The early voyagers, missionaries, settlers all reacted to the pukanohi, to the marked
faces of the Maori people during the period of first contact, and the century following
it. Their accounts are vivid, judgemental, revealing, telling us as much about them, as
it does about the people they described. Curiosity and horror are mixed with a
genuine fascination; where sternly evangelizing words failed, armed confrontation
occurred; and we now live with the results, te ao hou, a new world.
In this world, today, wahine mau kauae, tangata mau moko, pukanohi - wearers - are
speaking for themselves, about themselves, and commenting on how others view
them. Unanimously, they insist the decision to take the marking is about continuity,
affirmation, identity, and commitment. It is also about wearing those ancestors,
carrying them into the future; as their moko become a companion, a salient being with
its own life force, its own integrity and power, beyond the face.
