori tattoo or tattoo pattern

Word History and Origins

Origin of moko¹

Māori

Example Sentences

It depicts the priest with a moko, or facial tattoo, and wearing a pendant known as a hei-tiki around his neck.

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Notable titles include Dodd’s “A Daughter of Fair Verona,” Condie’s “The Unwedding” and Baptiste’s “Moko Magic: Carnival Chaos,” a new book from the author known for her “Jumbies” horror series.

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In it, Jake is now a Na’vi clan leader, and Tyne was offended by how the film reduces ta moko, a type of tattoo that is culturally significant and readable for Maori people, to “abstract, meaningless shapes” that “serve more as an aesthetic” on the characters’ faces and bodies in the movie.

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At a Te Pa o Rakaihautu Māori school in Christchurch, the long hallway between classrooms is adorned with hundreds of pupil portraits - all with traditional Tā moko or facial tattoos painted on.

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Since the 2000s, moko has become increasingly seen and accepted as part of mainstream New Zealand thanks to a new generation of tattoo practitioners, according to the Museum of New Zealand.

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