The Story behind Traditional Maori 1）Tattoos

⊙ By David Leveille ⊙ 翻譯：BillyBudd

文身，或者刺青，對我們來說并不陌生，現代人的文身會被視為一種時尚。其實，文身有至少兩千多年的歷史了，它是原始宗教的一種表現方式，表達人們對生活的一種態(tài)度。據考，新西蘭毛利人的文身歷史有數千年之久，被稱為世界各地土著人文身的鼻祖。一起來了解一下吧。

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Host:Tattoos are quite fashionable and popular among a wide range of Americans, but they’re much more than simple2）ornamentationfor the Maori people of New Zealand. Ngahuia Te Awekotuku is a Maori woman who wears a tattoo style called a moko.

Ngahuia:Maori people have been ornamenting skin for thousands of years. We’re a part of a Pacific tradition, which happens in Samoa, in Easter Island, in Hawaii and French Polynesia. The3）insertionof ink into the skin has been something that the peoples of the Pacific have always done. It’s about beauty, it’s about identity, it’s about courage, it is very much an insertion of who the person is, it may be an insertion of who the person wants to be. What is interesting is that, from the very first4）encounter,like the original encounters of voyagers like5）Cap.Cook and 6）Banks, they were7）fascinatedby the8）aestheticof moko.

Host:Ngahuia, you talked about the moko tradition. Tell me what that is.

Ngahuia:It’s a celebration of life,it’s a way of remembering those that have died, it’s a statement about events and…

Host: Is it the same as a tattoo,or does it mean something different?

Ngahuia:For Maori, for us,tattoo, moko, is a way of saying we are here, we survived what happened, and we will never go away.

Host:Now you talk about the Maori designs being9）incrediblypersonal, incredibly meaningful. How do you feel about the Maori designs becoming so10）popularizedinternationally by tattoo artists who have no idea where they come from?

Ngahuia:It’s beyond our control.

Host:Is it a11）tributeor a12）rip-off,do you think?

Ngahuia:It’s both. I think it’s a tribute when the artists are Maori. I also think it’s a tribute when someone like13）Mike Tyson, obviously the descendant of a14）warrior 15）lineage, hasn’t the knowledge of who he actually is, but can look around the world and find a place and a people with whom he can connect. It’s about connection.When there’s a connection, I think it’s a tribute. When it’s about making great big,16）stark, 17）dazzlingimages on your skin18）for the sake offashion, or for the sake of looking19）mean,then I think, “Oh,no,” you know, “it’s happening.”

◆ Maori 毛利人：新西蘭原住民和少數民族，屬波利尼西亞人的一部分。其語言屬南島語系波利尼西亞語族，有文字。毛利人原信毛利原始宗教，有祭司和巫師，禁忌甚多，現多信基督新教。毛利人主要從事農業(yè)、漁業(yè)，兼事狩獵、采集，擅長木、骨、石刻手工藝。其碰鼻禮和文面廣為人知。

◆ Tā moko 毛利人刺青：不同于現代的針刺文身，毛利人刺青是用信天翁骨頭制成的鑿子雕鑿而成，因此，毛利人刺青后的皮膚并不光滑，可見清晰的溝槽。毛利人刺青是身份地位的象征，刺青者多為社會地位較高者。此外，毛利人在成年時也會文上刺青以示成年。男性的刺青一般覆蓋整個面部、臀部及大腿，女性的刺青則多在唇部及下巴。

1） tattoo [t?'tu?] n. 刺青，文身

2） ornamentation [???n?men'te???n]n. 裝飾物，裝飾，下文的ornament是其動詞形式。

3） insertion [?n's???（?）n] n. 插入，嵌入

4） encounter [?n'ka?nt?（r）] n. 邂逅，相遇

5） Cap. Cook 庫克船長，即詹姆斯·庫克（James Cook），18世紀英國皇家海軍軍官、航海家、探險家和制圖師，曾三下太平洋，屬于首批登陸澳洲東岸和夏威夷群島的歐洲人。1769年10月，庫克船長首次登陸新西蘭。

6） Banks 即約瑟夫·班克斯（Joseph Banks），隨庫克船長航海的英國植物學家。

7） fascinate ['f?s?ne?t] v. 使著迷，使神魂顛倒

8） aesthetic [i?s'θet?k] n. 美感

9） incredibly [?n'kred?bl?] adv. 非常地，難以置信地

10） popularize ['p?pj?l?ra?z] v. 普及，推廣

11） tribute ['tr?bju?t] n. 致敬，敬意

12） rip-off ['r?p'??f] n. 偷竊，剽竊

13） Mike Tyson 邁克·泰森，曾獲世界上最年輕的重量級拳擊冠軍，被認為是世界上最好的重量級拳擊手之一，已在2005年宣布退役。泰森的面部及手臂均有刺青。

14） warrior ['w??r??r] n. 戰(zhàn)士，勇士

15） lineage ['l?n??d?] n. 血統，世系

16） stark [sta?k] adj. 明顯的

17） dazzling ['d?zl??] adj. 眼花繚亂的

18） for the sake of 為了

19） mean [mi?n] adj. 難對付的，不好惹的