New Zealand— Tattoo scenes & cities

Tā moko is the traditional tattoo of the Māori. On the face it is a form of scarification: the uhi, a narrow tool without teeth, cuts grooves into the skin, then small toothed combs deposit a dark pigment in them, somewhat like wood carving. Spirals on the nose, cheeks and jaw, curved rays on the forehead: the rest of the design follows each face.

In the mid-19th century, colonisation and the adoption of Christianity disrupted the practice; in several districts women were still being tattooed in the 1920s. Te Papa museum, through its Karanga Aotearoa programme, secures the return of preserved tattooed heads, the toi moko. The first repatriation from France left the Rouen museum on 9 May 2011.