| Maori are the indigenous inhabitants of New | | | | the tattooing process was extremely terrifying, |
| Zealand whose ancestors were migrants from | | | | painful and long, it was a sacred event. Tattooing |
| the Eastern Polynesia between AD800 to 1300. | | | | was usually accompanied by traditional flute music |
| Carrying with them to the new land was the rich | | | | performance and poems chanting in order to help |
| Polynesian cultures as well as the unique Maori | | | | the bearers eased the pain while their bodies |
| tribal tattoo arts. | | | | were being chiseled with lines and curved patterns. |
| Ta moko, referred to tattoos in Maori language, | | | | Due to extensive pain induced by any body |
| were traditional tattoo lines carved on the face | | | | movement, the bearers would not be able to eat |
| and other parts of the body using a sharp or a | | | | any solid food until the wounds on the face were |
| serrated bone chisel from the sea bird. Although | | | | recovered. |