All high-ranking Maoris were tattooed and those that weren’t were considered to have no social status. Similarly, the “moko” tattoo made the warriors more attractive in the eyes of their women.

Tattooing began in adolescence, accompanied by a host of rites and ritual ceremonies.
The main tattooing tool was a very sharp bone scalpel with both a serrated and a flat edge. The first stage in making a tattoo consisted of making deep incisions in the skin. Then the scalpel was dipped in a pigment, made from the soot of burnt rubber (from the local rubber tree, the Kauri, a large conifer that grows in the Northern forests). At this point the tattoo artist started to tap the skin with the pigment. It was an extremely long and painful procedure; the leaves of the indigenous Karaka tree were often placed on the tattooing incisions to speed up the healing process.

Wars were frequent so warriors had little time to get their strength back. During the healing period it was often impossible to eat on account of the swelling on the face. To nourish themselves warriors therefore drank liquid food through a funnel until they were ready to recommence eating normally.
Before they started practicing full facial tattoos the warriors of north Auckland created spiral tattoos on buttocks and knees.
Women were less tattooed: their lips were highlighted, generally dark blue, and the chin too would be tattooed, while cheeks and forehead would also be embellished with decorative lines.

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