Maori Art

The Maori's made lots of things, but their favourite things were carving (they carved in wood, bone and stone), tattooing (ta moko) with an extremely sharp bone, weaving (they weaved decorative wall panels for important buildings to working clothing and bags) and painting. They don't have a preference between art or craft.

The Maori's made art because to them it was very spiritual and transferred information about ancestry and other culturally important topics. They carve to show spirit, they tattoo because they believe it links mana or for a sense of pride and prestige, they weave because it is an art passed down from their ancestors and a strong symbol of their culture and they paint to give visual form and shape to their cultural beliefs and it expressed spiritual ideas in natural materials.

INTERESTING FACT:

The Maori's had a custom of taking tattooed heads of enemies killed in battle and keeping them as trophies.