Tā moko is the permanent marking or "tattoo" as traditionally practised by Māori, the indigenous people of New Zealand. It is one of the five main Polynesian tattoo styles.
Sketch of a Māori chief, 1773 engraving by T. Chambers based on a 1769 drawing by Sydney Parkinson, from the 1784 edition of A Journal of a Voyage to the South Seas
"Portrait of a young Maori woman with moko", by Louis John Steele (1891)
Portrait of Tāmati Wāka Nene by Gottfried Lindauer (1890)
Painting by Gottfried Lindauer of tā moko being carved into a man's face by a tohunga-tā-moko
A tattoo is a form of body modification made by inserting tattoo ink, dyes, and/or pigments, either indelible or temporary, into the dermis layer of the skin to form a design. Tattoo artists create these designs using several tattooing processes and techniques, including hand-tapped traditional tattoos and modern tattoo machines. The history of tattooing goes back to Neolithic times, practiced across the globe by many cultures, and the symbolism and impact of tattoos varies in different places and cultures.
A sailor's forearm tattooed with a rope-and-anchor drawing, against the original sketch of the design; see sailor tattoos.
An example of a tattoo design
Application of a tattoo to a woman's foot
An identification tattoo on a survivor of the Auschwitz concentration camp
