A white woman is sparking outrage in New Zealand for getting a traditional Maori face tattoo — and using it to promote her life coaching business.
Sally Anderson, who is married to a Maori man, says the moko tattoo on her chin symbolizes her ability to get past what she’s gone through in life, including a violent gang rape in her youth, the BBC reported.
Her website stated that the simple design “explains the transformative work that Sally does,” according to the outlet.
But some Maori leaders say it isn’t appropriate for her to use their sacred design for self-promotion.
“It’s not acceptable,” said Mera Lee-Penehira, associate professor at Te Share Wānanga o Awanuiārangi school in New Zealand. “You can only have it if you have a genealogy that is Maori. It reflects who we are and it represents your family, your sub-tribes and tribes.”
Mokos are carved in the skin using chisels and are a sacred tradition, denoting a person’s familial links and cultural identity.
Face tattoos, called moko kauae, are of a particular importance.
“Maori regard the face or the head as particularly sacred,” Lee-Penehira said. “So the carvings that go on the face or head are also particularly sacred.”
In a passionate Facebook post reported by the outlet, artist Ngahina Hohaia said the Maori tattoo artist who worked on Anderson should have refused.
The moko “stands as a bastion of our survival,” she wrote. “Cultural appropriation has pillaged almost every other taonga [treasure] sacred to our people. The line is drawn here.”
The tattoo artist, Inia Taylor, said he had “strong reservations” about carrying out the work, but that after a lot of back and forth, he realized the only reason he would deny doing the tat was because of Anderson’s race.
He did complain to Anderson recently that she seemed to be using the moko to promote her business. While she took down the reference to the sacred tat, the pictures showcasing it remained.
Anderson had no comment on the outrage, but her husband, Roger Te Tai, who has a full-face moko, told TV show “Te Karere” that she is “more Maori” than anyone who criticizes her will ever be.
“Because her heart is pure, always has been. Her soul is a pure soul,” he said. “When you judge a person and you haven’t met them, what does that say about you?”