34 TATTOOING. [PART I. 



is dipped into a pigment called narahu, which is 

 prepared by carbonizing the resin of the kauri- 

 pine ; and after each incision the blood is wiped of. 

 The persons operated upon never allow the slightest 

 expression of pain to escape them ; and after the in- 

 flammation has passed away, the regular and clean 

 scars appear dark. The tattooing of the lips is the 

 most painful part of the operation. The moko is 

 the same in all tribes, and does not form what 

 might be called the arms of an individual, neither 

 is it given as a reward for valiant deeds. When 

 the natives had occasion to sign deeds in their 

 transactions with the Europeans, they used to draw 

 upon the document a part of their moko or some 

 other figure as their signature ; but this seems to 

 have been a modern invention. The moko is not an 

 enforced ceremony ; but any one may have it done, 

 or not, according to his wishes. Neither is it in 

 many cases complete, but often remains unfinished. 

 Slaves, if they have been taken when children, are 

 not tattooed, nor is the operation completed in 

 those cases where it has already been partly per- 

 formed upon them. The complete moko comprises 

 the face, the posteriors, and the anterior part of the 

 thighs to above the knees The first lines are 

 drawn from the wings of the nose to the chin. All 

 the different parts of the moko have names. They 

 are generally curved or spiral lines. 



Rerepi are those from the nose to the chin. 



Pongiangia, at the wings of the nose. 



