I got my second tattoo yesterday as a sort of culmination of all the life changing events I have experienced here in New Zealand. I got a traditional Maori design that represents my "whakapapa" (the "wh" is pronounced like a "f") or genealogy. The Maori put a great deal of emphasis on ancestry and where you came from. Many Maori could trace their lineage back 10 or 15 generations some even to the first explorers that colonized New Zealand. This tracing of heritage gave them an identity and was almost a religion for the Maori. My tattoo is much smaller than a traditional male Maori tattoo, which would cover all of the thigh and buttocks. My tattoo symbolizes my two parents with the two large fern buds in the negative space between the blocks. They are touching to symbolize the connection between them that is me. The silver fern itself is a powerful symbol for the Maori where it shows guidance and wisdom.
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| The canvas |
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| The design |
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| The finished product |
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