NANAIA AND HER FACIAL TATTOO

 

NANAIA AND HER FACIAL TATTOO

 

The face or the head of a person are regarded as “particularly sacred” to the Maori people of New Zealand. “So, the carvings that go on the face or head are also particularly sacred,” Mera Lee -Penehira told the BBC. Mera is a professor at the Maori educational institution Te Whare Wananga o Awanuiarangi.

Her comments came after a very unpleasant incident in which Nanaia Mahuta, the first indigenous female to hold the position of Foreign Affairs Minister was severely criticized for wearing a tattoo.  In fact, Nanaia is the first female MP in New Zealand to have a traditional facial tattoo. She was appointed as Minister in a recent cabinet reshuffle.

The person who criticized Nanaia is a white New Zealand author, Olivia Pierson, who said in a tweet that “facial tattoos especially on a female diplomat is the height of ugly, uncivilized wokedom,” the Mail Online reported.

Pierson’s comments “sparked anger” in the country and the response was quick.  “Calls came for her book to be pulled.” The prominent online retailer Mighty Ape withdrew her book. The publisher said it “would not be making the book available again.”

Some people in New Zealand who have a Maori heritage wear tattoos known as moko to mark their genealogy and heritage. Men’s moko tend to cover their entire face while women tend to be on the chin, the BBC article said. Female facial tattoos are carved into the skin using chisels. They have been part of the Maori culture for hundreds of years.

In Ms. Pierson’s opinion, however, “Facial tattoos are ugly on anybody, white, brown or black.”

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Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern recently described her new cabinet as “incredibly diverse.” Reaction in New Zealand to the cabinet has been mainly positive, the BBC report said.