Our conversation offered profound insights into the cultural and spiritual dimensions of tattooing, rites of passage, and the resurgence of ancestral practices. It was an exploration of how tattooing transcends the aesthetic to become a meaningful ritual and initiatory process.
I first met Tu in 2015 at an Indigenous tattoo gathering in New Zealand. Our connection was immediate, as we found ourselves staying under the same roof with a mutual friend and tattoo artist. From that initial meeting, Tu and his wife have been incredibly generous, sharing their home, knowledge, and perspective on the sacredness of tattooing. Every time I interact with Tu, I walk away humbled, and this conversation was no different. I’m excited to share with you the depth of his wisdom and the broader implications it holds for tattooing as a transformative practice.
Rediscovering Moko and Its Sacred Roots
Tu’s journey into tattooing began in his late teens, not with a formal apprenticeship but through drawing moko designs on his fellow performers in a Polynesian dance troupe. Interestingly, it was a Christian missionary dance group using cultural performance to spread the gospel. But through this unconventional avenue, Tu began exploring his cultural roots. His first encounter with moko came when he saw a photo of his great-grandmother with a traditional chin tattoo, or kauae moko. This image ignited a lifelong fascination with the art form that had been nearly erased by colonization.
Tu’s early tattooing experiences were humble and experimental. He tattooed a friend with a homemade machine, and while this was not a conventional entry into the profession, it marked the beginning of a transformative journey. As he explained, “I got hooked from there,” even though those early years were fraught with trial and error, including unsafe practices. His hunger for knowledge about moko led him to the only book available at the time, but it wasn’t until he met Mark Kopua, a master carver and moko artist, that he began his formal mentorship. Kopua was a first-generation moko revivalist, and through him, Tu learned the deeper meanings and practices of moko.
This mentorship was a turning point. “Since that time, I’ve been mentored by Mark Kopua, one of the forerunners of the moko revivalists in Aotearoa,” Tu shared. The moko revival is a relatively recent phenomenon—just 30 or 40 years into its resurgence, following centuries of suppression. However, it has quickly become a symbol of cultural pride and identity for the Māori people. This revival is not just about the art of tattooing; it’s about reintroducing the spiritual and communal practices that moko represents.
Moko as a Rite of Passage
One of the central themes of our conversation was the concept of rites of passage, a topic that Tu has explored in great depth, both in practice and in his doctoral thesis. Traditionally, moko was not just a tattoo; it was an integral part of a person’s journey through life. It marked significant transitions, such as coming of age, assuming responsibilities within the tribe, and even preparing for death.
“Moko was our method of initiating people through rites of passage,” Tu explained.
In many indigenous cultures, including Māori, these rites were essential for guiding individuals through the stages of life in a way that was psychologically and spiritually meaningful.
A key aspect of these rites is the communal and collective nature of the experience.
“It was usually driven by elders, who had all gone through the process themselves,” Tu emphasized.
This collective guidance was crucial in ensuring that young people, particularly males, were adequately prepared for the challenges of adulthood. In Māori culture, young men did not naturally undergo the physiological changes that women did, such as menstruation or childbirth, which initiated them into womanhood. Instead, men had to be deliberately initiated through rituals of endurance and pain, such as receiving moko.
As Tu pointed out, the loss of these traditional rites due to colonization has had a profound impact on Māori men. Without these collective rituals, many young men are left psychologically immature, seeking initiation through destructive avenues like gang culture. “Gang initiation is a big deal,” Tu said, noting that it has become a misguided attempt to fill the void left by the absence of traditional rites of passage.
This theme resonated deeply with me, as I see parallels in how people today approach tattooing, often subconsciously seeking initiation or transformation. However, without the proper cultural and communal framework, these attempts can feel hollow or incomplete. Tattooing has the potential to be a powerful rite of passage, but only when it is approached with the same reverence and structure that indigenous practices like moko embody.
The Role of the Collective and the Elders
In traditional Māori life, rites of passage were not individual pursuits but were deeply embedded within the collective. “It’s not something that one person should be driving,” Tu stressed. “It’s something that tribal collectives should be driving.”
This collective nature is essential for the authenticity and effectiveness of the rites. Elders play a crucial role in guiding the process, ensuring that the individual’s journey is aligned with the values and needs of the community.
This stands in stark contrast to the more individualistic approach seen in contemporary Western tattooing culture, where rites of passage are often self-initiated and lack the support of a collective. Tu noted that while some individuals might find personal meaning in their tattoos, the true power of a rite of passage comes from its communal context.
“It’s usually handled by the elders, not by the lone tattooist guy at a convention, proclaiming to be a shaman,” Tu pointed out.
This is a critical distinction that can often be overlooked in the tattoo industry, where the language of initiation and transformation is frequently used but rarely grounded in a meaningful cultural context.
Rebuilding Rites of Passage in a Modern World
Tu’s doctoral thesis focuses on restoring these rites of passage within his own tribe. His goal is to create a structured process that reintroduces these rituals from puberty to adulthood and even through to death.
This is no small task, as much of the traditional knowledge has been lost or fragmented over the centuries. However, Tu is optimistic about the process. “We’ll develop a structured process starting at the beginning, from coming of age all the way through to death,” he explained. This will involve gathering tribal elders, artists, and cultural experts to rebuild the rites from scratch, incorporating both traditional knowledge and contemporary insights.
This effort to revive rites of passage is not just about preserving cultural heritage; it’s about providing young Māori with a roadmap for life, a way to navigate the challenges of adulthood with confidence and purpose. It’s about ensuring that individuals know who they are, where they come from, and what their responsibilities are to their community.
This level of cultural grounding is something that many people in modern society are desperately seeking, even if they don’t consciously realize it.
The Global Relevance of Rites of Passage
While our conversation was deeply rooted in Māori culture, the themes we discussed have a universal relevance. Across the world, people are seeking meaning and connection in their lives, and many turn to tattooing as a way to express that desire. However, without a clear understanding of the cultural and spiritual significance of rites of passage, these attempts can feel empty or performative.
Tu shared stories of his travels to places like the Amazon, where indigenous tribes still maintain some of their traditional rites of passage, albeit in fragmented forms. He recounted how a group of missionaries invited him and his team into the Amazon to help break a curse that had led members of the tribe to commit suicide in order to join their ancestors. This experience, along with others like night diving in Hawaii, served as personal rites of passage for Tu, forcing him to confront his fears and grow as a person.
These experiences highlight the importance of confronting challenges and fears in order to grow. As Tu put it, “You’re at the mercy of nature, so you know your place in the world.”
This connection to the natural world and the acknowledgment of one’s limitations are integral to rites of passage, and they are often missing in modern life.
The Bigger Picture: How Tattooing Fits In
For those of us in the tattoo industry, it’s essential to recognize the deeper potential of tattooing beyond the aesthetic. Tattoos can serve as markers of personal growth, reminders of important transitions, and symbols of one’s connection to a larger community or lineage. However, for this to happen, we need to approach tattooing with intention and awareness of its deeper significance.
As I’ve reflected on my own journey and the stories shared not only by Tu, but many others I’ve been able to converse with, one thing has become clear: If we want our tattoos to be meaningful, we need to live meaningful lives. A tattoo in and of itself doesn’t carry meaning—it’s the life experiences, the challenges, and the rites of passage that we undergo that give it significance.
Moving Forward with Intention
This conversation with Tu was a reminder of the profound role that tattooing can play in our lives when approached with reverence, intention, and an understanding of its cultural roots. Whether we’re engaging in traditional practices like moko or seeking our own personal rites of passage, the key is to ground our actions in something larger than ourselves.
Tattooing offers a unique opportunity to mark our journeys, but it’s up to us to ensure that those marks are aligned with our true intentions and the bigger picture of our lives. As Tu emphasized, “It’s not just about looking cool—it’s about marking significant transitions in your life.” This is a message central to Tattoo Pathway’s mission: to guide individuals in making conscious, intentional choices about their tattoos, seeing them not merely as aesthetic marks but as profound symbols of transformation.
Further Reading + Links
If you’re feeling drawn to explore the deeper significance of tattooing, we invite you to begin your own journey with our Tattoo Pathway Fundamentals Course. This course is designed to help you reconnect with the sacred roots of tattooing, offering you a framework to approach your tattoos with the reverence they deserve.
To learn more about Tu’s work, you can follow him on Instagram at @tu_moko or visit his website, Arts Elemental.
For more on rites of passage, mythology, and male archetypes, we also recommend diving into the works of Joseph Campbell and the writings of Robert Moore and Douglas Gillette.
- The Power of Myth – Joseph Campbell
- The Archetype of Initiation – Robert L. Moore
- King, Warrior, Magician, Lover: Rediscovering the Archetypes of the Mature – Robert Moore and Douglas Gillette
Thank you for joining us for this conversation. I hope it provides some insight into how you can approach your tattoo journey with greater awareness and intention. See you next time.
