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English Audio Request

fmoutenet
English / The Maoris and Moko
by fmoutenet on March 1, 2013
195 Words / 2 Recordings / 1 Comments
Listen Record

According to Maori mythology, tattooing began with a love affair between a young warrior
named Mataora and a young princess of the underworld called Niwareka. They were happy
for some time until Mataora became jealous and enraged. One day Mataora beat his wife.
Niwareka then left her husband, fled and ran back to her father who was king of the underworld. Mataora felt guilty and heartbroken. Mataora mourned for Niwareka for some time,
and then he decided to set out to find her. Before he left, he dressed in his finest clothes and
painted his face, hoping he could win back her love. After many trials, and after overcoming
numerous obstacles, Mataora eventually arrived in the underworld. He was exhausted, his
face paint was messed up and dirty after his voyage. Niwareka’s family mocked Mataora for
his dreadful appearance. Mataora begged Niwareka for forgiveness, she eventually accepted
his apology. Niwareka’s father then offered to teach Mataora the art of tattooing. Mataora
and Niwareka then returned together to the human world, Mataora brought back the arts of
ta moko to his people. And that was how the Maori came to have their distinct type of tattoo.

Recordings

Comments

CatSchriber
CatSchriber
May 12, 2020

Hi, i have just come across this request and noticed that the recordings are not from native Māori speakers nor from New Zealand, so the pronunciations of the Māori names and words are incorrect. Are you still interested in having a recording of this with the correct pronunciations?
I am glad to see that you have been interested in Māori history and legends :)

Overview

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