Ta Moko: Maori Tattooing

Ever since I read Keri Hulme’s The Bone People, I have been fascinated with Maori symbols and tattoos, particularly the meanings and significance behind each line of the work. The facial tattoos kinda scared me, but the patterns were still captivating.   According to...

Maori Haka Dance

Aotearoa, “the land of the long white cloud,” is more commonly known to its visitors as New Zealand. Its beautiful mountains, fields, rivers and streams boast more than just being the filming place of the popular Lord of the Rings trilogy; they are home to a proud and...

The People of the Sea

My oldest grandson is a mix of a lot of ethnicities–he is, on one half–Maori, Tongan, Hawaiian, Chinese, Samoan with traces of Fijian and on the other half a European mix from Norway to the Netherlands. His name reflects this mixture, influenced by his...