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John

Image: John

from strobey, 15.07.08

John is a New Zealand Maori living in Australia. He is wearing his Moko with pride. No two Moko are alike, and the patterns tell a story to those who know how to read it. For example the face scrolls vary according to what number son you are, and the overall pattern is representative of his Tribal lineage, namely that John is a fourth generation descendent from a prominent Maori Chief.

His direct connection to a famous Chief from the past was one of the reasons he was "allowed" to wear the Moko, but he also had to obtain the approval of his tribal Elders before he could proceed with this (and he has more of his body adorned, but told me there's about 100 hours work still to be done).

Some Maori will not allow people to photograph them like this, and even John dislikes sly pictures taken opportunistically. The reason is that they feel it takes away some of their Mana (sort of translates to your personal pride, sense of self, prestige and honor).

It was a privilege to take these photos of John. As a sign of respect to him, please don't duplicate this image - it's here as a demo not as a pic to re-version.

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