MOKO
79
moko are elaborately carved feeding funnels,
korere, used to give water and liquefi ed foods
to a person who has received moko around the
mouth. The recipient is in a heightened state of
tapu while undergoing moko, and therefore the
funnel is a way to safely feed them. The funnel
also helped to mitigate infection of the area
while healing.
Moko is done in stages, and it is unclear
whether the stages are markers of a person’s
advancement through their deeds or if there are
other criteria. When studying images from the
nineteenth century, usually it is the lines from
nose to cheek that come fi rst, and at some point
in their late teens or early twenties men receive
the tiwhana lines above their brows marking
them as warriors. Not every person in the course
of their lives received a full-face moko kanohi.
This was usually for those of authority. Today,
moko is done in various ways, sometimes in
stages or sometimes in one sitting, dependent on
the stamina of the artist and the sitter.
Both female and male facial moko are set out
to use the negative space of unmarked skin between
the dark lines to create strikingly dynamic
designs. Each facial moko has a vertical division
of the face along a central compositional clear
line rising from the chin to the upper forehead.
Upon this foundation, designs with layered
meanings are placed. Most of these designs are
elaborate arrangements of the curved spiral-like
line known as koru. This series of arrangements
of designs is organized by the tohunga to create
unique patterns suited for each individual. This
is particularly evident in the asymmetrical patterns
at the sides of the face, especially on the
cheek just in front of the ears. In this area, certain
designs identifi ed the extent of the wearer’s
authority and their fi eld of expertise. The female
moko kauae chin designs equally vary greatly;
however, many of the forms are seemingly generic,
as they were perpetuations of hereditary
and tribal connections, with the design passing
from grandmother to mother to daughter.
In the 1830s, the wearing of moko started to
dissipate in the face of a changing society with
increasing numbers of colonial settlers. The revival
period of the “Maori wars” of the 1860s
was short lived, and the need for male facial
moko swiftly ended with the cessation of war in
FIG. 6 (above):
Tāmati Wāka Nene (c. 1785–1871), Ngapuhi iwi.
By John N. Crombie (1827–1878).
Aotearoa, 1856–1860.
Cased ambrotype. 5.6 x 7 cm.
National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, inv. 2010.946.
This ambrotype of Tāmati Wāka Nene is among the earliest
of Māori photographic images. In this image, Nene’s moko
paruhi reveals the depth of the kokoti cheek spirals and
markings on the bridge of his nose, indicating his moko was
created using chisels, uhi. The moko at the central section
of the forehead indicates his position as a paramount
rangatira.15
Nene was active as a warrior leader in the Ngāpuhi
raids led by Hongi Hika across the North Island during the
Musket Wars against other Māori tribes. He became one
of the most infl uential rangatira of New Zealand in later
years. Nene was a skillful politician, using his infl uence in
the forming of the United Tribes of New Zealand in 1835,
which brought together many North Island iwi to put
aside hostilities and collectively work toward making New
Zealand an independent state. In 1839 Nene was baptized
“Thomas Walker” (Tāmati Wāka), and he played an active
role in gaining the agreements of rangatira as signatories to
the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840.
During the Northern War of 1845–1846, Nene initially
shared Hōne Heke’s grievances about pākehā governance
in the wake of the Waitangi Treaty but took the new
government’s side and his Ngāpuhi warriors joined
government troops to rout Heke and Kawiti’s forces. Nene’s
work as an intermediary between the resistance leaders
and the government can be credited to the cessation of
the Northern War. After this time, Nene was consulted for
advice regarding Māori affairs by Governor George Grey,
including the arrest and release of the opposing Ngāti Toa
rangatira and war leader Te Rauparaha.