For a long time now body art and decoration has been a custom in many cultural groups. Through research we have learned about the different types of body art and ornamentation such as permanent and nonpermanent tattooing, scarification, and piercings. These forms of body art and ornamentation are done for a variety of reasons, ranging from identification purposes to religious rituals. “Skin, as a visible way of defining individual identity and cultural difference, is not only a highly elaborated preoccupation in many cultures; it is also the subject of wide-ranging and evolving scholarly discourse in the humanities and social sciences” (Schildkrout, 2004). The process of ornamentation and body art is usually a painful experience, but it is a way to signify a person’s self-discovery and their place in society. In this paper, I will explore the different aspects of body art and ornamentation in two different cultures; the Maori people of New Zealand and the Yoruba’s of West Africa and explain the cultural importance of their art. Throughout West Africa it is not uncommon to come across people that have scar stripe patterns on their cheeks. The facial stripes that they wear are not produced by paint or tattoos, like many other cultures, but only by scarification. However, in his article, Orie explains that not all of the Yoruba people have the facial stripes. Okola is a term used for describing someone whose face is scarred, it means ‘the one with facial stripes’. People that do not have the stripes are referred to as oboro, or ‘plain, not striped face’ (Orie, 2011). While there are many different patterns of stripes worn by the Yoruba people in West Africa, it is always both cheeks that are striped. Most of the time, the stripes on each cheek are symmetrical, however, there are times when asymmetrical patterns are present. When asymmetrical patterns are present it is because wealthy or royal families have intermarried. You will never see someone that only has stripes on one cheek though.
In the Yoruba culture, facial stripes are primarily used to represent their lineage and family membership that explain status, obligations, and duties. Secondarily, they are seen as a symbol of beauty or a derogatory symbol to keep troublesome kids alive. In his article Orie states that “Every Yoruba is born into a patrilineal clan” (Orie, 2011). When the children are born their parents decide when the scarification will take place, this usually happens between the age of three weeks to three months. The procedure is done by an oloola or akomola which is a professionally trained specialist. The procedure is said to be performed at dawn to help minimize the loss of blood, dawn being the coldest part of the day. The patrilineal stripes declare the clan membership of the children, and ensure that they are not denied the entitlements and rights of the clan members. There are many differences in the length, depth, spacing, and the placement of the stripes on the face. It may seem difficult to be able to be able to tell so much information about someone simply from the stripes on their face, but as Orie explains, for those that can read the traditional stripes, a brief look at someone’s face is enough to identify the town, regional affiliation, or family of that person (Orie, 2011).
In the Maori culture of New Zealand, tattoos are distinct and unique, not only in their design, but also their significance. Palmer and Tano explain in their article that there are two methods that are involved when creating a moko tattoo. There is the method of carving away at the flesh and pigment so that it leaves dark and deep lines, then there is the more traditional tattooing, which is done though by using a sharp-toothed comb to go under the skin (Palmer & Tano, 2004). The body is tattooed, while the carving is saved for the facial area only. The Maori men had their faces, thighs, and lower torso tattooed. The women also tattooed their face, but it was usually only the chin and lips, however, they tattooed their bodies as well. The work of body art was not simply for decoration, it was of importance, symbolizing their social and religious life while also containing information about the person’s lineage, tribe, and rank. As explained by Nikora, Rua, & Te Awekotuku in their article, older people tended to me more adorned in moko than younger people because the tattoos took years to obtain (Nikora, Rua, & Te Awekotuku, 2007).
Palmer and Tano explain that the women with full-face moko were equal or even higher ranking than the male chiefs in their generation. Their moko was their presentation of the status that they held (Palmer & Tano, 2004). These women were typically not married and thought of symbolically as men. This tattooing ceremony was an important rite of passage for the chiefly ranking women that was done individually and marked their entry into womanhood. Each moko was unique to that person and contained information about the person’s rank, tribe, lineage, and occupation. There were enough forms of the Maori tribal styles that you could tell the regional or tribal affiliation based on the location of the moko or the patterns used. To the Maori people, the head is thought to be the most sacred part of the body, so to wear the moko on your face was seen as a declaration of who you are. The tattooed head were so sacred that often they would take the heads of the deceased and smoke and dry them to preserve them. They saved the heads as a personal remembrance to remind the families of their leadership.
Both forms of body art and ornamentation used by Yoruba and Maori people are thought of as sacred practices. The scarification on the Yoruba women symbolizes her courage and ability to endure the pain of childbirth. Yoruba women without the scars are seen as without character and weak. They believe that the scarification has healing powers and is an important part of their tribal identity. The Yoruba people also believe in abiku spirits, which is a child that dies soon after birth and return to the spirit world. If a woman has multiple children that die this way when she has one that lives the child is often given a derogatory facial mark so to stop a spirit from taking them into the spiritual world. The moko is also an extremely sacred process that has very strict protocol. It showed the status and personal divine power of the person receiving it. According to Palmer and Tano, “The person receiving the moko could not speak, feed himself, or be touched by anyone else. He was also limited in the kind of vessels he could eat from and the food he could eat” (Palmer & Tano, 2004). The person that was being tattooed was fed through a funnel so that they could eat, but would not be touched by a contaminated substance. When the process was completed the person was not to wash or have sex until the tattoo was healed.
Both of the Yoruba and the Maori people practice intricate forms of decoration and body art as a way to express who they are and also show the importance of themselves. Although they are different in the ways that they go about adorning themselves with their markings, they both used their skin as a canvas to express important cultural beliefs and practices. Both of these cultures endure the pain and use their body art as a way to express their individuality, but also show their lineage and status. Their forms of art may seem extreme, painful, and even harsh to an outsider, but to them it is their culture and a sacred tradition of their people.

Nikora, L. W., Rua, M., & Te Awekotuku, N. (2007). Renewal and resistance: moko in contemporary New Zealand. Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology, 17(6), 477-489. Retrieved from the EBSCOhost database.
Orie, O. O. (2011). The structure and function of Yoruba facial scarification. Anthropological Linguistics, 53(1), 15-33. Retrieved from the EBSCOhost database.
Palmer, C., & Tano, M. L. (2004). Mokomokai: Commercialization and Desacralization. Significance of Moko and Mokomokai in Maori Culture. International Institute for Indigenous Resource Management. Retrieved from http://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-PalMoko-t1-body-d1-d2.html Schildkrout, E. (2004). Inscribing the body. Annual Review of Anthropology, 33(1), 319-344. Retrieved from the EBSCOhost database.