The women in Maori tribes had very significant jobs. Although they could not fight in war or have full facial tattoos, they were considered very sacred because they would provide the tribe with generations to come. Without the women they couldn’t have meetings because the women did the opening calls, a man could not. Women also were in charge of the songs and dances, they were responsible for the stories to get told. They also were supposed to take care of the family and the cooking. The men also helped with the cooking as well. Women were not allowed to be near the carvers or carve at all because of their menstrual cycle. Women played a key role in the Maori culture.
The mokus (facial tattoos) on the women were mainly on the chin. If a woman had them on her nostrils or in between her eyebrows she was very important. She was probably the chief’s wife. The more tattoos you had the higher rank in the tribe you were. The tattoos told your story. It told where you were born, who you were born to, what tribe you belonged to, and what you did. It sometimes also told who you were to be married to. In the old days of the Maoris the mokus were chiseled into your skin. It was scarred into your skin. It was a very painful process and tattooists were held in the highest respect.
Without women in the Maori culture it would be impossible to have meetings, greet other tribes, and have families. Maori women are often over-looked but they play a key point of the culture with dance and song. The art of poi, which was first a strengthening tool for the men, the women turned it into a dance, a very beautiful one. Women brought new ideas to the culture.
Tags: high school, Kayaking, maori women, New Zealand
