Taking Up Tā Moko
Te Ao Māori • University • Short-film
How do you ‘be Māori’ when you feel you don’t belong?
• Film Production
• 2D Animation
• Videography
• 2D Animation
• Videography
'What the f*ck is an Urban Māori?'
Using my own life journey, I aim to highlight the concern of ‘Urban Māori’ who face reduced opportunities for cultural expression and cultural endorsement within western society. Lacking foundation in my Mātauranga Māori I share a sense of disconnection, detachment and isolation from a world I intrinsically belong to ...
'Nobody can tell me how Maori I am, that's already decided by my whakapapa?'
I unpack my process to uncover knowledge about my Whakapapa; engaging in korero with my whanau about our hitori and visiting my manawhenua to gain a better understanding of what Turangawaewae means. A painfully confronting experience of ignorance which is inevitably lifted, which encourages my pathway to embodiment ...
'I was confident in the kaupapa, why I was getting it'
During this point the and intention and direction aligned. By going through hitori, gaining Matauranga and understanding how I connect with other people and my ancestors - the importance to receive Tā Moko as a catalyst to embody my cultural identity was not only clear, but my birth rite ...
'Ka kumea tōku moko i te taiao mai ēnei hononga
mauri ō ōku tupuna.'
mauri ō ōku tupuna.'
Through Ta Moko, I acknowledge the combined whakapapa passed to me from my ancestors. The outcome is more than just marks on skin or a one-off project. It is the visual representation and physical embodiment of my cultural identity. Who I am and where I come from. With me for life.
