A Māori whānau is doing numbers on TikTok for showing off their temporary moko kauae and having fun getting them done.
Attracting over 2 million views and around 230k likes since it was posted a month ago, the video by @beeekazama shows the mother stamping on her daughters' moko kauae as they get a couple of braids done before finally showing off their best pukana.
The vibes are just awesome in the video and the comments keep that positive energy going.
“There's something so beautiful about this, a sense of freedom of cultural identity. Liberating” one comment says.
“OMG this is so great love that the little ones can participate before they get their own,” another commenter wrote.
“Proud, beautiful and the next generation,” a third added. “Thank you for allowing us to be here for this.”
“Nothing more beautiful than passing our culture onto our children,” one more read.
Traditional Māori tattooing has been getting a bit of publicity in recent times.
In September of last year, TV presenter Mike McRoberts got a large, intricately designed tattoo dedicated to his family. It was part of a mini-documentary series titled ‘Kia Ora, Good Evening’, which followed Mike and the McRoberts family as he “reclaimed a taonga that was lost to his whānau a generation ago.”
Mike is in visible pain during the process, wincing in pain as his family surrounds and encourages him.
Earlier this year a discussion on cultural tattoos sparked up online after a man in the UK tweeted he was interested in getting a Samoan tattoo.
Other Twitter users advised him against it, saying he shouldn’t consider it if he’s not part of the culture. Someone else later chimed in, saying in their opinion it’s fine to add it to your body as long as you appreciate the culture and significance of the markings.
